Casa Di Pietro Brings Innovative Italian to Kenilworth
Chef Giusppe Di Pietro spent 20 years cooking in kitchens all over New Jersey. Now he’s achieving one of his life goals with the opening of his first restaurant, Casa Di Pietro, in Kenilworth. Guests can expect traditional Italian cuisine with a blend of modern flavors. Chef Di Pietro says the restaurant has a “cozy elegance” to it. “When we redid...
Ingrained Italian work ethic takes Maria Perdikis around the world
Maria Perdikis grew up dirt-poor in Italy (literally – her house had dirt floors), rode a donkey to the hospital when she had typhoid and ended school in fifth grade to help on the family farm. Contrast that hardscrabble existence to her world today, the result of a lifetime of hard work and her ingrained Italian work ethic: owner of the Newport Fa...
Where to Get Arancini in Hoboken
Hoboken residents are no strangers to Italian cuisine. Hoboken has a long history of welcoming in Italian-Americans who have built up businesses, including authentic restaurants, making the Mile Square City a hotspot for Italian food. While most people are very familiar with the different pastas and meat dishes that are seen in Italian restaurants,...
New Italian Restaurant In Bridgewater To Host Grand Opening
Bridgewater (NJ) resident Abolfo Bergara is holding a ribbon cutting for his newest restaurant, Mia Italian Restaurant, off Route 202/206 on Saturday. The ribbon cutting will be attended by Bridgewater Mayor Matthew Moench at 11:30 a.m. at 959 Route 202/206. This is Bergara's second restaurant to open in Somerset County as he also owns La Cascada B...
Saint Ravioli Doles Out Divine Pasta By The Dozen In Bloomfield
Little Italy Days 2022 meant big business for Justin Avi. The 37-year-old opened his Saint Ravioli storefront in Bloomfield during the annual Italian festival in August and sold 500 dozen fresh quattro formaggi pasta pockets. “I was up at 5 a.m. throughout the weekend making marinara and Bolognese sauce,” Avi says. “We had a really nice turnout, es...
Upscale Italian Restaurant Opening in Mastoris in Bordentown, NJ
Ristorante Lucca & Piano Bar is coming this fall, according to its website and it looks great. Back in January when Mastoris closed its doors for good the rumor was the large space would become an upscale steakhouse, but, that's not the case. Ristorante Lucca and Piano Bar is an upscale Italian restaurant. I don't know about you, but, I love Italia...
The True Origin Of The Philly Cheesesteak
Philadelphia has a well-earned reputation as a great sandwich city. How many other cities, after all, can lay claim, as Philadelphia does, to the invention of three iconic sandwiches? According to Visit Philadelphia, the city's sandwich trinity is comprised of the hoagie, the roast pork sandwich, and the Philly cheesesteak, with their respective cr...
Signature Dish: Cucina Massi inspired by Italian heritage
Father-and-son duo Dante and Massimo Liberatore brought their heritage to Frederick with the opening of Cucina Massi. Gaze out the window at the restaurant and you’ll be greeted by a mural depicting the Italian town of Palena, from which their family hails. While their Frederick eatery is about two years old, the family has extensive experience ope...
Voltaco's, a beloved Ocean City sandwich shop, to close shortly after summer ends
Voltaco's Italian Foods, the popular family-owned sandwich shop in Ocean City, will close for good this fall, after its 69th year at shore, the the owners said Friday on social media. Voltaco's opened in 1954, operating out of a single-story, stone-front building at 957 West Ave. Over the years, the shop's blue awnings and vintage sign have been a...
Latrobe’s inaugural Italian festival to honor city’s history
Latrobe’s First Ward is known for its Italian roots and this month, community members can spend a weekend celebrating that rich history. On Sept. 10 and 11, 512 Coffee and Ice Cream will host the city’s first Italian festival. Michael Ciotti, the coffee shop’s owner, sees the event as a way to “celebrate a portion of our heritage.” “It’s cool to ce...
Chef Amy Brandwein Debuts Her New Wood-Fired, All-Day Italian Café at CityCenterDC
Centrolina chef Amy Brandwein is expanding her footprint in CityCenter DC with Piccolina 2.0—a larger, full-service version of her Italian café that closed for renovations last month. The sunny enoteca is now open and has doubled in size, with seating for 75 between the dining room and patio. All-day hours cover morning espressos and pastries, afte...
Saint Ravioli brings heavenly pasta to Bloomfield
Bloomfield has started to look a bit more heavenly, and it has nothing to do with the grand St. Joseph Church that has long loomed over the busy thoroughfare. Rather, new stained glass window accents and signage sporting little dumplings with halos have added celestial touches to the earthly storefront that previously housed the Claussen Cafehaus o...