Napolitana and Argentina

A dish made up of two gentilicians: we already had the Milanese that our Italian grandparents had brought to these shores and here we added our Argentine touch. Legend has it that the Neapolitan Milanese was not named after the Italian city, but after Naples, a Porteño restaurant located in front of Luna Park. They say, too, that its origin was due to a successful mistake. During the 1940s, one night a client arrived in Naples after the cook had left, and it was an assistant who had to cook the last remaining Milanese on the premises. The result was not as expected: the Milanese was over-knit and, to save the situation, they covered it with tomato sauce, ham and cheese. The client enjoyed his dish so much that it was included on the menu as a speciality of the house: the Milanese "a la Napolitana". Other versions contradict the story of misfortune with luck, but who cares? The important thing is that the Neapolitan Milanese is the emblem of the porteño still life and the impossible love of everyone who wants to carry out a diet. Thus this dish, which mixes two Italian cities, is tradition, perdition and pride of all Argentines.