2018 Best of the Best Italian Restaurants in Washington County, Greene County and the South Hills
Nothing beats a hearty plate of homemade spaghetti and meatballs, and it just so happens that our region’s rich history produces plenty of it. Many of our local Italian restaurants have been staples in their communities for decades. And if you don’t find their pastas appealing, there’s plenty of other tantalizing items on the menu. But don’t take o...
New Bloomfield Groceria fills old space in Pittsburgh’s ‘Little Italy’
Visitors will notice the crisp chef hat with the blue stripe. It adorned the head of Bloomfield Groceria owner Rich Trocchio as he created a made-to-order hoagie for a customer Thursday. “You remember Isaly’s?” he asked, referring to one of Pittsburgh iconic family-owned dairies and restaurants. “This is an old Italy’s hat. It’s a classic.” Trocchi...
Carnevale! event funds scholarships for culinary industry trainees
Cape Region food industry professionals recently teamed up to help local high schoolers realize their dreams. Every spring, the business of eating here in the Cape Region faces the inescapable fact that trustworthy, skilled help in professional kitchens is getting harder to find. In response to this, the Delaware Restaurant Association stepped up t...
Aviano's Corner Trattoria finds a home at former Taste Taste location in downtown York
It has only been a little over a month since Taste Test closed its doors. But a new restaurant will soon be reviving the vacant corner space at 101 S. Duke St. Aviano's Corner Trattoria & Bar is slated to open at the former site of the Taste Test incubator, according to a news release from O.N.E. Hospitality. "Aviano’s is kind of the opposite of o...
Rusticana celebrates 25 years of business
For 25 years of business, Rusticana Pizza's owners, Joann and Tony Genova, have done the same thing every morning; get up, and eat a slice of pizza. "My parents too, when we started in the business back in 1969 in Brooklyn, New York, that was the tradition," Joann Genova said. "Have a slice of pizza, the first pizza that comes out of the oven, so...
With Felina, chef Anthony Bucco takes on Ridgewood
Chef Anthony Bucco, who four months ago opened the much-ballyhooed contemporary Italian restaurant Felina in Ridgewood, does not lack confidence. The convivial, fast-talking chef ("I have a lot of energy," he explains) has reason to be self-assured. He worked for James Beard Award-winning chef Jonathan Waxman. He received four-star reviews for his...
The rite of passage
Sorry but I just can’t do it! For the last 50 years or so, I can’t enjoy my favorite pizza or pasta unless I top it off with crushed red hot pepper. As I was growing up I soon learned that my Italian-American family was like most of the others I knew. There was always a place for the long hot peppers in the vegetable garden. And aside from the...
Taste With Tori: U’Panzerott Bringing Taste Of Authentic Italian Cuisine To Horsham
On this week’s “Taste With Tori,” Vittoria Woodill takes us to a family-owned Italian restaurant and pizzeria in Horsham. The owners of U’Panzerott promise to bring a taste of Italy to you with their authentic Italian cuisine. With a glimpse of their wood-fired oven, your belly will be burning for their kind of Italian. “We cook in our way, I mean...
Benny Ventano's - a new giant-slice pizza place - is now open in Fan District
Benny Ventano's - the new restaurant in the former Continental Divide / Mint / Davis & Main space - is now open. Benny's does pizza. Giant - bigger than a tire, with slices bigger than your face - pizza. It's kind of their thing. In fact, pizza is kind of their only thing. The menu at the Richmond Benny's, which opened April 8 at 2501 W. Main St.,...
Quality meets authenticity at Philadelphia Seafood & Italian
When Allen Peake and Chef Joel Gruneich took over Philadelphia's cheesesteak restaurant, they had a vision to elevate the experience without changing the things people loved about the place. That's why you'll still find the most authentic Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwiches around on the menu, but now they're made with hand-sliced, grass-fed Bently...
Stellina Pizzeria Opens Near Union Market With Southern Italian Street Food
A creative crop of pizzerias is popping up around Washington, from rectangular pan pies at Sonny’s to New York-style slices at Turu, and Wisconsin-esque rounds at Nicoletta. Now two native Italians, Antonio Matarazzo and chef Matteo Venini, are offering their spin on “neo-Neapolitan” pizzas, sandwiches, and street snacks at Stellina Pizzeria near U...
As a boy in Sicily, he dreamed of owning a restaurant in the U.S.; today, he owns 4 in Berks
Sicilian-born Gino Billeci had a dream at a young age to come to the United States and own his own restaurant. Today he owns four: Gino's Café, Shillington; Gino's Grille, Cumru Township; Blue Marsh Italian Restaurant, Penn Township; and Rocky's Pizza, Reading. “This is the American dream and I say people should always go in that direction,” said B...