I feel like we’re ignoring the fact that Italians bomb the comment section of every online recipe for an Italian with gatekeeping comments. Carbonara, sure, but Kenji did cacio e pepe and got crucified — I don’t know if even the Pasta Grannies are safe.

I have seen this behavior from others as well, from all over the world, but Italian cuisine seems to trigger a special protective reaction from the hometown crowd. Perhaps it’s because it is (almost) universally popular?