In the kitchen at Rodolfo's, the culture of Italy comes through loud and clear.
45,000 Metroplex families are of Italian descent, and their history is a proud one.
But these days, what's sizzling more than the food in these restaurants is the controversy over a holiday.
Italians and Hispanics are fuming because the state legislature eliminated Columbus Day as an official state holiday.
We're going to write letters until we have cramps on our hands.
The Italian Club of Dallas is writing letters, making calls, and protesting what they say is a slap at their heritage.
This seems to be a step backwards for us and for everyone historically.
That's terrible. Why tear down things that have been around so long?
And this is a man that's 500 years old.
They say a King holiday is fine, but not at the expense of Columbus Day.
On the other side of town at Clara's Kitchen, many folks agree both heroes should be recognized.
Since neither would be a paid holiday for state workers, they say why the fuss?
By having a separate holidays, cutting out another holiday, I think we're creating another big problem.
Anytime an issue comes up, it always involves us to try to fan a fire.
Both groups agree the fires of this controversy could easily be extinguished
if more people would respect and savor other cultures as readily as they do other cuisines.
Brian Mylar, Texas News 5.
Thank you.