Returning from New York Summer fancy food fair with few thoughts to share:
1) $10 dollar for breakfast regardless you eat cappuccino&muffin or mashed eggs with mushrooms and pepper with coffe and water as much as you can drink is soooo american!
2) despite two generations have passed since Italians emigrated to the Big Apple, Italian food quality available to New Yorkers is still lagging behind to our standars. Hard to find any farming Company on the shelves of the upmarket Italian groceries. It seems the market is firmly in the hands of the industrial processing players.
3) made in Italy is still a ‘must have’ when we talk about food serving restorants bars and hotels; supposed you open a restaurant in L.A. wouldn’t you place an italian bottle of olive oil on the table?
4) Euro is too strong versus most currencies yet most Europeans have not enough savings to take advantage. It is nice to go shopping on the Fifth avenue, IF you have money on your Euro pocket! On the contrary whether our products will make it through the US market despite the adverse currency exchange rate, time will tell.
5) Italian accent in New York is regarded as cute!!! So no point listening or pretending to speak as Obama, save on that language class fees you are paying
6) More and more US people have either no interest nor time to cook at home hence the market is diverging into either the mass market for cheap ready to eat meals at your convinient discount store or the fancy restaurants downtown that claim in different forms to offer you the ‘real’ italian food.
7) unfortunately most chefs in those restaurants or bars adapted to the American tastes. Guys, there is no spaghetti with meatball in Italy, we ignore what Alfredo sauce is and we do not dress like the guys on the label of your favourite tomato sause. Why is it so hard to cook as your mother in Italy used to?
8) it is easier to socialise, simphatise and kick off a business conversation out of Italy. First there is no need of ‘sponsorship’ and second people don’t talk of politics, women and soccer all the time as Italians do to pretend to raise interest on the other party. Boring!
9)  food journalists are more interested in life experiences than food. You can tell them that your honey is special because is made by ants and they will probably believe it if you made it up out of a nice fairy tale.
10) despite the metrosexual life at the city that never sleeps, it is nice to wake up at dawn with the lighthouse still blinking its eye, the sea breeze and the barking of your dog. See picture below!