La Minestra marks two delicious decades on Dakota Avenue
I have strong beliefs about food. I believe sausage goes only in gravy and the gravy goes only over biscuits. I believe tomatoes should be avoided, because they feel squishy in your mouth. I believe olives are fine for decoration, but should never be eaten. And I believe that pasta of any kind is just way too complicated – to prepare or to eat....
After 44 years, garden center dream ends for Wayne Nocito
Patio Gardens & Landscaping has been a fixture on the corner of the Westbank Expressway and Avenue G in Marrero for almost half a century. Just at its 44th birthday, owner Wayne Nocito announced that it is closing its doors on June 9. "I'm turning the page and moving on, but it sure is hard to shut the doors," Nocito said with tears in his eyes. Th...
Festa Italiana brings food, fun back to Easton
Parishioners of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Easton will host the annual Festa Italiana in June. The community celebration runs June 1, 2 and 3 at Holy Cross Park near Easton in Williams Township. The festival is a major fundraiser for the Easton parish and features food and entertainment each night, plus a Tricky Tray drawing on Sunday,...
James L. Penasa - July 11, 1932 - May 7, 2018
James L. Penasa — lifelong Coloradan, long-time Montrose resident, veteran and long-time active member of Zion Lutheran Church — passed away on May 7, 2018, at his home. Jim was born to Italian immigrant parents Serafino and Mary Penasa in Rico, Colorado. Jim attended grade school at the one-room school in Ophir and in Telluride. The family then...
The joy of Tony Bennett in concert
You don’t need Google Translate to figure out how to say joie de vivre in Italian. It’s Anthony Benedetto, or idiomatically, Tony Bennett. Experiencing Bennett in concert is watching joie de vivre come of life. In his performance Thursday at the sold-out State Theatre in Minneapolis, the ageless crooner was so full of vitality, charm, warmth, humil...
Il genio italiano si afferma all'estero
Si legge e si sente spesso parlare del successo degli Italiani all'estero nei campi del design, della moda, della enogastronomia, ma tanti sono anche fuori dall'Italia per motivi di studio e di ricerca. Per la riunione del 6 giugno del Club Italiano Per Piacere abbiamo qualcosa di veramente nuovo per voi: intervisteremo quattro italiani che sono a...
“La Traviata” at Opera Theatre
Enjoy a highlight of the St. Louis Opera Theatre season with Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata” May 19 – June 23 at the Loretto-Hilton Center. In the opera, Violetta has one important rule: Never fall in love. She insists on her freedom. Then she meets Alfredo, and things get complicated. It’s a Verdi masterpiece and includes the directing debut...
Restaurant Review: Tavernetta
My chic Danish friend and I walked into Tavernetta on a brisk afternoon a few months ago, she in fabulous boots that look like they’re covered in tiny disco-ball mirrors, me in salaryman Rockports. We passed the fireplace lounge that overlooks the tracks at Union Station and took a sharp left around the massive open kitchen, where, amid a bustle of...
History of former Missouri POW camp preserved in cigarette case
As author David Fiedler explains in his book "The Enemy Among Us: POWs in Missouri During World War II," the state was once home to more than 15,000 German and Italian prisoners of war. Many of the camps where they were held have faded into distant memory as little evidence remains of their existence; however, one local resident has a relic from a...
Modern languages department cuts Italian language courses
As a result of the university-wide budget recalls in October, the Department of Modern Languages will offer only one Italian course in fall 2018. Courses typically scheduled for the fall semester like Italian I and Italian III have been canceled. The discontinuation of Italian courses will cause the loss of one faculty member: Alessia Salamina, a v...
Ain’t No Party Like A D’Amico Party
The Twin Cities food scene is definitely something to boast about, especially when it includes a catering service with recipes straight out of Italy. Richard and Larry D’Amico started D’Amico Catering in the 1980s, when they opened their first locations in Minneapolis, D’Amico Cucina and Azur. As sons of Italian immigrants and second-generation res...
Opera Colorado closes season with Verdi's comic swan song
For Opera Colorado music director Ari Pelto, Giuseppe Verdi's final opera — written when the composer was 79 years old — is more than a comic epilogue to a long career filled with tragic music dramas. "When I ask performers about their favorite Verdi opera, pretty much everybody responds that it is 'Falstaff.' But most donors, board members and cas...