I believe it was two months into my stay in Italy when I realized I would be crazy to ever leave to return to the United States. This was for many reasons, but one stuck out like a streaker at a ball game. Italian cuisine is, by far, the best cuisine in the entire world.

While a comment like this may cause controversy, Italians themselves agree that Italian food is second to none. And when you’re sitting in a dining room feasting on the finest concoctions of homemade rosemary garlic potatoes and spaghetti with pesto sauce with a well-matched bottle of wine, not much can be said to sway your opinion.

That type of meal may not be everyone’s ideal feast, but let’s face it, Italian cuisine has something for everybody. Multitudes of college students all across the nation choose pizza as their breakfast, lunch and dinner. This isn’t because they feel like fitting into an amazingly true stereotype. It’s because pizza is one of the greatest inventions known to man. Even Caesar salad was created by and received its regal name from an Italian (seriously, Google it).

I am by no means degrading or putting down other ethnic cookery. Nor am I claiming that Italian food is the most popular by choice, as Chinese food must be a heavily favored contender in that category. I also very much enjoy a well-deserved meal at McDonald’s as much as the next guy (actually, many Italians do). But when it comes to publicity, its global influence is unmatched.

In Italy, ethnic foods from outside the country are just beginning to gain appeal with residents. For some reason, Italians have been slow to pick up on the pleasures of varying eating habits. My completely unbiased opinion is that Italian food is variant and good enough that other cuisines have had a hard time penetrating the market. Alas, at present time, it is difficult to make generalizations about Italians and their behavior, as the country is changing very rapidly with immigration and increased westernization.

In the United States, we are very lucky to have so many options when it comes to ethnic food. And let’s not forget the solid bedrock of American food, such as hot dishes, hamburgers and corn. Even in Iowa, all types of comestibles are at our fingertips. We are often exposed to other cultures through the constantly evolving jubilee of foods available to us every day, whether it be Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Italian or American. Oh, and did I mention Italian?