Church of the Gesu treasures settle in for brief stay at Fairfield University
She shimmers and shines — her simple brown robe and cream cape transformed into lustrous waves of gold. She holds a quill pen in her right hand and cradles a book of her spiritual writings in her left. On this morning, Linda Wolk-Simon is standing before her. “Think about what this would have looked like on an altar, in the shadowy light of the chu...
Rustica, the Successful Italian Eatery in Chester, Opens a Second Location in Milford
You don’t have to be Italian to truly appreciate an authentic Italian meal. Conchi and Vicente Contreras, natives of Ecuador and owners of Rustica Ristorante, are proof positive you don’t have to be Italian to prepare one, either. The wife-and-husband, do-it-all duo behind the successful restaurant in Chester opened a second Rustica location last O...
Dine Out Maine: Enjoy homey, Italian-American classics at Lena’s in Portland Pottery Café
When I opened the door to my Chicago apartment one April evening, I found my neighbor, Francesca, standing there, cradling a dish the size of a truck tire. I recognized it immediately. It was her pasta bowl: white porcelain decorated with tiny painted roses and crazed inside with spidery lines the color of strong tea. Once, the bowl had been her mo...
16 restaurants where you can find Boston’s best meatballs
Want to go old-school with a 50-50 pork-and-beef split like Nonna used to make? Or try a different take on meatballs by going global and adding some cumin or ginger for Turkish and Asian flavors? No matter what style you’re craving, here are 16 sweet places around Boston that put a saucy spin on a comfort-food classic. 1. Aria TrattoriaIt’d be rem...
La Festa della Donna Celebration (RI) on March 7
When: Wednesday, March 7, 2018, 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. - Where: Easy Entertaining / Rising Sun Mills | 166 Valley Street, Building 10 | Providence, RI 02909 - Costs: Members: $50; Non-Members: $60. Advance registration required by Thursday, March 1; Must be 21+. Join Rhode Island Region members and friends for an evening celebrating “La Festa della...
Honoring the city's war dead
Army Pvt. Paul Bongiorno landed in Sicily from Tunisia in July 1943 in the first wave of an historic Allied invasion that helped reverse the course of World War II by providing the Allies a gateway to the Italian mainland and then to Europe's interior. "I took part of the invasion of your native land, Ma and Pa,” Bongiorno wrote on July 15 in a let...
Mia Margherita: Italian cuisine with a contemporary twist
Mia Margherita, located in Bridgeport’s Charles Pointe development, is the only restaurant in West Virginia offering its customers artisan, handcrafted pizzas cooked in a coal-fired oven. Scott Duarte, who operates the restaurant for owners CP Hospitality, said the restaurant puts a contemporary spin on the culinary classic. “The thought was to try...
Nardelli’s to host grand opening in Torrington next week
Nardelli’s Grinder Shoppe will be celebrating the grand opening of its Torrington location on Tuesday at 10 a.m., according to a release. Store owner Elizabeth Begley will host a ribbon cutting with Torrington Mayor Elinor Carbone at the shop at 1268 East Main St., in the BJ’s plaza. Nardelli’s Torrington will also be unveiling its “Local Favorites...
The art of Jesuit Rome comes to Connecticut
Fairfield University, whose patron is the Jesuit cardinal and theologian St. Robert Bellarmine, is celebrating this year the 75th anniversary of its founding. Linda Wolk-Simon, the imaginative and energetic director of the University Art Museum, had an audacious dream—indeed, she readily admits, it was “quixotic”—to bring to Fairfield the magnifice...
Italian Cultural Center of Western Massachusetts suffers month of misfortune - devastating water damage from burst pipe followed by burglary
When Gary MacQueston, a director of the Italian Cultural Center of Western Massachusetts, stopped by Jan. 9 to check on the club's building at 56 Margaret St., it was raining. Inside. MacQueston rushed upstairs in the former firehouse in the South End to find that a plumbing fitting under a sink had given way on the coldest day of the year. He foun...
Dick Vitale still waiting for a ring after his 1979 trade led to 3 Celtics titles
Paul Pierce rightfully had his No. 34 placed in the Garden rafters Sunday, in large part because of his role in bringing a championship to the Celtics. But there was a guy at the gymnasium on Causeway Street last night who had a hand in three Celtics titles, and what I want to know is when is someone going to raise a banner for Dick Vitale? Yes, th...
Growing up in a world that provided everything you needed
When you’re a kid, your neighborhood is the center of your universe. Everything that you know, you learned there — at home, in school and with your friends right there on the street where you lived. Growing up in New Haven’s Wooster Square gave me an opportunity to have an experience that I still treasure and appreciate. How can you not appreciate...