It's always a funny and slightly embarrassing scene to watch when some foreigner, especially from the USA, where this dish is very famous, stopping at a Roman restaurant, orders "Fettuccine Alfredo", and all he gets in return from the waiter is a stare.
And indeed the credit goes to two American citizens who worked in Hollywood in making this simple recipe known worldwide. Pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese it's a very common dish in Roman families, and it's often prepared when there is not enough time to prepare a more sophisticated sauce or when someone is not feeling well. In fact, at the time when Mrs. Pickford and Mr. Fairbanks "discovered" the dish, the restaurant's owner's wife was pregnant, and she was eating that kind of pasta, having problems in keeping food down.
The recipe became famous, so the restaurant's owner (Alfredo di Lelio) gave his name to this dish, making it famous abroad, and adding to the recipe the "Double Butter" which means adding butter not only in the bowl where pasta is mixed (as per the traditional recipe) but adding more of it directly on the serving dish. making the whole dish creamier.
The Restaurant serving the original "Fettuccine Alfredo" is still open after many years, and beside the traditional venue in Via della Scrofa ("Alfredo alla Scrofa") - not far from the Pantheon and Piazza Navona) there is a "new" one in Piazza Augusto Imperatore, a square along Via del Corso where it is also possible to see Emperor Augustus' tomb and, just a few more meters away, the "Ara Pacis" (Altar of Peace) built by the same Emperor to celebrate his family and ancient Rome's longest peace period.
In all other restaurants, if you wish to enjoy the nearest thing to "Fettuccine Alfredo" just order "Fettuccine Burro e Parmigiano" (Fettuccine with Butter & Parmesan cheese), unless you enjoy watching the waiter's puzzled face :)
Buon Appetito!
Emanuele
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