Close

Aperitivo culture on the whole, if you will, has had quite a moment recently — both at restaurants and in bookstore aisles. One of the first cookbooks I can recall tapping into the bounty of Italian snacking was Stacy Adimando's "Piatti: Plates and Platters for Sharing, Inspired by Italy," but in the years since, there's been such a huge surge in i...

79

The popular New Jersey restaurant, Gabriella’s Italian Steakhouse, will soon be making its way down to South Florida. This fall, Gabriella’s Modern Italian will be bringing their extensive food and drink menu to downtown Delray Beach. Slightly different in name and concept, the new restaurant is slated to open in October and will be located on NE S...

70

Are you a pasta lover? If so, let me tell you about one of the best pasta restaurants in Michigan: Roman Village in Dearborn. This local gem has been serving authentic Italian Cuisine since 1964. I've been living in Michigan for almost three years now and one thing that almost everyone I talk to asks me is, "Have you been to Roman Village yet?". I...

73

In 1882, a group of men left Roseto Valfortore (Valley of Roses), a town of 1,300 near the province of Foggia in the region of Puglia, to set sail for New York. The men spent their first night in America sleeping on the floor of a tavern on Mulberry Street in Manhattan’s Italian neighborhood. They eventually found work in the slate mines of Bangor,...

81

It takes imagination to look at a yellow Fiat 500 and see it as a barbecue, or rather, a grilling channel. Agnese Volpone and Maurizio Cutropia from San Giovanni Teatino certainly have that imagination – and the talent. For over fifteen years, these two Abruzzese have traveled the length and breadth of Italy to spread the word about arrosticini, a...

83

There is no shortage of old school and new Italian restaurants throughout New York City, from Manhattan’s Little Italy to Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn. But an often overlooked neighborhood with a rich Italian history is Bensonhurst in southern Brooklyn. My friend Frank Pinello, chef and owner of Best Pizza, grew up in Bensonhurst. His grandparents a...

87

The latest project from the 35-year-old Toscana Restaurant Group is a charming ode to Roman cuisine called All Roads. Opening Friday, July 26, at 145 South Barrington Avenue in Brentwood, All Roads serves traditional Roman pinsas in a wine bar setting with an attached bottle shop. Toscana Restaurant Group’s collection of Italian restaurants include...

83

Monti Trentini, a revered cheese producer in the Trentino-Alto Adige region of northern Italy, has a rich history dating to 1925. It was founded by Gianfranco Finco. He was driven by a passion for creating high-quality cheeses using traditional methods and the rich milk from alpine cows. The company is still owned by the Finco family. This commitme...

88

No family member holds as much cultural cachet as the nonna. Whether Italian or not, I’d like to bet that you can close your eyes and immediately call to mind an Italian grandmother. She’s often wearing an apron, with perfectly coiffed hair and a well-lined face, a symbol of a life well-lived. Above all she’s a domestic goddess, the gatekeeper of r...

81

Chef Paul Matthews has been dragging a Lobster Al Forno recipe around for about 20 years. Today, the dish – which features tender lobster baked with garlic wild mushrooms, scallion cream and cheese – is one of the most popular dishes on the menu at Ciao Bella in Port Clinton. “It’s had different variations, different platings. It has not always bee...

91