A 1904 New York Tribune article about Italian immigration to New Haven carried the fevered headline “ITALIANS ARE FLOODING CONNECTICUT.” The article quotes the Rev. Joel Ives of the Missionary Society of Connecticut, who worries that the Italians coming into the state are “poor, superstitious, ignorant, and indifferent.”

Well, the Rev. Ives has departed us and we are all very glad the Italians did come to New Haven. As Italian immigrants spread out from the ports and the nearby Wooster Square neighborhood into the city at large, their food and customs became an indelible part of the life and character of the city. Simply put, New Haven wouldn’t be New Haven without apizza, without its Italian immigrants. New Haven has also ranked among the best nightlife scenes in the state, and Olives and Oil, which opened in December, attempts to bridge that gap between the old and the new, between a proud Italian culinary legacy and a buzzing nightlife.