Il Circolo, the Italian Cultural Society, enjoyed an afternoon of learning, eating, music, sports and celebrations, all in one day. “Pranzo,Vino, Bocce”. The genesis of the event was a culinary demonstration to commemorate the establishment of a new Il Circolo scholarship fund in the culinary arts. In collaboration with our friends at Arturo’s Rist...

Local restaurant legend Burt Rapoport is welcoming back devotees to the 2.0 resurrection of his 1990s Italian mini chain in Park Place plaza, after short-lived attempts at New York-style delis. “Well over half of our guests were fans of one of the three previous Prezzos,” he says. “Most come in to get the roasted garlic and focaccia breadsticks, fu...

Il Circolo, the Italian Cultural Society, had a banner week-end from February 2 through the 5th. Events included participation in a program called Italy in Transit sponsored by Florida Atlantic University; the 3rd annual Italian Fest, a street fair held at Sanborn Park in Boca Raton; an opera concert by the Palm Beach Opera Apprentice Program held...

Boca Italian Fest parties for 3rd annual festival. When you say “Italian,” and you mean music, food and wine, you have to head to the 3rd Annual Italian Fest in downtown Boca Raton Feb. 3. Head for the many Italian food booths, and stick around for the live entertainment, cooking demonstrations, grape stomping, rides, face painting, a sketch artist...

How far should you drive for a good sandwich? In my case, the answer is 34 miles, the distance from my home to V & S Italian Deli in Boca Raton. People who appreciate sandwich artistry of the old-school Italian variety owe it to themselves to make the pilgrimage to this small sub shop in a strip shopping center on North Federal Highway. When I got...

From the expansive outdoor patio seating to the ambiance of its long-legged bar and warm toned comfortable indoor dining enclaves to the eye-appealing finest meats dry-aging in the line of sight to the tastiest Italian dishes and oh so much salumi, Louie Bossi’s is enorme. Located on the first floor of Boca Raton’s first downtown hotel, the Hyatt P...

A deli debacle has given way to a pizza and pasta revival in Boca Raton. Veteran restaurateur Burt Rapoport says he is bringing back Prezzo, his popular Italian restaurant from the 1990s, to the site where two New York-style delicatessens flopped this year. Rappy’s, a modern twist on the classic Jewish deli named in tribute to Rapoport’s father, sh...

Burt Rapoport’s Rappy’s failed to catch on with area diners who wanted old-style cooking, not nouveau cuisine. Goodbye, pastrami. Hello, pasta. Rappy’s Deli closed in May after just five months at the new Park Placeshopping center in Boca Raton. The space subsequently reopened as a lower-priced deli, Park Place Deli. Now the prime location at...

Saratoga, New York, native Matt Vinetti brought years of culinary experience to the kitchens of Northeast Pennsylvania when he transplanted to the area to oversee the Woodloch properties in Hawley. He then worked at Camelot Restaurant & Inn, Clarks Summit, before he took up the mantle of executive chef for Dupont eatery Arturo’s Restaurant. Since s...

After seven years, this Rat Pack-themed, Southern Italian restaurant has moved from Deerfield Beach into the former Merlino’s with a startling design change from traditional to modern.“We think our core of clients are from Boca Raton, especially downtown,” co-owner Carlo Vaccarezza says. “Boca Raton has became a mini New York City with new restaura...