Dining Review: Giusto in Newport
The word “freestyle” is thrown around a lot in reference to Giusto. It’s a term that allows chef-owner Kevin O’Donnell some liberties in a traditional Italian kitchen, as well as a marketing tool to announce something unexpected. It’s not entirely accurate though. Giusto is unexpected if you’re comparing it to Federal Hill but there’s nothing on th...
You can take Toscana Italian Chophouse to the bank
YOUR TRUSTY restaurant reviewer visited the newly opened eatery on Portsmouth’s Market Square on a chilly late afternoon and was seated (along with the Primary Dining Companion) on the very spot where a friendly Bank of America staffer once helped Our Gourmet wire money. It’s not the first bank to be converted to a restaurant on Market Square. Next...
Il Camino Italian Restaurant in Leominster has been serving nonni's sauce for 50 years
Louis Daigneault was 7 years old when he learned how to bread veal on top of tomato boxes in the cozy kitchen of Il Camino Italian Restaurant, and his older brother, Rick, was 12 when he and their other siblings were trained in making homemade pasta. “We were great at cracking eggs,” Rick Daigneault recalled last week. In 1970, the Daigneaults’ par...
Neighborhood Council Supports All-Alcohol License Transfer To Nando Trattoria At 393 Hanover St.
The existing site has already been rezoned for restaurant use and should complete their build-out soon. The petitioners were seeking support to transfer their all-alcohol license for use at the full-service Italian restaurant which will feature approximately forty-two seats within about 2,000 square feet. Proposed hours for this restaurant would be...
"You need to love what you're doing" - Owner of Caffe Paradiso says she's optimistic about the future
"I will remember 2020 as I had a dream, a bad dream. It was a nightmare for the whole world. There's one thing that gives me hope: After many months of silence, I've finally seen people talking to each other after a new president was elected. I now look at the year ahead with more optimism. "This year, nobody could have done things differently. The...
Tuscan Market Opens Winter Village with Ice Skating and More
No need to catch a flight to visit the Italian Alps this year—Salem, New Hampshire has turned into Trentino, Italy’s coldest city, with their Winter Giardino at Tuscan Market Salem. Join Boston Bruins alumni with Joe Faro and the Greater Salem Chamber for a ribbon cutting on Saturday, December 12 at 12:00 p.m. at Tuscan Market. Guest can now enjoy ...
Toscana Italian Chophouse opening in historic Portsmouth building
Inside the recently restored 1804 New Hampshire National Bank building in Market Square, one of the original vaults has been transformed into a wine room, abutted by humidity and temperature-controlled dry aging cabinets containing premium cuts of sirloin, long-bone ribeye and pork loin. The light-washed brick walls now have hand-painted murals in...
Longtime Bridgeport baker's cannoli pies now available in 400 Stop & Shops
"Stop & Shop makes me walk on water," John Dimarco joked. The Italian baker, who owned Luigi's Bakery in Bridgeport for 52 years and now runs Luigi's Cannoli Cafe, is talking about how happy he is about a new deal he struck with the super market chain to sell his special cannoli pies in 400 regional stores. The pies, made in Bridgeport, have been a...
Angelo’s Specialties: Authentic Italian food, right here on Elm Street
Angelo’s Specialties carries imported meats and cheeses from Italy, as well as homemade pasta, raviolis and organic olive oil. Its meat case is filled with fresh cuts of steak, homemade sausage and a ground beef mix with veal and pork for better tasting meatballs. “We have good quality food and taste,” Angelo Competiello said of the prepared foods....
Marino’s Re-opens, Offers a Taste of Middletown’s North End
The first week Francesca Vitale re-opened Marino’s Pizzeria, all the old customers came back, clamoring for the hamburg pizza her mother made famous. “On the first day, we did like 100 pizzas,” Vitale said. Vitale’s grandfather, Sebastiano Marino immigrated from Sicily in 1898 and opened a bakery on Ferry Street in Middletown’s North End in 1920. V...
‘We just want this to be very true to Italy’: Caffé Ducali opens in the North End
North End denizens and visitors will have a new way to get their morning buzz this week when the team behind a local restaurant group opens Caffé Ducali on Causeway Street. The Filmark Hospitality Group (Ristorante Lucia, Filippo, Ducali, and Cunard Tavern) is set to debut the Ducali-adjacent espresso bar in the North End on Thursday. Decked out in...
Year-old Chef Mike’s Cucina voted Needham's best restaurant in six (6!) categories
Greater Boston restaurant veteran Chef Mike Fucci opened his eponymous Chef Mike’s Cucina (73 Highland Ave., Needham, MA 02494, 781-675-2950) just over one year ago. The casual Italian family-friendly eatery has already proven the most popular restaurant in Needham and surrounding towns – despite the challenges posed by Covid-19 for all restaurateu...