Tennessee and its people have left a mark in politics, in business and, especially, in the arts. While visiting Memphis and Nashville this week, I could not help but wonder what the music scene around the world would be like today had it not been for icons such as the Grand Ole Opry or Sun Studios. There's another way that Tennessee’s legacy has sp...

Judd Grisanti will open an East Memphis location of Ronnie Grisanti's Italian Restaurant within the next couple of months, taking over the spot at Regalia where Heritage Tavern and Kitchen closed Wednesday. "We're going to keep the one in Collierville too," Grisanti said. "I still have a lease there."  The spot at 6150 Poplar was for years Mikasa J...

All restaurants have a story, but the one behind Amerigo is better than average, not just the history of a place but a testament to a man, a vision, the vagaries of fate. Ben Brock was a kid when he went to work at Amerigo in Ridgeland, Mississippi. A college student who started as a dishwasher and worked his way up to wait tables and tend bar, he'...

Everyone’s had that crush: somebody laid-back, attractive and fun, but not necessarily your go-to guy for consistency. Sometimes he’s completely charming; other times he shows up late, wearing sweatpants and smelling like weed. When he’s good, he’s very good. When he’s bad, he’s a mess. And sometimes he makes you feel fat. That’s my relationship wi...

Frist Center for the Visual Arts - 919 Broadway, Nashville, TN. February 23–May 28, 2018. One of the most extraordinary geopolitical powers in history, the Roman Empire continues to capture the imaginations of people across the globe, nearly three thousand years after the city of Rome arose from a cluster of villages in central Italy. Rome: City an...

Tony Vitello grew up in a baseball family in the baseball-crazed city of St. Louis and spent a decade playing and coaching the sport at the University of Missouri. So it's only natural Vitello is using a concept he attributes to former St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa as he begins his first head coaching job at Tennessee. Vitello remembers...

Strano! Sicilian Kitchen & Bar is moving. The restaurant, which opened in 2014, at 948 Cooper, will move to the site of the old Jim’s Place Restaurant & Bar at Poplar and Perkins, said chef/owner Josh Steiner. Steiner is excited about the move. "We're moving to a bigger and better spot."He plans to give “a nice facelift” to the old Jim’s restaurant...

Nel quadro delle attività promozionali del quinto Summit mondiale di SelectUSA (area di Washington, D.C., 20-22 giugno 2018) Il Consolato Generale degli USA a Milano organizza tre seminari informativi sugli investimenti negli Stati Uniti che si svolgeranno a Torino (27 febbraio ‘18), Verona (28 febbraio ‘18) e Firenze (1 marzo ‘18) e che vedranno l...

With a muscle-bound hero and damsel in distress, mythological storylines and an abundance of good vs. evil drama, Mario Bava’s 1961 Italian film Hercules in the Haunted World has all the trappings of a good opera. That’s why composer Patrick Morganelli, who had been a fan of the film for many years, jumped at the chance to turn the cult-fantasy fli...

A scientist who spent years of his life pioneering the secrets hidden deep within a child’s DNA revealed his own DNA is of Irish origin. “Like Joe Birch, I’m of Irish descent,” said Dr. James R. Downing, MD after this reporter, emcee of the Italian Winterfest, made the same confession of his heritage moments earlier.