>>212669341 (OP)They're pretty much two entirely different cuisines at this point, American Italian food is based on late 19th century peasant food from southern Italy so it's very heavy and decadent while "modern Italian" leans a lot more towards haute cuisine and focuses on more simplistic dishes with an emphasis on fresh ingredients. Italian fine dining in the US has changed to be more in line with modern Italian but they also sort of dissociate from it since they usually market themselves as being "Mediterranean" cuisine (i.e. light and fishy).