Rhode Island, the Only State with an Official Appetizer, and It’s Italian American!
Do you know that Rhode Island is the only state in the US that has an official appetizer? Yes, appetizer! The Ocean State designated that great Italian American restaurant favorite, calamari, as its state appetizer on June 27, 2014, when Governor Lincoln Chaffee signed a bill that was passed by the state legislature. The bill was sponsored by lawm...
The North End Cannoli-Shop Shooting: “The Craziest Thing Is That He Missed”
A little before 11 p.m. on a hot summer night on Hanover Street, everything in the North End was business as usual. Old-school locals talked in an animated huddle on the sidewalk, pausing in unison to watch a new-school neighbor passing by wearing a Connecticut-tight ponytail and dressed in head-to-toe Lululemon. The owner of Dolce Vita Ristorante ...
Italian Food & Heritage Celebrated at Old Labor Hall in Barre
Last Tuesday, Nov. 21, Robert Campo handed a visitor a small paper plate holding two perfect ravioli covered in a bright, fresh red sauce. The co-owner of Campo di Vino in South Barre said by the end of the holiday season, he’d be making 50,000 more of those raviolis, many filled with a nugget of local sausage, made from a recipe originating with h...
Member-based Italian supper club coming to South Norwalk from former Rowayton Seafood manager
Josie & Tony's will bring a new style of dining to South Norwalk in the 20 North Main St. space that used to house Pasta Nostra. Owner Josh Mesnik said that he wanted to create a private membership dining club to provide more tailored customer service and a high-end experience. But non-members will also be able to dine there. "It's exciting, it's d...
Italian bakery, pastry shop finds new life in South Meriden after closing New Haven location
Rocco’s Village Bakery has found a second lease on life on South Meriden’s Main Street. The bakery, which occupied a location in New Haven for 40 years, closed in June after the owners Antonio and Anna DiBenedetto decided to retire, unable to keep up with the work demands at their age. Their son Ferdinando DiBenedetto, the lead baker in the establ...
Boston-Based Sicilian Natural Wine Brand, Alileo, is Bringing a Taste of Sicily to Common Craft in The Burlington Mall This Winter
Alileo, a Boston-based Sicilian boxed natural wine brand, and The Burlington Mall announced today the launch of "alileo vino e snak bar", bringing a Sicilian wine and food experience to Common Craft in The Burlington Mall this winter. Off the heels of its first incredibly successful summer pop-up in Boston, the second "alileo vino e snak bar" will...
Providence's first food hall has a name, merchants and an opening date. What to expect.
It was back in March 2021 that plans for Providence’s first food hall in the city’s Union Station were announced by Marsella Development Corporation. The hall now has a name, Track 15, a first lineup of food and drink merchants and a tentative opening date of late summer 2024. Issues with renovating a historic building and pandemic supply-chain...
Iconic Carbone’s Ristorante returning to Hartford
Carbone’s Ristorante, once a Hartford icon, is returning to the city. The restaurant spent eight decades in Hartford until it closed because of the pandemic. Now, the owner is looking to reopen in the old movie theater at Columbus Boulevard and Front Street. The Italian restaurant used to be on Franklin Avenue. That old location still sits there, w...
Father-daughter team opens Italian 'grab and go' restaurant in Trumbull, 123 Pronto
A father-daughter duo have recently opened what they say is a first-of-its kind gourmet grab-and-go restaurant. The restaurant, called 123 Pronto Gourmet Prepared Meals To Go & Catering, serves packaged, freshly made Italian cuisine that customers can pick up on their way home and pop in the oven, according to co-owner Claudia Tecla. “Everything i...
Old-school Italian at a massive restaurant on a pond off a side street
If you read through websites that reminisce about long-closed restaurants in the Greater Boston area and elsewhere in New England, you’ll inevitably see references to a certain type of dining spot that continues to disappear from the local landscape: the multi-room family-friendly restaurants that were often seen as destination spots. Some well-kno...
Favio’s Trattoria brings its own Italian flair to Center Street in Wallingford
Favio's Trattoria, Center Street's latest culinary venture which opened on Sunday, has brought another taste of Italy to the neighborhood, offering a variety of traditional Italian cuisine for customers. The eatery at 80 Center St. is Favio Pillacela’s fourth restaurant. He runs the business with his brother and cousin. The three also run Serafino...
Evviva Trattoria Opens Rochester New Hampshire Location
Evviva Trattoria®, a Massachusetts-based restaurant brand featuring locally-sourced modern Italian cuisine, opened its first location outside of Massachusetts in Rochester, New Hampshire at 155 Marketplace Blvd. Led by award-winning Chef Anthony DePalma, director of operations for Evviva Trattoria, guests enjoy Italian-inspired, locally made cuisin...
