Màstra Italian Bakery Bistro offers diners a somewhat rare experience around here—a family-owned, non-chain restaurant. The small, bright and simply designed restaurant is located at 476 N. 900 W. in American Fork, just east of Costco and is owned and operated by Italian native Jonathan Cagnacci. Cagnacci was born and raised in Genova, Italy, befor...

The NBA trade deadline is nearing, and the Detroit Pistons are the first team to make a move ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET cutoff time. ESPN reports that the Pistons are trading Kevin Knox II, whom they reacquired in November, a 2024 second-round pick, and the draft rights to Gabriele Procida to the Utah Jazz for Simone Fontecchio.  This marks back...

Introducing the latest in the Bartolo’s line (and the restaurant’s new flagship location), Bartolo’s Station Park opened its doors on Tuesday, January 9, boasting a full-day’s menu of fresh Italian fare for Davis County diners to enjoy.  Owners Alex and Rhea Bartolo also have locations of their restaurants in Park City and Sugar House, and are look...

At 28 years old and in only his second season in the league, Utah Jazz Italian wing Simone Fontecchio is having a strong season for the Salt Lake City franchise ever since Finnish forward Lauri Markkanen went down with an injury. But, who is Simone Fontecchio? Fontecchio is a sophomore in the NBA, even though he's already 28 years old. He joined th...

South Valley residents, rejoice! A new restaurant is opening up in your neck of the woods in December. Scelto (pronounced shell-toe) is opening up soon in Aspen Plaza at 849 E 9400 S. I, for one, am heartened that this is a non-chain restaurant opening up in South Valley. We need more of those. Press release from Scelto below. This December, Scelto...

When you name a restaurant after yourself, you know there’s a big personality and presence behind the endeavor. There’s no better example than the late Valter Nassi, namesake of Valter’s Osteria, who charmed guests for years in three different restaurants around downtown Salt Lake. With Valter’s recent passing, the baton seems to have transferred t...

I have a good friend who’s a very knowledgeable wine expert and talented ex-chef and restaurateur. So when he talks about food and wine, I listen. That’s because he is very discriminating about both. So when he told Faith and me about a new Italian restaurant – raved about it, actually – I was thrilled. That’s because there are only a handful of It...

The Salt Lake City Council convened on the evening of Oct. 17, 2023, to declare October as Italian-American Heritage Month. The Council voted unanimously to adopt a ceremonial resolution—jointly with Mayor Erin Mendenhall—declaring October as Italian-American Heritage Month. During the process of adopting this resolution, Council member Victoria Pe...

Mark your calendars! Festa Italiana SLC is returning to The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City on September 16-17, 2023. The festival will be open on Saturday from 12-10 p.m., and Sunday from 12-7 p.m. Hosted by the Italian-American Civic League of Utah (IACL), this year’s eighth annual Festa Italiana promises to deliver an authentic Italian street...

Like most kids growing up in the suburbs, I came to appreciate Italian food by way of Chef Boyardee. Those initial doses of canned ravioli helped me develop a deep and enduring love of the Old Spaghetti Factory out in Taylorsville, which was often the site of our little league football post-season dinners. I was lucky enough to have two older broth...