Italian isn't fancy.. But it's not the Italian that is problematic.. It's the type of sandwhich shop. Everyone knows salami.. But not everyone knows that soppressata is a form of cured meat similar to salami.. I agree that the writing is a little heavy handed, but... the "foodie" standards of the upper middle class, as tasty as they are (and they ARE tasty), do a great job of delineating a sense of belonging, or not.