North End restaurant owners revive charge the mayor hates Italians in new suit over pandemic-related patio fees and bans
The owners of 21 North End restaurants and the North End Chamber of Commerce yesterday sued the city over its 2022 fees for restaurants in the neighborhood that wanted to use public sidewalks and streets for patio seating - and its ban on such patios last year - alleging the Wu administration and a local residents' groups hate Italians for some rea...
Meatball madness: Italian Kitchen cranks out more than 60,000 of them each December
As of Wednesday, Italian Kitchen had cranked out 60,000 meatballs in December. With five cooking days left in the month, that's more than half a meatball for each of Brockton's 106,000 residents. It's a Brockton (MA) tradition in its fourth generation. And it's all hands on deck from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day, says Jeremy Jamoulis, chief...
World’s Longest Line of Maine Italian Sandwiches, world record in Portland, Maine
10 sandwich shops in Portland, Maine (A&C Grocery, Anania’s, Broadway Variety, Corsetti’s, Deb’s, DiPietro’s, Leavitt & Sons; Old Port Sandwich Shop, Otherside Delicatessen, Pat's Meat Deli and Sisters Gourmet Deli) build a 144-foot-long line of sandwiches in Portland’s Monument Square, setting the world record for the World’s Longest Line of Maine...
Eat & Run: New by the mall, fast-casual Italian for hearty appetites
Maybe you haven’t felt overwhelmed by the amount of food coming from all directions during the holidays and are still taking whatever you can get. Or maybe you’ve spent too much money on gifts for other people and just need to fill your belly for the best deal possible. Either way, Fresco Del Forno could be your answer. And if you have any returns...
How climate change forces creativity in the kitchen for Feast of Seven Fishes
The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian seafood-centric feast that dates back to the 1900s. This year’s feast at Bar Enza features staples from executive chef Tony Susi. For Susi, an Italian American, the feast carries profound meaning. It’s something he enjoys sharing with Bostonians and those who flock to the area this time of year. In some r...
At Libby’s Italian Pastry Shop in New Haven, a new generation mixes traditional recipes with modern improvements
What does a 101-year-old cannoli taste like? Probably best not to find out, but Libby’s Italian Pastry Shop in New Haven’s Wooster Square still makes its cannoli, cookies, éclair and more using original recipes from when it opened in 1922. One of those is a winter delicacy. “For Christmas season, we make an Italian specialty called struffoli, whic...
New Italian Eatery Off To Great Start In Wethersfield: 'Amazing Experience, Amazing Food'
Sora My Way, located in Hartford County at 446 Silas Deane Hwy (Route 99) in Wethersfield, opened for business on Saturday, Nov. 25 and since then, has been met with rave reviews from excited customers for its authentic cuisine. The eatery can serve such accurate food thanks to its chef, who was one of the co-founders of a restaurant just 40 minut...
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...