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Maine is the birthplace of the Italian sandwich. They were first made by John Amato at his shop down on India Street. For the past 45 years, they have been made by Dominic Reali who has also expanded the chain to 42 stores. Mr. Reali is a real Italian himself, having immigrated to the United States in 1955.  Speaking no English, he went to work and...

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The owner of Portland Pottery Café at 122 Washington Ave. has applied for a liquor license so the popular breakfast and lunch spot can transform into a casual Italian restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining at night. The café is open from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Under the new arrangement, hours wi...

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Eating at Lazzari, a new pizza restaurant in Portland’s Arts District, I learned a few surprising things. First, you can safely put your hand on the glinting copper dome of their Le Panyol pizza oven, built in Skowhegan from imported blocks of French white clay. Even though the deck routinely reaches 750 degrees F, and the surrounding cavity snorts...

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I attended the Sept. 18 City Council meeting that was attempting to eradicate Columbus Day as a city holiday, a proposal sponsored by Councilor Pious Ali. It is true that Native Americans endured many atrocities in the past, and these actions should be rectified, but not at the expense of celebrating our Italian ancestors, who also faced discrimina...

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A Newcastle selectman has suggested that the town formally recognize the second Monday in October, Columbus Day, by some other name. Joel Lind brought the topic up for discussion during the Newcastle Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Monday, after reading an article about the Portland City Council’s resolution to recognize the day as Indigenous Peopl...

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Sixteen Fifty Two opened its doors amid the hustle of August and its owners say they have created a kitchen staff and front of the house team ready to cater to locals year-round with authentic Italian cuisine in a relaxed yet, sleek bar/dining room at 1 Ocean Ave. Owner-operator Huw Collins had never opened a restaurant before last month, but he kn...

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Just as eager freshmen trade out their high school uniforms and Lily Pulitzer for Birkenstocks and flannels, owners of downtown Waterville’s Itali-ah Market and Restaurant have similarly decided to “reinvent” their shop for the upcoming year. Itali-ah caters to all diners, whether they want to have nice sit down meal, need Italian cooking supplies,...

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After nearly an hour of public comment, Brunswick Town Council voted 8 – 1 to designate the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which would occur the same day as Columbus Day. The decision, coming soon after the City of Portland’s Monday decision, makes it the fifth municipality in Maine to recognize indigenous people on that day,...

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The state’s largest city will now mark the second Monday in October as Indigenous People’s Day — joining a growing list of cities and towns to recognize native cultures on Columbus Day. The City Council voted unanimously Monday to use the date of the federal holiday as a day to honor the native peoples, including those who lived in North America lo...

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Karen Morrill peeked around the corner, through the open pocket doors, into the main dining room of the Roma Café. “Oh, this is so exciting,” said Morrill, a 58-year-old Scarborough resident who works for the city of South Portland. Morrill hadn’t set foot in the Congress Street restaurant, which reopened three weeks ago, since 1989, when the room...

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