No Kebabs in Lucca, Italy

Consider the following:

"In this deeply conservative city, where even Sicilian food is considered ethnic, there are already four kebab houses, testaments to Italy’s growing immigrant population and the fact that many Italians, especially young ones, like eating non-Italian food. Offering kebabs at $5, the restaurants are also a bargain in difficult times.

Under the new law, these four can stay, but the banning of new ethnic and fast-food restaurants within the city walls has struck many here as contrary to the rules of free-market capitalism and the notion that Italy can offer more than visions of its long-dead past.
...
Lucca allowed the kebab shops to open in the first place only because city officials did not know what they were, Filippo Candelise, a Lucca City Council member who handles economic development, said in a recent interview in the medieval palazzo that houses city government.

Mr. Candelise defended the new regulation as essential for Lucca’s future. “We absolutely reject the ‘racist’ label,” he said. “We simply want to preserve our cultural and historical identity.”

So, if you find yourself in beautiful Lucca and you might be in the mood for a kebab, stop and stock up in Rome first and then head up. I'm certain the "buccellato" will taste scrumptious then.

I don't care much about meats anyway, as I tend to roll vegetarian-ly mostly, but I do care about the, what I call, the democratization of the tongue.

What think ye?

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graph per ny times

Things Utah - Recommendation

Last time I reviewed Things Utah was over a year ago. Read that bit here.

As it has been a custom on the blog, I attempt to review the spots I visit when traveling. Any suggestions of what I should give a chance to when in SLC?

Some of my contacts there have suggested a few newer places which I will try to visit and subsequently review. Since time is limited, I prefer recommendations in the realm of the local arts and cuisine.

Thank you.

Things Los Angeles

There are many gripping things about Los Angeles. For instance, a favorite activity when there is going to the Beans and Brews on Sunset and checking out the clientele trying to guess who's 'from' LA and who's visiting. But then again, is anyone from LA, really.
A thing to do in LA would have to be a visit to Canter's Deli. It's a fantastic place to dine in and it doesn't seem to suffer from the 'I-have-to-be-cool-and-'in' thing. Canter's Deli can simply rely on history when it comes to asserting its cool. The deli is denuded of all pretension and the decor is something every LA visitor has to experience. Plus, the culinary experience is bound to leave one satisfied.
It always gives me a sense of familiarity and I fully recommend it to all those who self define as LA-natives as well as visitors.
Check the deli out here.
graph per canter's deli

Why Are Chinese Restaurants so Ubiquitous?

Before heading to our location last night, we stopped to speak to the owner of a local Chinese restaurant for some reservations.
Upon leaving the place I got to thinking about Chinese restaurants and the fact that there are so many of them. Everywhere I travel in the US and Canada I see a good number of Chinese restaurants. What makes them so ubiquitous?
Marginal Revolution featured a post today on this very question:
"Why did Chinese immigrants to America start so many restaurants? Because Chinese cuisine is glorious, right? Well, no. Chinese immigrants started a lot of laundries, too, and there is nothing wonderful about Chinese ways of washing clothes. As Jennifer Lee explains in this excellent talk, the first Chinese immigrants were laborers. They were taking jobs away from American men, and this caused problems. Restaurants and laundries were much safer immigrant jobs because cooking and cleaning were women’s work."
text per marginal revolution