Title: From Brick Oven to the Freezer Aisle
Topic: Modernity, Consumerism, Tradition,
Progress, Globalization, Localization
Source: Fire and Brick Bistro in Eureka, Live
from New York Pizza, Safeway, Cultural Anthro by Robbins, online research
Relation: In the 21st century, pizza has
become a globally accessible dish mainly due to Italian immigrants moving to
new areas in the past 200 years. The US was the largest recipient of Italian
immigrants globally. In 1850, about 4,000 Italians were reported in the US, but
by 1880 the population had increased to 44,000 and by 1900 it was recorded to
be around half a million. During 1850 to 1930 in particular, many Italians who
came to America settled on the East Coast and opened stores and restaurants
showcasing food from their homeland. Pizza now can be found anywhere in the US
and in almost all other countries. The LA Times even covered the topic of pizza
and how it has been globalized. Just like how pizza is a fast food in the US
companies like Pizza Hut and Dominoes also emerged in Urban Indian Areas and
has reached almost all major cities in India by 2010. To localize this food some pizza
places serve pizzas with Indian-style toppings like Tandoori Chicken. Pizzas available
in India range from localized basic variants available in neighborhood bakeries
to gourmet pizzas with imported ingredients available at specialty Italian
restaurants just like in the US, even here by HSU.
Description: When you enter the restaurant,
Brick and Fire Bistro, the warm glow of the flames from the wood brick oven
behind the bar welcomes you in. The blood orange walls are covered in photos of
Naples and other Italian towns so the guests feel like they are eating in a
true Italian bistro not in Northern California. Brick and Fire stated on their
website that they stick to authentic Italian and Mediterranean cuisine and
since they were the only restaurant that had a wood brick oven like the way
pizza was originally made in Italy I had to test them out. I wanted to know
what was the closest you could get to authentic Italian food being around 5000
miles away. I ordered the margarita pizza and was very happy with the result.
Brick and Fire used authentic Italian pizza ingredients dough made daily, fresh
mozzarella cheese, fresh basil leaves, roasted tomatoes, freshly made tomatoes
sauce, and even pine nuts. I asked the server how they picked the pizzas for
the menu and was told that the pizzas recipes come from the chef’s grandmother
who lived in a small town in Italy called Orvieto. This pizza was one of the
most simple combinations but is an Italian tradition since the beginning of
pizza. Since I had seen one version of pizza being brought over from Italy and
staying authentic I wanted to also look at other modern pizza options so I went
to a pizza place on the Arcata Plaza, Live From New York Pizza, and went to
look at the options Safeway offers. Safeway pizza seemed to be the most changed
from the original Italian pizza. Safeway was a great example how even though
pizza has been globalized from Italian pizza then gets localized to fit with
the society its now in. A majority of Americans do not eat “real” Italian pizza
they eat American pizza like Pizza Hut and Round Table Pizza that works as a
fast food and is very cheep so it meets low income consumers needs. Live From
New York Pizza is local great option, it’s pizza was a similar style to most pizza in New
York City which branched off from Italian pizza. Three different places in the area, each
had different versions of pizza all because of globalization and how a product
must change to work within its market.
Analysis: Globalization is defined as the
elimination of barriers to trade, communication, and cultural exchange. The
theory behind globalization is that worldwide openness will promote the
inherent wealth of all nations. This goes along side the idea Robbins states that
“economic development is based on these assumptions: economic growth and
development are the solution to national as well as global problems; global
economic integration will contribute to solving global ecological and social
problems; and foreign assistance to undeveloped countries will help benefit
them” (Robbins 43). It seems most anthropologists think that learning and
understanding others cultures because globalization can help promote progress
globally. While investigating how much this small area can change and localize
a product first started almost five thousand miles away it seems hard to not
agree that everyone could benefit from learning about a new culture or trying
to understand the history of something that has originated somewhere else.
