Trattoria Delia brought something new to Burlington 24 years ago: Italian food, which is to say food that aspired to be as authentically Italian as possible. That included menu items that surprised Vermonters, said Tom Delia, who opened the restaurant with his wife, Lori. “People weren’t ready for squid and pasta 24 years ago,” he said.

The menu also included – for a time, anyway – organ meat. “That didn’t stay on the menu very long,” Lori Delia said. “But people who tried it loved it.” She said some customers complained that Trattoria Delia didn’t have chicken parmesan on the menu, therefore it couldn’t be an Italian restaurant. That was just fine for the Delias.