Heartland roasts

An interesting quote from The Food of Italy by Waverly Root, a book I picked up from our apartment building shared library:

The heartland of a country — that is, the area where its essence has persisted in the strongest and most living fashion — seems usually to be marked by two characteristics among others.  Its people speak the national language in its purest form, and, a particularly rather more difficult to account for, cook the most robust form of food, meat (especially beef), in the simplest manner, without fuss or frills.  The purest French is spoken in Touraine, noted for its roasts.  The purest Spanish is spoken in Castille, also noted for its roasts.  The purest Italian is spoken in Tuscany, noted for its grilled beef.