The Early Word on Sorella, Justin Wills's New Coastal Italian Spot
by Mattie John Bamman A James Beard Semi-Finalist for Best Chef Northwest in 2012 and 2013, Justin Wills has secured his place as one of Oregon's best chefs. He opened Restaurant Beck on Depoe Bay in 2009, and this June, he and wife Stormee teamed up to opened Sorella on Nye Beach. The amateur reviews and tweets have just begun rolling in....
Fast-Casual Pasta Heads to Seattle
"Think of a Mario Batali grade pasta with high nutritional values served in a place that looks like Shake Shack," says Davide Macchi, giving the elevator pitch for Dueminuti. It's a new entry in the booming fast-casual restaurant market blurring the lines between fancy and fast food, and its first location is landing on Seattle's Capitol Hill in Au...
Trevi Charity Pizza Competition
When: Wednesday, June 15 | 1 pm to 3 pmWhere:Trevi Italian Restaurant, 3570 S. Las Vegas Boulevard, Las VegasCost:Free - Tickets: Get Tickets TREVI Italian Restaurant, inside The Forum Shops, will host a charity pizza competition at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15. Local media personalities will select ingredients to create a personalized pizza pie w...
Familiarity breeds longtime deliciousness at Ristorante Machiavelli
By Leora Y. BloomIN A CITY where it's increasingly difficult to keep up with the list of restaurant openings and closings, what keeps a Seattle institution such as Capitol Hill's Ristorante Machiavelli popular for so long? Linda McElroy, who opened Machiavelli in 1988 with her husband, Tom, says the key to the restaurant's success has been...
The Oregonian's 2015 Restaurant of the Year: Renata
By Michael Russell "Renata is a dream," Sandra Arnerich says of the deceptively simple, deliriously ambitious Italian restaurant that she and husband Nick opened in May. That dream is what caused them to leave high-profile restaurant jobs in San Francisco, uproot their growing family and fly north to Nick's hometown of Portland. &nbs...
Casa Mia Brings Humble Italian to SE Division
Trendy restaurant concepts and Portland go together like waxed mustaches and designer flannel, but Casa Mia isn't biting. This little Italian eatery serves breakfast, lunch—yes, there are restaurants open for lunch on Division—and dinner seven days a week in the former Detour coffee shop venue at 3035 SE Division St. Opening last week, Cas...
The biggest restaurant opening this spring in Las Vegas: Lago by Julian Serrano
Las Vegas has a habit of reinventing itself time and again to toss out the old and bring in the flashy and new. For the Bellagio, that means a new Italian restaurant from Julian Serrano, the Michelin-starred chef who already serves French fare at the resort's Picasso and tapas at Aria. Serrano opens Lago, his spin on small plates with a Mi...
Eating Italian in the Old Mill
By John Gottberg Anderson Diners who love Italian food have two restaurant choices in Bend's Old Mill District. Pastini Pastaria and Flatbread Community Oven stand side-by-side next to the Deschutes River on the north side of the shopping-and-entertainment district. But I'm not a big fan of either one. Others may applaud the...
New Sicilian restaurant opening in Pearl District next week
by Michael Russell The new Sicilian restaurant coming to the former Fratelli space in Portland's Pearl District is set to open next week. Bellino Trattoria Siciliana comes from chef-owner Francesco Inguaggiato, a Sicilian native who owns two other Italian restaurants in Texas. The highlights assaggini, or Sicilian tapas, such...
Italian pastry search finds sweet finish
By Heidi Knapp Rinella Karen Ericson inquired about local Italian bakeries that sell fresh pastries, especially cannoli, and as usual, her fellow Taste of the Town readers came through. Marlene Drozd recommended Montesano's Italian Eateria at 9905 S. Eastern Ave., which she said not only sells cannoli but also fills the shells when...
Downtown Phoenix's Forno 301 Is Reminiscent of Best Italy's Best Cafes
by Robert Pela My Italian is lousy, but I know a lot of the swear words, so when I spotted cazzone as one of the specials of the day at Forno 301, my new favorite restaurant, I laughed. Cazzone means "big dick," not as in "giant penis," but more like "you're an idiot." Forno 301, on the other hand, is very smart. The menu is...
Skipolini's Italian opening at The Summit in spring
by Mike Higdon Skipolini's Italian is remodeling the interior of the former Firkin' and Wolf Pub and Restaurant in The Summit mall parking lot at 13971 S. Virginia St. The Summit announced it will open in Spring 2016. Skipolini's Italian features pizzas, pastas and Italian entrees in a sit-down setting. All of the restaurants have...