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In Italy, a cafe is a place to socialize. It’s a place where people drink coffee, meet others with similar interests and talk about ways to better society. This is exactly what Mario Sommella, a native of Naples, Italy, hopes his new gelato shop, Caffe Romeo, will become in Charleston. “My goal is to try to recreate the authentic style [of] life in...

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For a few quivering moments, time stood still on old Wooster Street. I'm sitting in a rigid, disagreeable wooden booth at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana yet I'm floating on a coal-fired cloud. There is an imperfectly shaped pizza before me - craggy, blistered in parts to the point of carbon - dotted with pale, orange-hued nibs of freshly shucked ch...

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Meatballs to Mozart – that more or less describes the journey of Dan Dalpra who owns the Italian Fisherman in Bemus Point. The Ohio native opened the restaurant in his wife’s hometown in 1982. He has since expanded multiple times, spurred development in Chautauqua County, and created the popular Bemus Bay Pops concert series. As he celebrates 35 ye...

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When it comes to hiring a chef for her restaurants, Lidia Bastianich looks beyond the resume of the person’s culinary career, prowess in the kitchen and good references. It is a lot more personal for her. She considers the person’s potential. Is he creative? Can he execute with precision at the spur of the moment? Will he be able to go the extra mi...

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A recently opened Italian restaurant in Port Chester with a two-century-long legacy is giving hungry diners a new reason to say “that’s amore.” Brandi Trattoria & Pizzeria opened the doors of its 4,500-square foot restaurant in May and offers an array of Italian favorites, from penne alla vodka to pasta cartoccio. The sleek 200-seat eatery at 108 A...

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As a general rule in Allegheny County, boroughs are municipalities, historically and economically tied to the industry within their bounds, while townships are adjacent suburbs. But Stowe Township and the borough of McKees Rocks are an exception to this rule. The big plants north of the Rocks Bridge are actually in Stowe, and the busy, brick-paved...

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Gabriele Bonci, the esteemed Roman pizza maker, has set a target date for the opening of his upcoming West Loop pizzeria."I will be in Chicago on August 15 for the opening of my new pizzeria,” Bonci wrote in a Facebook message (in Italian, in response to my questions written in Google-translated Italian). This will be his second trip in quick succe...

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“Alton is hungry for good things.” Alton’s Dee Gehrs made this statement recently, and she and her husband, Steve, have just added their new restaurant to the list of options where diners can quench their appetites. Nicky G’s Italian Eats, 1801 State St., is in a century-old building that once housed establishments such as Velloff’s Power Equipment...

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After establishing several markets across the Midwest and in Texas, Columbus-based Piada will open its 44th store in Grove City, off Stringtown Road. It’s a move they’ve planned since opening their fourth restaurant, and it’s part of Piada’s grander business plan to build out the markets they’ve broken into over the last seven years. “We’ve always...

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Fazoli’s, America's largest fast casual Italian chain, announced the opening of its newest franchised restaurant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota—marking the brand’s first location in the state. The new restaurant, which is set to officially open its doors on, August 1, is located at 4224 West Empire Place. The Sioux Falls restaurant will feature an as...

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