In an evocative parallel scene from a Sopranos episode entitled, «The Strong, Silent Type,» mob boss Tony Soprano and his loyal associate Furio cook dinner for themselves, alone in their respective kitchens. The scene starts out with Tony walking into the kitchen of his New Jersey McMansion. He calls out his wife Carmella’s name before finding a note on the counter that reads, «Rigatoni in the fridge.» Meanwhile, Furio (a native Neapolitan), tends to sizzling pots and pans in a humid, dimly-lit kitchen. Bottles of olive oil and fresh herbs are visible in the background. Tony sticks some frozen rigatoni into the microwave and it lights up and whirs as he lets out a weary sigh. Furio carefully grates fresh parmesan over his steaming pasta and pours himself a glass of red wine. Tony pours himself a tall glass of milk and eats his meal straight out of the casserole dish at the kitchen counter. The intercut scene shows two Italians preparing pasta in very different ways—the American way, and the Italian way.

Often when Americans make bold assumptions and mocking jokes about Italian cuisine on the internet, they’re referring to the Italian food of America, where pineapple on pizza is permitted and garlic bread served with spaghetti is the norm. It’s no wonder people like @va_dickens believe that Italian food is just «the same five ingredients a thousand different ways.» Most people are only exposed to their region’s version of a certain type of cuisine. One brief peek into Marcella Hazan’s culinary bible Essentials of Italian Cooking will blow the mind of anyone who thinks Italian food is mostly just spaghetti and tomatoes. Twitter is perhaps the best place to find strong opinions and lively discourse about both food and Italians. So it’s no surprise that Twitter had a whole lot to say about @va_dickens’ hot take on Italian cuisine.