NEWS FROM : SOUTH EAST  

Father’s Day is the day for all dads, and for me it means so much in so many ways. My dad came to America when he was just 15 years old, alone and on a boat from Italy. In 1927, that journey took almost a month. When he arrived to Ellis Island in New York, he was processed along with the thousands of other wide-eyed, scared immigrants. Once he comp...

Many locals on the north end of the Grand Strand know where to go for some good Italian food in a friendly environment without breaking the bank. Pizzeli’s Italian Oven on U.S. 17 North just past Mineola Avenue has become a well-known restaurant in Little River in the nearly five years it’s been around. Friends are frequently seen meeting up in the...

Dot Brown stands with Scott Groth, owner of Bellini’s Italian Restaurant, after a satisfying meal of spaghetti and a house salad. Our family went out to dinner to celebrate the Hotel Putnam’s recent victory and DeLand winning the America’s Main Street contest. What better place to celebrate than Bellini’s Italian Restaurant, a family-owned DeLand r...

He is a World Cup champion, two-time Champions League winner and four-time Serie A Defender of the Year. The $33 million transfer fee A.C. Milan paid to get him from Lazio is one of the highest-ever for a defender. His perfectly timed slide tackles, pace and grit were on full display in a 2011 Champions League match when he repeatedly thwarted Barc...

Positano’s household name, Le Sirenuse, has arrived Stateside, with a restaurant and champagne bar situated in the historic Miami landmark the Surf Club. Serving authentic Italian cuisine at the iconic oceanfront property, in a space designed by Joseph Dirand, Le Sirenuse Miami is the family-owned resort’s first venture away from its Amalfi home. S...

Finding Buon Appetito Cafe in south Fort Myers still takes a little work. Set away from the streets amid nondescript rows of office buildings on Corporate Court off College Parkway, the restaurant is easy to miss. But scratch-made Italian dishes and familial service have drawn people to it for more than 13 years.  Most customers hear about Buon App...

Herbert “Herb” Montalbano Sr., the advertising executive whose 57-year career include creating successful marketing campaigns and catchphrases for dozens of local businesses and clients, died Tuesday. He was 85. Montalbano and his wife of 43 years, Cheryl, founded the advertising company, Herbert P. Montalbano Inc. Advertising and Public Relations,...

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, wounded Wednesday after a gunman opened fire on an Alexandria, Virginia baseball field, has stepped up to the plate for Republicans many times since taking office in 2008. His first year playing in the annual congressional baseball game, he wore a jersey repping his alma mater, Louisiana State University. In 2011,...

When Elena Mullano first landed on United States soil, she was not stepping into a different country, but jumping into one of the many American films she had seen as she grew up. The 17-year-old Italian hailing from Sardinia, a large island in the middle of the Tyrrhenian Sea, said it was an almost immediate reaction when she stepped off the plane....

You haven't truly had fettuccine Alfredo until you've had it served from a wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Ruota di Parmigiano — Italian for "wheel of Parmesan" — is the specialty of Divieto Ristorante in Coconut Point in Estero. Order it and a friendly server will appear tableside with a large wheel of the salty cheese and freshly prepared fettuccin...

You can almost smell the sauces from those family recipes. Almost. “It’s been one thing after another,” Antonella Scibilia, 47, says about the Italian restaurant she was hoping to have open this month downtown. “I don’t even know if it will be July, but it’s coming.” And be assured, when “Antonella’s Italian Ristorante – A Touch of Italy” does open...

At age 7, Anthony Salvatore used to stand on top of tomato cases. This allowed him to peer over the edge of his father’s countertop and make his first pizzas. Thousands of pizzas and almost 30 years later, Salvatore, 35, no longer needs a boost. At Mangia Bene, one of the oldest and only authentic Italian restaurants in Cape Coral, the pizza pies a...