Lunch at Amici's with a nice Italian girl
by Suzy Fleming Leonard When having lunch with a nice Italian girl from Jersey, it's good to remember she's going to be picky – very picky – about her Italian food. "When you look at the menu and you see certain things that are part of Italian culture, you say, OK, this guy is authentic," said Rita Moreno of Suntree. "It's hard to fin...
Mastering Italian dumplings
When chef Jenn Louis set out to perfect pasta dumplings in Italy, she was occasionally met with such disdain from local chefs she might as well have been trying to push the doughy fare to the Paleo diet crowd. "Each person I interviewed and cooked with had a different notion about what was and was not gnocchi. When I approached the su...
Michael Schwartz on Fi'lia, His New Italian Concept at the SLS Brickell
The SLS Brickell has just announced its opening date and two signature restaurants. The hotel, located at 1300 S. Miami Ave., is slated to open in early October and will be the home to José Andrés' Bazaar Mar, a seafood-centric version of the chef's popular the Bazaar by José Andrés in Miami Beach. The property will also house Fi'lia, an I...
Petit Miami: Italian Eats in Sunset Harbour
The Magic City is home to countless restaurant imports, but Petit Miami is one of the few to arrive at our shores via Milan. Despite its French name, this month-old Sunset Harbour spot is actually an Italian bistro. With the exception of salmon teriyaki and seared tuna tartare with yuzu sauce, Petit's repertoire consists of classic, unfussy Italia...
In the Grove, Strada serves exquisite cuisine that’s both homey and elegant
by Victoria Pesce Elliott A narrow, unmarked alley off Commodore Plaza leads to Strada, the sexy new Italian in the Grove. The wall is lined with hanging pots filled with basil, thyme, tarragon, rosemary and tiny tomatoes. "It is my little passion," says owner Maurizio Farinelli, the Torino native who once owned South Miami's popu...
The Sicilian II brings great Italian cuisine to Biloxi
by Julian Brunt Chef Hristo Drakopoulos of Sicilian II said he cooks because it is his love and passion. "When you walk out my door and are smiling, then I know I've done my job," he said. If you are a lover of Italian food, it is a real treat to get something prepared by Drakopoulos, whose grandmother was born in Sicily and move...
Restaurant review: Oggi Italian Street Food offers solid contemporary Italian, on the sweet side
Joe DeBartolo has pizza in his blood. He came from a Sicilian family of restaurateurs (his dad, Vito, opened his first pizzeria in 1966), then ended up owning 75 I Love NY Pizza locations up and down the eastern seaboard. He sold them all in 2008 when the economy got bumpy for New York-style pizza, taking the opportunity to return to Sicily to...