Michelin-Starred Chef Mark Ladner Comes Full Circle With Bar Enza
Michelin-starred chef Mark Ladner is having a full circle moment. Back in the 80s, the Belmont native got his initial taste of the restaurant industry working at Café Fiorella in Harvard Square. After pursuing a culinary degree at Johnson & Wales, he worked at Olives in Charlestown alongside Todd English before deciding to move to New York. Spendin...
West Haven's Zuppardi's Apizza Opening New Spot In Ansonia
West Haven's iconic Zuppardi's Apizza is expanding with plans to open a prep kitchen with a takeout storefront in Ansonia, the owners announced this week. "We are excited to announce that our newest addition to the Zuppardi's family business is finally developing in Ansonia, CT!" reads a post on the Zuppardi's Facebook page. "Our Ansonia space is...
Greenwich, Connecticut, Gets A First-Rate Steakhouse And Italian Restaurant All In One At Macelleria
Greenwich, Connecticut, has long needed both a high quality steakhouse and a fine Italian restaurant. Macelleria, which debuted in Pelham, New York, two years ago, with a second in Armonk, has managed to provide both to this suburban city on the Gold Coast within one splendid-looking space. Owner Tony Lala is one of those Albanian immigrants who w...
Food Network Super Star Guy Fieri in Boston at His Tremont Street Restaurant
The spiky-haired, sunglass-wearing chef was in town getting his Guy Fieri’s Boston Kitchen + Bar ready for opening recently, and he brought the excitement. He is putting the finishing touches on the menu, but you can be sure that the food will be delicious. His wife is from Rhode Island, and he has been through the area a lot recently and is really...
Former deli owner returns to Newtown with pizzeria, Italian ice/gelateria
As with a lot of business owners, Artie Praino faced a problem when he was opening his latest venture, Gino’s Parlor of Sandy Hook. But in Praino’s case, it wasn’t the uncertainty of opening a restaurant in the midst of a still-active pandemic or lacking the wherewithal to get it off the ground: It was an unexpected shortage of available employees....
Papa Gino's Celebrates 60th Birthday by Bringing Back 'Paparoni' Pizza
This year marks Papa Gino’s 60th year as New England’s neighborhood pizzeria. That’s 60 years of Friday pizza and movie nights, 60 years of little league celebrations, 60 years of living room game day parties, and of course, 60 years of birthdays for excited kids of all ages— This time, it’s Papa Gino’s celebrating a birthday. To honor this milesto...
New Haven's newest Italian restaurant is downtown and offers 'a modern twist'
You could forgive restaurateur Moe Gad if he had second thoughts about opening his latest venture, Villa Lulu. The decision to open the restaurant in a College Street space formerly occupied by the Samurai Japanese Restaurant was made before pandemic hit the state, sending a chill through the economy. But Gad, who in 2004 had bet on New Haven’s res...
New Italian restaurant opens at Norwalk hotel
Pasquale Conte wants to welcome guests into his restaurants like he’s welcoming them into his home. “It’s all about hospitality. You have to feel comfortable,” said Conte, owner of the new Siena Ristorante with his partner Pietro Polini at Hotel Zero Degrees at 353 Main Ave. in Norwalk. It’s the restaurant’s second location, the first being in Stam...
Fresco restaurant coming to old Blackie’s location
Fresco, an Italian and American restaurant, will take over where Blackie’s Bulldog Tavern left off after plans to open a new restaurant at its old location, 181 George Washington Highway, were tossed in the midst of COVID-19. The restaurant, which boasts “exceptional cuisine and delicious spirits,” has several other locations in Rhode Island, inclu...
Go inside Geppetto, a Long-Awaited Italian Restaurant Opening In Cambridge This Weekend
Most chefs will tell you that trying to open a restaurant in the middle of an unpredictable pandemic—one that constantly upends construction schedules, hiring processes, supply chains, and countless other details—is like trying to cross a highway while dodging 18-wheelers. For chef Will Gilson, this metaphor is perhaps a bit on the nose. “I was wal...
Review: Chef Danilo Mongillo reopens Strega, bringing his across-the-Atlantic delights to Milford
Downtown Milford, where the 17th-century green ends at the famous stone bridge, pulses with activity. Boaters pull up to sun themselves on different decks at Archie Moore’s and Flipside, enormous patios overlooking the waterfall at the headwaters of Milford harbor draw crowds in the thousands to Stonebridge, Eli’s and SBC. Shops and eateries should...
New Hartford couple bringing old-world Italy to Torrington's East Main Street
A former East Main Street bar is being transformed into an Italian restaurant and steakhouse by a longtime restaurateur from Brooklyn. Geppetto Osteriais expected to open by November, and will serve a variety of Italian specialties, along with 48-ounce steaks. Carlo Pulixi has worked on renovating O’Connor’s Public House at 26 E. Main St. all summe...