Houston real estate stars partner with Italian design house to elevate Upper Kirby living
It all started with a chair. When Jacob Sudhoff and Jerry Hooker were furnishing their home two-and-a-half years ago, they selected a white chair from Italian brand Giorgetti for their foyer. They were smitten with its elegant shape and exquisite finishes, and started looking into its Italian designer. They discovered in Giorgetti a 120-year-old br...
Fabio Luisi to become music director of the Dallas Symphony
Fabio Luisi has been hired as music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra starting with the 2020-21 season. The 59-year-old Italian will conduct a concert next spring and become music director designate for the 2019-20 season, the orchestra said Monday. He agreed to a contract through the 2023-24 season. Luisi will become just the fourth music...
Drink This Now: the Negroni Sbagliato at Fachini
As you are already aware, this week is an homage to the Negroni, that brilliant, ruby-hued Italian cocktail that so captures the effortless class of La Dolce Vita-style 1960s Rome. Usually, it’s an equal mix of gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth, garnished with an orange peel. Served in an old-fashioned cut-glass tumbler, it’s simple, sophisticated,...
Azul Italian Kitchen brings 30 years of service to the table
With a dedicated owner who has spent more than 30 years perfecting recipes, Azul Italian Kitchen carefully crafts each dish for residents in the Cy-Fair area. Azul, formerly known as Antonia’s Italian Ristorante, serves a variety of Italian cuisine, from risotto to flatbreads. Roberto Rosa, owner and head chef, said he renovated the restaurant in 2...
A Mama's Pizza mystery solved! (And special deals to mark 50 years)
Turning 50, Mama's Pizza is proving it is more than a memory. The old-world pizzeria voted the city's best for three generations has added thin-crust or gluten-free pizzas, grilled chicken, Alfredo sauce "white pizzas" and toppings such as spinach or basil. On June 11-17, all six Mama's locations will feature 50th anniversary specials. Some days, p...
Piancastelli signs pro softball contract
Former McNeese State softball standout Erika Piancastelli signed a one-year deal last week with the Scrap Yard Fast Pitch, an independent women’s professional softball team. Piancastelli will split time with the Scrap Yard Fast Pitch and the Italian National team, for which she played the last three years. The four-time Southland Conference Player...
A Well-Crafted Muffaletta Is the Perfect Sandwich
Wherever you’re going this summer—plane, train, automobile, beach, campsite, whatever—you’re going to need to bring some substantive travel snacks with you. And while pizza-flavored gas-station snacks are always a worthy choice, the smartest move you can make is a DIY Italian sub. Specifically, a muffaletta: New Orleans’ favorite deli sandwich is o...
OLLI Students Create Lifelong Memories During Educational Tour of Rome
Seventeen Osher Life Long Learning Institute students recently concluded an eight-day class and educational tour of Rome. The trip, which was organized by the University of Arkansas Rome Center and the Office for Study Abroad and International Exchange, was the first of its kind for OLLI and marked the institute's 10th anniversary. "It was a pleasu...
Mondavi works to sustain the tradition of his family's famous name
When your family name is synonymous with the development of the U.S. wine industry, the responsibility to carry the name could have been too much to endure. Had Tim Mondavi chosen an industry other than wine, he would not have been the first scion of a famous family to walk away from the business, but the son of Robert Mondavi chose to embrace the...
New La Vista 101 restaurant opens today
The new restaurant, at 1805 W. 18th St. in the Lazybrook/Timbergrove neighborhood marks the return of longtime Houston restaurateur Greg Gordon who operated La Vista in Briargrove for nearly 20 years before closing it in 2017. Here's what you can expect from La Vista 101. The food: Italian dishes with Mediterranean influences as well as a few nods...
"Father Frank" honored for 50 years of service to community
To know Rev. Francis Carabello, is to love him! And the proof was in the pudding when hundreds of people attended his Mass and reception that celebrated his 50th priestly ordination. Father Frank, as he's called by locals, was the pastor of St. Joseph's from 1980 until his retirement in 2009. After almost 30 years as pastor, it wasn't surprising th...
Louisiana forbids naming public buildings for living persons; here's the latest exception
Louisiana proscribes the naming of public buildings for living persons. But the Legislature regularly makes exceptions, one of the latest being a law letting Kenner name its $12 million police headquarters for former Chief Nick Congemi, 75. The House of Representatives approved the exemption in an 83-0 vote on April 6. The Senate followed with a 32...