Italians aren't the only people who give you a lot of good food to eat. Italians and other ethnic immigrants usually came to America one step ahead of either starvation or annihilation in some war. So, when they became established, they showed hospitality and their newfound security by serving enormous quantities of food. That value extends even into second- and third-generation ethnics. If you go to a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant's home, they serve you one slice of Oscar Meyer bologna on two slices of Wonder Bread (with the crusts cut off), or watercress sandwiches. But they serve it on 200-year-old China.