Italian groceries in Baltimore shine at the holidays and beyond
by Kit Waskom Pollard About three times a year — and always just before Christmas — Ron Frezzo, his wife, Camille, and their family, including grown daughter Cristina, travel from Silver Spring to Baltimore, where they raid the aisles at Trinacria Italian Deli on North Paca Street before heading to lunch in Little Italy. "We buy o...
Katie Parla shares the tastes of Rome
Katie Parla is living her dream in Rome, The Eternal City. She grew up in an Italian-American household in Princeton Junction, where her parents worked in various food businesses. Papa now owns Clydz restaurant in New Brunswick (known for game and specialty cocktails), while her mother, Jo Ann, gives popular cooking demos at the West Windsor Commun...
Q&A: Frankie Avalon chats about his new Italian cookbook
by Molly Eichel Singer and actor Frankie Avalon returned to his Italian Market roots last year to gather ingredients from the likes of Cannuli's Meats and Claudio's with his childhood pal Jerry Blavat for his first cookbook, Frankie Avalon's Italian Family Cookbook (St. Martin's Press, $24.99). In the book, Avalon shares recipes f...
Alfonso's Pastry Shoppe brings old-fashioned touches to Cranford
THE EXPANSION of an Italian pastry shop from Staten Island to Cranford was never intended, but when Christina Campitiello visited the location, she just couldn't resist. It was like a scene from a movie. "The town was so perfect," she says. "We were there for one minute — it felt like home." Campitiello knows from movie scenes. The or...
Italian abate fetel pears promoted on East Coast
Promotions highlighting the arrival of Italian abate fetel variety pears into the U.S. are taking place on the East Coast. Abate fetel pears from Italy's northeastern Emilia Romagna region are making their U.S. debut, according to a news release, and promotions will offer sampling events in Delaware and New York City. On Jan. 29, an Italian p...
Look What We Found in Little Italy
By Suzanne Loudermilk Haughey The tiny storefront on South High Street is back in business—this time as Joe Benny's Focacceria. Owner Joseph Benjamin Gardella, pictured above, is the genial host. Joe, 36, a first-generation Italian American, has long hoped to own a restaurant property. "I've always loved food," he says, havin...
Sicilian cooking in Trenton
April 25, 2015 Saturday 2:30 PMQuakerbridge Mall (Lawrenceville, NJ) - 150 Quaker Bridge MallTrenton, New Jersey 08648We all love Italian food and in this class we'll take the opportunity to help you master some delicious authentic dishes from southern Italy. Our chef instructor will show students how to take advantage of traditional Sici...
Fratelli's Italian Restaurant now open in Barboursville
by Paul Sebert Many Tri-State residents were saddened last year when Tascali's Decades Pasta Bar & Grill closed after 29 years when owner Darrell Smith retired. There's now a new Italian option in the village of Barboursville. Fratelli's Italian Restaurant opened it's doors in early June in the former home of Tascali's. "...
Wine-tasting event to be held at Bloomfield's Oakeside
The Center for Italian & Italian American Culture announces its kick-off celebration of the Italian Heritage Month: "Vino 2015," a wine-tasting event with wines offered by Gary's Marketplace from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1 at Oakeside Bloomfield Cultural Center, 240 Belleville Ave., Bloomfield. Tickets for members are $40 per pers...
Sip rare Italian wines at Independence Seaport Museum
Rare Italian wines will be at the Independence Seaport Museum for a tasting event April 27. The event is being hosted by Drink Philly and South Italy Imports. Attendees will have an opportunity to sample more than 40 hard-to-find wines made with different varieties of grapes from the various regions of Italy. Light appetizers will be avail...
Authentic gelato leads to SCORE award for West Chester residents
Vincenzo Tettamanti didn't start his dessert cafe on Market Street in the borough because he was pining for the old country. But he was hungry for something authentically Italian. "I always cooked, since I was little," Tettamanti recently recalled inside his Gemelli Artisanal Gelato and Dessert Cafe across from the Historic Courthouse in t...
Lavazza expanding into U.S. grocery store specialty coffee
By Marcy Nicholson Italy's Lavazza is joining the ranks of Starbucks and Gevalia in the highly competitive specialty coffee section on grocery store shelves as the nearly 120-year-old roaster makes another push into the U.S. and Canadian consumer markets. The family run business, a brand little-known by North American consumers th...