Hmm, maybe this depends on your definition of “fast food”.
It’s possible to get take - out pizza here, obviously, but it sure ain’t fast food if you’re going out to eat it.
So, where in Italy do you live?
Guess what, we have McDonald’s here, too.
And I’ll repeat what I just posted: if you consider take - out pizza “fast food”, then yeah, you’re right. But plenty of people go out to eat pizza, and that is definitely not fast food.
Maybe you shouldn’t keep the plastic explosive next to the pasta dough?
Not so much in the south
Damn sight faster than a four course meal. And burger and chips isn’t fast if you eat it in a restaurant. And it’s frequently sold in slices from hole in the wall places.
What, are you one of those “non-traditional” chefs or something?
Isn’t that garlic bread then? That’s basically how I make it, though I like a strong garlic taste, so I’ll press some garlic and spread it on. If I think of it ahead of time, I’ll infuse some olive oil with garlic (and a little crushed red pepper), then brush the OO on the bread. Using a good OO, it’s better than butter…okay, as good as butter, and healthier. 
People talk about “authentic”, but when you are dealing with cooking by peasant farmers, authentic generally was “how can we make what we can afford today or is ripe today palatable”. Tomatoes, onions, and vinegar on bruschetta - sure, if you have them. My father likes to tell stories about what would end up in the tomato gravy back during the depression days - any part of a cow, goat, chicken, or pig that the butcher might discard, vegetables that were getting a little old, eggs, figs (they had a fig tree), etc. That was authentic peasant cooking (which thankfully I never had to try).
I guess you could call it that! I was just mentally comparing bruschetta with what passes for garlic bread in the UK - which generally involves a French (!) stick stuffed with garlic and parsley-laden butter - nothing like I’ve ever seen anywhere in Italy, even in the butter munching north.
Aah, La Cucina Povera - it’s actually having a massive revival at the moment because it’s really healthy and tasty - loads of veg and seafood, hardly any meat.
I wonder how “povera” it really is. All those pieces that were once cast off now can be sold. Try getting some beef bones for stock from the butcher, or chicken / pork feet. Flank steak, beef / veal shanks, short ribs, etc. have all skyrocketed in price compared to the other parts as immigrants (hispanic, asian, and mediterranean) taught the ‘locals’ how to make tasty meals from their cast offs. (Source: my butcher, fwiw)
I guess the UK has the same view on garlic bread as the US. Fortunately, my father and my grandmother gave me a foundation of authentic Sicilian cuisine, while also catering to my American desires.
Yes, such is life. Povera in spirit if not in actual fact.
Thirding the idea that jjimm should make a risotto for his Italian beauty. Not only is it delicious, but because it takes a while to do, but requires little concentration, you can have her keep you company while you cook, and use the time to be charming and witty and keep her wine glass topped up.
We did watch a VHS tape where the instructor had the Roman Coliseum as his background.
We were shown the proper amount of time to reheat the frozen sauces that came in weekly on a refrigeration truck.
As for bringing relatives from Italy in to Olive Garden? 100% true. Happened all the time. The Italians would even invite the chefs out to the table and we would all sing "that’s amore’.
My mom pronounces it EYE-talian. Is that offensive to a serious student of the cuisine such as yourself?
As I have told many people, my father’s family does not come from EYE-taly, nor do I know of any country called EYE-taly. Then, because it was important to my grandmother, I’d say they come from Sicily, which would then denigrate into a conversation about why they are not the same.
If you want to make a favorable impression on the young lady, be sure to serve a can of Spaghetti-o’s on a Waterford dish. You may want to go with the large, economy-sized can, as this is sure to be a big hit.
As posted earlier, horse sausage and other types of horse meat such a steak and sfilacci which is grated horsemeat, are very popular in the part of Italy where I am living.
But as previously noted, a lot of Italian cooking you find outside of Italy are broadly southern, as that was where the largest group of immigrants to the USA was from. Northerners, if they immigrated, often went to south America, especially Argentina. I wonder if you can get nice polenta in Buenos Aires.
I respectfully ask the SDMB administration to make this a sticky in CS, stat.
Luckily, the restaurant specialised in Umbrian, not Venetin, so I dodged a bullet with sausage. The lamb’s tongue was delicious, though. Is it on the Olive Garden menu?