Americans always used to have the highest regard for French cuisine (hence its popularity with celebrity chefs like James Beard and Julia Child, and in famous f

Americans always used to have the highest regard for French cuisine (hence its popularity with celebrity chefs like James Beard and Julia Child, and in famous fine dining establishments like NYC's Waldorf and Ritz-Carlton hotels), until roughly the release of The Godfather in 1972, which caused a boom in interest in Italian-American culture, including Italian cuisine, which is nowadays by far the most popular here.