Osteria Rago is working on new ways to bring in customers
Only a sidewalk sign on Kirkwood Avenue points to the alley where Osteria Rago is located. One of Bloomington’s newest Italian restaurants, which is owned by the same people who own Nick’s English Hut, has been open since Jan. 17. But its inconspicuous location can make it difficult to find. “We haven’t done a lot of advertising to get the masses i...
Starbucks Opening Italy Import Princi Bakery/Bar in Chicago Next Week
Starbucks is opening the newest restaurant on Randolph Street, home to big-name chefs like Stephanie Izard and Rick Bayless. The coffee giant is bringing pizza al taglio and more to Chicago next week when it opens the second U.S. outlet of Princi, a bakery from Italy that arrived stateside earlier this summer in Seattle. A New York location will op...
Tuscan Sun' to downtown Fortville
Fortville is one of Midwest’s many tiny Main Street towns. Three square miles. Population 4,000. Famous for a giant statue of a pink elephant wearing horn-rimmed glasses and drinking a martini outside a liquor store. Not exactly the place you expect to go restaurant hopping. Simone and Elizabeth Lucarini see Fortville another way: a budding, easy-l...
Norcia Bakery reaches the century mark
CANTON Ownership has changed hands, but the Norcia Bakery recipes are intact, and it seems that everybody loves a pepperoni roll. John Norcia launched the Italian bakery in 1918 and it still is going strong after a century. The Norcia family immigrated from Italy early in the 20th century, bringing the original recipe for bread and hard rolls. Mike...
Benito's Cafe renovation plans call for adding new bar, kitchen, menu items
Benito’s Cafe in Novi plans to add gelato, sorbet, Italian beer and espresso to its menu after a bricks and mortar expansion this fall. “It’s pretty exciting and it’s been in the works for a while. If you go to an Italian cafe in Italy, they have liquor, espresso and you can get gelato, too. That’s what we’ve always tried to strive for with this co...
Lakewood's tiny Molto Bene serves up delicious Italian cuisine in a charming setting
Sometimes, and often when it's least expected, you stumble across a restaurant that just seems to radiate joy. There's that frisson of buoyant anticipation as you walk in and an enveloping happiness that accompanies you to whatever table happens to be open. It doesn't matter which one, they all seem to be equally great. That democratically dis...
The storied tradition behind Springfield’s Italian-owned pizza house
The Catanzaro family opened their first fancy fruit and fresh vegetable stand at the old City Market in 1889. Russ Catanzaro was born in 1911. He served in World War II, and then returned home to Springfield to work again in the family business. Russ and his son Joe decided to build their own shop on Dayton Avenue in 1951. When they first opened, t...
CIAP #39 Presents: The 1st Annual Meatball Fest
CIAP (Chicagoland Italian American Professionals) #39 Presents: The 1st Annual Meatball Fest (September 16th @ Nonna D's - 7109 Roosevelt Rd, Berwyn, IL 60402 - 11:30pm to 3pm). $40 for non-members; $20 for members. This is the event you have been waiting for! The 1st annual meatball fest. Homecooks wanted! Bring your homecooked meatballs and parti...
Italian eatery La Roccia debuts in Lincoln Park
A new bar and Italian restaurant, offering pizza and more, has opened up shop in the neighborhood. The new arrival to Lincoln Park, called La Roccia, is located at 1909 N. Lincoln Ave. in the old Bricks Pizza spot. Featuring red-and-white-checkered tablecloths and exposed brick walls, the new restaurant is in a cozy, underground space.Pasta dishes...
Mama T's Italian Steakhouse in Huntingburg continues Sicilian family dining traditions
Huntingburg is a cute little town about an hour to our northeast, where shoppers browse for antiques and gifts on historic Fourth Street. Also on Fourth Street, locals and visitors alike flock to Mama T’s Italian Steakhouse for a dinner of pasta, lasagna, meat and seafood specials from the grill, homemade desserts and more. Chef and owner Brandon A...
3-Foot-Long Pizzas Could Make this River North Italian Restaurant Different
In a neighborhood full of Italian options, chef Joe Farina is giving River North another with Victory Italian, a spinoff of his South Loop restaurant, Armand’s Victory Tap. Farina’s new restaurant opens on Monday at 434 W. Ontario Street. The former Rosebud chef described it as a neighborhood restaurant that gives River North a refreshing change of...
Mino's Italian in Winnetka tries to make dinner an experience
When Eric Fosse and Glenn Deutsch teamed up to open Mino's Italian in Winnetka, they decided to create a restaurant they wanted to eat at. "We built this based on what we wanted," said Deutsch, a Winnetka resident. "We didn't mold this into what we thought would possibly satisfy every person. We found out a lot of people wanted that as well." Since...