I grew up in a very Italian Youngstown, and spaghetti and pizza were regular parts of my Swedish diet.
I'm glad you got your freedom at 13, though. :)
I can't remember my mother EVER serving us pizza. It always seemed like a Forbidden Food that one had to *sneak* out of the house to eat hehe.
I never went to a restaurant till I was 17. I'm serious. We used to go to Dairy Queen occasionally and get dip cones, dilly bars, or Sundaes, and once in a while, went to the A&W for an actual hamburger (no fries) and root beer. I never went to a McDonald's till I was in my 20's.
The world has caught up with GretchenM in the years since then. I can make my way through a restaurant menu quite nicely now. ;-)