Monica’s Mercato & Salumeria: Boston’s Home for Italian Specialties and Incredible Sandwiches
"You can't take a bad thing and turn it into a good thing, but you can take a good thing and turn it into something delicious," says Jorge Mendoza. Jorge is one-third of the team that runs Monica's restaurant group, which includes Vinoteca di Monica, Monica's Mercato Pizza, Trattoria di Monica, and Monica's Mercato & Salumeria in the North End....
A cooking contest I could not refuse to judge
by Andrea Weigl I've written before about how I don't often judge cooking contests anymore. I could probably judge four to six contests a month if I accepted all the invitations I receive. But I have a preschooler and want to be home with her after work and on the weekends. (Well, most of the time anyway.) But when the Sons of It...
First Look: Sophia's Brings Elevated Homestyle Italian to West Sixth
This weekend, Sophia's opened in the historic space last occupied by Sandra Bullock's Bess Bistro. Chicago's BDG Hospitality conceptualized the Italian restaurant, which will feature executive chef Mark Sparacino (of Chicago's Topo Gigio, Sparacino, PROSECCO and more) at the helm, with Tom Schmitt as chef de cuisine. The gist: Though plenty of It...
Italian culture and history: Napoli
WTI Magazine #83 2016 September 16Author : italia.it Translation by: Naples is one of the largest and most captivating art cities on the Mediterranean Sea. Capital of the Region of Campania, it is the third-largest commune in Italy after Rome and Milan. The city dominates the Gulf of Naples, expanding from the Sorrentine Peninsula to...
Auburn CIAO group announces annual dinner honoree
The Cultural Italian-American Organization, of Auburn, will host its annual Christopher Columbus Testimonial Dinner Sunday, Oct. 16, at the Holiday Inn, 75 North St., Auburn. Cocktails will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by an Italian dinner at 6:30 p.m. and homemade limoncello and Italian dessert. This year's dinner will honor retiring sta...
Meatballs and Memories in a Cape Cod Kitchen
By Julia della Croce "I was still young when my life changed.... drastically. Shortly after midnight one Saturday... the smell of smoke awakened me. I ran to my mother's bed.... The next thing I saw was a wall of fire shooting up the staircase. Grabbing my one-year-old brother from his crib, I fled out my bedroom window to the roof and yelled to m...
Shout Out: Dolores Pigoni-Miller, Italian teacher at Ridgewood
Dolores Pigoni-Miller teaches Italian at Ridgewood High School in Norridge. Her leadership in her AP Italian Culture and Literature class has led her students to pursue a variety of fundraisers to help Italy's victims of an August 2016 earthquake. Q: What made you decide to do the fundraiser? A: In all of my classes, we were reading artic...
Kenosha chef cooks up a state lunch
Kenosha's own internationally acclaimed chef Tony Mantuano recently put his skills to work in Washington, D.C., at the State Department. Mantuano, -owner of Mangia Wine Bar and a partner at the four-star Chicago Italian restaurant Spiaggia, and Spiaggia's chef de cuisine Joe Flamm prepared lunch on Oct. 18 for 250 people in the State Depar...
Maria's Bakery in Highwood features authentic Sicilian food
By Donald Liebenson Here's a tip if you're studying Italian and you want to impress your teacher. Take her to Maria's Bakery in Highwood. It worked for Andrea Spitzer and Judith Molinaro, two students of private instructor Maria Christina Chopra. Chopra's verdict: Authentic. "You can tell the owner is Sicilian, you can tell from the recipe...
'Top Chef' alum Fabio Viviani previews casino restaurant
His exuberant personality and thick Italian accent made Fabio Viviani one of the breakout stars of the fifth season of Bravo's reality series Top Chef, earning him the title of "fan favorite." When the season debuted in November 2008, Viviani owned two restaurants. He recently was in town to preview his 16th, which will be housed within th...
Joe Piscopo: I'm not raising money to be N.J. governor -- yet
By Claude Brodesser-Akner Joe Piscopo's not running for governor -- at least, not yet. "I'm not raising money, and I haven't officially declared," said Piscopo in an telephone interview with NJ Advance Media on Thursday afternoon. The former "Saturday Night Live" star, who was raised in North Caldwell and now lives in Lebanon Tow...
La Contea di Santa Clara accoglie calorosamente il Console Generale Mauro Battocchi
Il Console Generale Mauro Battocchi é stato invitato a presentare un discorso alle autorità della Contea di Santa Clara, centro della Silicon Valley, i quali hanno presentato il Console con una targa commemorativa e riaffermato con apposito decreto il gemellaggio tra Santa Clara e Firenze."Questa risoluzione é un riconoscimento importante del ruolo...