Olive Garden: Dining Healthily In Hospitaliano!
Italian-American food chain Olive Garden has been hitting headlines lately as they have recently opened their first restaurant in Chicago and plan to implement online ordering chain-wide by August. Among the high points of visiting Olive Garden, which include never-ending salad, is the chain's devotion to family friendliness – their slogan...
Event and wedding planner Michelle Durpetti
by Alanna Chiefari Entrepreneurial roots run deep within event planner Michelle Durpetti. The daughter of Tony and Marion Durpetti, owners of Chicago's legendary Gene & Georgetti restaurant, and granddaughter of the restaurant's late cofounder Gene Michelotti, she boasts an impressive hospitality industry pedigree. Never one to rest o...
Lockkeeper's chef Leandri brings Italian decadence to winter squash recipes
Chef Alberto Leandri shot me a skeptical look when I said winter squash was native to North America, and I didn't blame him. His family has been growing it, cooking it and eating it in their village outside of Venice since he can remember. To him, it's an entirely Italian thing. Most Italians would be happy to say the same about tomatoes....
Rustic Italian restaurant opens in River North - J. Rocco Italian Table & Bar
The casual eatery extends a "mom and pop" spirit alongside a menu of rustic Italian cuisine. The restaurant's name pays homage to the partners' Calabrian heritage (Chef Chiapetti and Joseph Frasca), and all of the relatives who have enriched their lives over memorable meals. Expect a menu of regional signatures by Chef Chiappetti - who has...
It's official: Giordano's headed to Market Place later this year
University of Illinois students will have something new to sink their teeth into when they're back in Champaign-Urbana. Sometime later this year, Chicago-based Giordano's will bring its famed stuffed deep-dish pizza to Market Place Mall, a corporate spokeswoman confirmed Thursday to The News-Gazette. "We believe that Champaign is a gr...
Contadino Will Do Full-Tilt Italian in Downtown Wilmette
Sometimes the way forward is the same way you’ve been going, just with greater purpose. So hope the owners of Contadino (1146 Wilmette Ave., Wilmette, 847-920-5962), an Italian restaurant opening in mid-March in downtown Wilmette. Compared to its predecessor in the space, The Avenue, another Italian place under similar ownership, Contadi...
Trattoria Gianni Still Thriving after 25 Years of Serving Authentic Italian
by Paul Blasco It's been 25 years since Gianni Delisi opened up his dream restaurant on Halsted Street. And in a few months, he will mark the 25th anniversary of the day his future wife walked in the front door. For Delisi, the block has changed a great deal over the past 25 years, but the authentic Italian dishes that made t...
9,200 Square Feet Of Italian Food Doesn’t Get Any Easier With Age
by Madeline Skaggs Dan Rosenthal hasn't opened a restaurant in more than 10 years. Now the man behind Trattoria No. 10 and Sopraffina Marketcaffes is about to open two restaurants in one space in Streeterville. Rosenthal, a 45-year industry veteran, is planning another Sopraffina — his sixth — and an as-yet-unnamed small-plates It...
Dolce Italian Will Debut in River North This Summer
by Penny Pollack and Graham Meyer Like Anita Ekberg, Dolce Italian (Godfrey Hotel, 127 W. Huron St., no phone yet) plans to make a splash in early summer when it opens in Italian-crowded River North. Along with a second Dolce Italian in development in Atlanta, the Chicago location will join the famiglia of Miami's Dolce Italian, a...
Tony Quartaro pays homage to his family's Italian kitchen at Formento's
"My entire upbringing is based in Italian-American food," says chef Tony Quartaro. "My grandma is a major inspiration for me, and there are pictures of me when I was 8 years old making gnocchi with my dad." Quartaro is poised to bring that traditional Italian family cooking — with a few twists — to Chicago's dining scene when Formento's opens in Ja...
Italian chef brings authentic tastes of home to Batavia
Anyone who travels will most likely agree that the best restaurants are those that are known mainly by local residents. These small eateries where the owner is often the chef survive on reputation so the food is prepared with personal passion. The Aurora Area Convention and Visitors Bureau is trying to discover these best-kept secrets by ho...
The Italian Expo Expresso
The Italian American Chamber of Commerce invites you to The Italian Expo Expresso - Tuesday, October 27, 2015, 5:00- 9:00 PM - Bridgeport Art Center - 1200 W 35th St. Chicago, IL 60609 This Tuesday October 27th, we are keeping the ball rolling on the fun and throwing our next one-night event - The Italian Expo...