Spaghetti  and meatballs

Before spaghetti and meatballs became such a popular comfort meal, it began in the busy kitchens of Italian immigrants settling in a new world. When people from Italy first arrived in America in the late nineteenth century, they were introduced to a wealth of new ingredients (Levenstein). Foods such as meat and canned tomatoes, once considered luxuries in Italy, became readily available, transforming the traditional recipes into what is now known as Italian-American cuisine (Levenstein). Historian Harvey Levenstein notes that “Italian food was the first major foreign cuisine to find widespread acceptance among native-born Americans.”  Immigrant cooks created a dish that symbolized both their survival and success in America, combining inexpensive pasta with rich, tangy tomato sauce and large meatballs (Levenstein). These new transformations drew on Southern Italian roots as they spread across America, creating a brand new dish unknown “back home” in Italy itself (Kummer). Over time, spaghetti and meatballs grew from an immigrant comfort food into a national dish famous for its warmth and togetherness, served at everything from Sunday dinners to fine restaurants (Levenstein). What was a simple adaptation of heritage recipes soon formed a bridge between cultures and connected generations, making this dish feel even more meaningful.

Spaghetti and meatballs have been a dish that has always filled my family’s table. From graduations to Christmas, it's the meal that represents celebration. The smell of fresh herbs contrasts with the savoriness of the garlic as we pass the bowl of pasta from one end of the table to the other. I’ve eaten this dish countless times, but I didn’t truly appreciate it until I made it myself in high school. One weekend, some close friends and I decided to make a batch of pasta, complete with all the toppings from scratch. As we gathered around the kitchen counter, we worked together to brown the meat to a perfect crisp and shape our dough into the perfect-sized noodles. My friend's kitchen soon filled with warmth and laughter, and I felt like I was right at home.

In her essay “Friday Night Meatballs,” Sarah Grey says of  her weekly family tradition, “we had no idea how much the effortless act of gathering for dinner would transform our family’s life.” Similar to Grey, I realized that spaghetti and meatballs are not meaningful to me just because of their flavor but because of the comfort they bring and the connections they foster. While spaghetti and meatballs may seem like a simple dish, it carries a rich history of comfort and connection. Whether it's in a local Ann Arbor Italian restaurant or in my family's kitchen, the dish will always carry the message that food made with care can create lasting memories, reminding us that it isn't just what's in each bite, but the power it has to bring people together.

Works Cited

Grey, Sarah. “Friday Night Meatballs: How to Change Your Life With Pasta.” Serious Eats, Aug. 2014,https://www.seriouseats.com/simpler-entertaining-friday-night-dinners-end-loneliness-how-to-build-community-after-having-kids. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.

Kelenski, Chloe. Photo of Spaghetti and meatballs. 2 Nov. 2025. Author's personal collection.

Kelenski, Chloe. Photo of  Bigaloras' entrance. 2 Nov. 2025. Author's personal collection.

Kelenski, Chloe. Photo making pasta dough. 9 Nov. 2024. Author's personal collection.

Kummer, Corby. “Pasta.” The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 258, no. 1, July 1986, pp. 35–47, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1986/07/pasta/306226/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.

Levenstein, Harvey. “The American Response to Italian Food, 1880-1930.” Food and Foodways, vol. 1, no. 1-2, Jan.1985, pp.1-5 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/07409710.1985.9961875. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025

 AI disclosure: ChatGPT was used to fix grammatical errors. The following prompt was used: “Correct any grammar errors.”