NEWS FROM : SOUTH  

A new restaurant, Lyla, has opened in one of the most notable spaces in Uptown on McKinney Avenue, where Primo's Tex-Mex was for decades. Lyla comes from the Dallas-based hospitality group GAP Concepts, which also owns the Instagram-ready, bright-pink spot XOXO. The theme for the menu and decor is coastal Italian, much like the destinations Capri,...

An acclaimed chef is debuting a new Italian restaurant with a truly original approach. Called Miss Pasta, it's from chef Giuliano Matarese and his wife Tiziana Cosentino, and will open in the Shire complex at 3613 Shire Blvd. #100 in Richardson. A native of Naples, Matarese worked on the East Coast at restaurants such as Charlie Palmer's Aureole in...

Sometimes, you just have to go old school. I had planned this week to review a promising new restaurant that I recently saw in my travels around the area. Turns out, it's so new that it's not even open yet. Searching for a Plan B, I struck upon Corelli's Italian Cafe, the long-time restaurant on Highway 6 in Sugar Land. I'm not entirely sure when C...

It's an Italian invasion in Houston — and it's happening in the name of accelerating innovation within aerospace. For the first time, Italy has announced an international aerospace-focused program in the United States. The Italian Trade Agency and Italian Space Agency will partner with Space Foundation to launch Space It Up, an initiative that will...

There are 20 glorious sandwiches on the menu at Francolini’s, which opened to much fanfare at 3987 Tchoupitlouas Street in mid-July — 14 of them hot, six cold. There are sandwiches piled with prosciutto cotto, mortadella, salami, capicola, prosciutto di Parma, speck, hot and sweet soppressata, and rare roast beef. There are sandwiches stacked with...

Italy celebrated the return Friday of 266 antiquities from the United States, including Etruscan vases and ancient Roman coins and mosaics worth tens of millions of euros (dollars) that were looted and sold to U.S. museums and private collectors.  The returned items include artifacts recently seized in New York from a storage unit belonging to Bri...

George's Little Rock, 5510 Kavanaugh Blvd., in Little Rock’s Pulaski Heights, is set to open Aug.19, offering “traditional homemade Italian cuisine … promising an exceptional dining experience for locals and visitors alike,” according to a news release. According to the bio on the restaurant's Instagram account, reservations for George's have gone...

Terra Vino Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar opened at the former location of Avanti Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar at 2520 Research Forest Drive, Ste. 500, The Woodlands, on July 26, according to a news release from the Orioli Restaurant Group. The restaurant features contemporary Italian cuisine made from scratch, including antipasti, handmade pasta, artisa...

Bria's Italian Ice & Ice Cream, featuring fruit-flavored ices with all natural ingredients, is now open at 10106 S. Sheridan Road. The locally owned shop features Italian ice, which differs from the American snow cone in that the ice is more finely ground, and the flavorings rely on natural fruit juices or pureés. Available flavors will change depe...

Marie Bennett keeps her Italian heritage close to the heart when it comes to perseverance and drive. The owner of the former Marie’s Italian Grill is giving the restaurant a second chance as Marie’s Italian Kitchen. “It’s the same love for our customers and the same amazing Italian food,” Marie said of the new restaurant’s amenities at 1601 E. Pine...

As part of the 100th Anniversary Convention of the American Association of Teachers of Italian, held July 5-8 in Catania, Sicily, faculty from the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures combined to present a panel on "Gaming the Mediterranean: Teaching and Researching through Virtual Reality."  Assistant professor Rhodora Vennaruc...

A little TCU-area taqueria and bakery turned into a big hit. Now, Belenty’s Love will add an Italian restaurant and coffee bar next door, Vida Cafe. Belenty’s tastes like other taquerias. It serves chiles rellenos, burritos, bowls, tacos, chalupas and quesadillas, all with margaritas and plenty of fresh salsa. But it’s not exactly the same., becaus...