A historical replica has made its way to Chattanooga. La Pinta will be docked at Ross’s Landing until November 19. It was the first ship to discover land during Christopher Columbus’ famous voyage on October 12, 1492. The ship stopped in Chattanooga overnight a couple of weeks ago on her journey to Knoxville. Folks are invited to view the replica s...

Marking the Italian-American dining destination’s first-ever expansion beyond New York City, Frankies Nashville houses the main restaurant Frankies 925 Spuntino, a garden, a forthcoming specialty foods store, and the Pizzeria.  As the same menu at Frankies in New York, the menu at Frankies 925 Spuntino features seasonally driven dishes including si...

While chef and restaurateur Anthony Scotto made his mark in New York by operating Fresco by Scotto in Midtown Manhattan for three decades, recently, he turned his sights on Nashville. After visiting the city for the past several years to visit their daughter in college, Scotto and his wife, Theresa, fell for Nashville’s charms and made the move, de...

The Black Olive has been serving the Tri-Cities for nearly the last two decades. Co-owners Kinsey Holliday and Moe Farrouki started the business as Primo’s in Elizabethton 17 years ago. Just a few years after starting, they expanded to Jonesborough and changed to what is known today as The Black Olive. Bringing authentic Italian food and flavors to...

The Volunteer State may be landlocked, but that hasn’t stopped organizers of an education tour from bringing a replica of one of Christopher Columbus’ ships to Tennessee in October and November. On Friday, Oct. 13, the Pinta will open as a “floating museum” for dockside educational tours at Fort Loudon Marina, 5200 City Park Drive, Lenoir City, unt...

Patrick Whalen and Chef Jamie Lynch of The 5th Street Group have introduced a new restaurant to Nashville’s central business district, a sibling to their Church & Union, opened in 2021. On the ground level of downtown’s iconic L&C Tower, Ophelia’s Pizza + Bar takes its design and culinary cues from Italian restaurants of the ’60s—and some philosoph...

I was a sports columnist in Jacksonville, Florida, when I accepted a similar job at the Knoxville News Sentinel in the summer of 1987. A man who worked in the production department of the Jacksonville paper seemed more excited than I was. We worked in different areas of the paper, so it was hardly surprising we had never spoken before. But when he...

Knoxville, Tennessee, seems an unlikely locale for one of jazz’s most promising and enterprising young pianists. For Margherita Fava, however, the Marble City is a great place to live and work. “It’s a hidden gem,” the Italian-born, 27-year-old says, speaking by phone from Knoxville. “The pandemic has been a catalyst for the scene here. A lot of na...

If you’ve been paying close attention, you might have noticed that Italian cocktails are having a serious moment. The recent revival likely started with the classic Negroni penetrating the national consciousness with its hundredth anniversary in 2019. Today, the trend has switched to espresso martinis, as drinkers are looking for that late-night pi...

Little Italy is expanding east. Known for its made-to-order New York-style pizza and homemade pastas, the original location is in Midtown at 1495 Union Ave. A second location opened about five years ago in Downtown Memphis at 106 GE Patterson Ave. There is also a Bartlett location at 7717 U.S. 70 that, like the Downtown restaurant, is independently...