Victory At The Great Italian American Grape Stomp
We are the champions my friends! Cue the theme from Rocky. For a full year, I am officially the mother part of the formidable mother-daughter team who took first place at the Avon, Connecticut Prince Thomas Of Savoy Italian American Club Festival’s Grape Stomping competition. In the finals, my daughter and I produced 4 full, overflowing pitchers of...
Vanda Cucina Is Serving Some Of The Freshest Pasta In Rhode Island
We all have memories of the sights, the sounds, and the tastes of gathering around the table and having a meal with our family or friends. Meal time is about far more than the food we eat. It’s about sharing stories and memorable moments that, years from now, when we’re having a similar meal, we will fondly remember. That’s just what you’ll find at...
Il Pastaficio Westport’s Passion for Pasta
Tucked away in a cheerful setting in downtown Westport lies a sunny slice of Italy: Il Pastaficio. Owned by husband-and-wife team Federico Perandin and Anissa Nouhi, who opened their first outpost in Cos Cob, it is both pasta shop and restaurant. It’s a unique concept where locals can buy freshly made pastas, sauces, prepared dishes, pastries, and...
'I literally have never had better pizza': Paul Giamatti praises New Haven apizza (again), this time on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'
Paul Giamatti reaffirmed his loyalty to New Haven-style pizza on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Tuesday night. In his interview with the late-night talk show host, the award-winning actor and Yale University alumnus discussed how growing up in the Elm City made him a dedicated fan of apizza, the dish that has given the city its reputation as the "pizza capit...
Authentic Italian Specialty Food: Cucina Daniella Grand Opening in Darien, CT
Darien's culinary landscape is poised for a remarkable transformation with the grand opening of Cucina Daniella, an authentic Italian specialty foods shop that draws inspiration from the vibrant flavors of Italy and Sicily. Daniella’s culinary expression is rooted in her rich Italian family heritage, a lifetime of visits and study. Cucina Daniella...
Sora My Way brings a taste of Sora, Italy to Wethersfield
Marco Venditti has vivid memories of spending time with his mother and grandmother as a child in Sora, Italy, watching them make fresh pasta and dipping homemade bread into a pot of simmering tomato sauce. He carried that love of food and cooking with him as an adult, opening restaurants with his brother, who still owns a trattoria, Da Giuliano, i...
Lewiston’s Sam’s Italian is Now Sam’s Bakery Store
It was less than a year ago that Sam's Italian closed its doors at 268 Main Street in Lewiston, ME. It was the end of an era to see the original Sam's no longer open. Sam Bennett (the 'Sam' in Sam's) started making salami Italians in a small shop in Auburn and quickly outgrew that location. He moved to Main Street in Lewiston in 1940, where it stil...
North End restaurants once again excluded from outdoor dining this summer
Outdoor dining is coming back to Boston neighborhood’s streets and sidewalks, with one exception. The North End’s iconic Italian restaurants will not be setting up in the streets for the second year in a row. The North End — the city’s oldest neighborhood, which has the densest restaurant presence per capita in the state — was singled out in last y...
A taste of authentic Italy, Gusto Italiano Market brings Italian cuisine to Bedford
Francesca Ronzio admits she and her husband, Matteo, may have been naïve at first in their decision to immigrate to the U.S. from their native Italy in February 2015. “We were like crazy people, very naïve people with a dream: to change and to just see how it goes,” she said. “It was just the two of us, and you miss not just your country; you miss...
Rhode Island's best Italian restaurant? Here are 7 reader picks
As home to one of the five best Little Italys in America, Rhode Island's Italian food scene is one of the finest you'll find outside of Italy. With so many options, the hardest part is deciding which restaurant to make a reservation at. The Providence Journal recently put it to readers in an unscientific poll. First, we asked readers to nominate pl...
Italian Favorite I Pazzi Has a New Danvers Location and New Flavors
When Chef Irtan Bleta opened I Pazzi in 2008, he named his restaurant after the Italian word for fools, because everyone thought he was crazy for opening a restaurant in the depths of a recession. Fifteen years later, the joke is on them: Bleta’s handmade pasta and focus on locally grown and seasonal food attracted a loyal following. Now he has pur...
Papa Gino’s started as a by-the-slice pizzeria in East Boston
Michael Valerio emigrated from Italy at age five to East Boston during the 1930s. We may never know if he ever envisioned his tiny pizza-by-the-slice business morphing into an iconic franchise. Papa Gino’s is for many people raised in New England a place they have many memories of eating at when they were kids, or perhaps even working at one as a t...