When I decided to try (once again) to learn Italian, a major goal of mine was to attend, and understand, Mass in the language of my heritage. I have attended the Italian Mass at St. Lucy’s Church several times over the years. I understand very little of it, however, it reaches me in a special way. From the beginning of the Great Migration, the Chur...
READ MOREThe team behind one of New Jersey’s most popular restaurants will be opening their second business in Montclair later this year as Fatto Con Amore is coming to a storefront along the town’s main street. Montclair Hospitality Group Partners have announced a new sandwich concept they are opening at 349 Bloomfield Avenue. The company, founded by Ani R...
READ MOREThe Coccia Institute for the Italian Experience in America is thrilled to collaborate with Watchung Booksellers in presenting Kelsey James, author of The Woman in the Castello and Christina Lynch, author of Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure. The Woman in the Castello: Rome, 1965: In this gothic thriller, aspiring actress Silvia Whitford arrives at R...
READ MOREWill Crutchfield’s Teatro Nuovo will make its New Jersey debut this month, giving statewide audiences the opportunity to experience, in their own backyard, the performance ensemble’s unique bel canto style through historically informed performances. Two semi-staged operas — Gaetano Donizetti’s lyric tragedy “Poliuto” and Federico and Luigi Ricci’s...
READ MOREFascino, the award-winning, 20-year-old, beloved Italian restaurant in Montclair owned by acclaimed chef Ryan DePersio, is no more. DePersio sold it to general manager Mary Cumella, who renamed the restaurant Gioia Mia. The new chef is Logan Ramirez, who was Fascino's chef de cuisine. Ramirez did stints at Gramercy Tavern in New York City as well a...
READ MORELuigino Tripoldi and his new Montclair restaurant, Luigino’s Parmigiana, are the real deal. Cynics need look no further than the black and white mural of family photos lining the back wall of the restaurant, which opened Wednesday on Glenridge Avenue in the space formerly occupied by Salute. (A few doors away is another newcomer, Maddox and Musuko...
READ MOREIf you're thinking, "Does really need another Italian restaurant," from what we hear about this one, the answer is "absolutely". It opens on Wednesday, April 5 on Glenridge Ave in Montclair in the spot that was the location of Salute Brick Oven Bistro until last year. Introducing Luigino's Parmigiano, the creation of Chef Luigi Tripodi, a veteran o...
READ MOREWith a heavy heart, the Joseph and Elda Coccia Institute for the Italian Experience in America and the Montclair State University community mourn the passing of Mrs. Elda M. Coccia. Along with her husband, Cav. Joseph Coccia, Jr., Elda co-founded the Coccia Institute for the Italian Experience in America at Montclair State University, which advanc...
READ MOREChef Robbie Felice is set to open a high-end Italian sandwich shop in Montclair, right next door to Pasta Ramen, his two-month-old Wafu-Italian spot. Fatto con Amore, which means "made with love" in Italian, is scheduled to open in late June, early July. Felice plans to offer sandwiches made with imported high-end Italian meats and artisan cheeses...
READ MOREStudents at Montclair State University have been creating a documentary television series focused on Italian American cuisine, airing on the school's new streaming service, Hawk+. The first episode of "Red Sauce: An Italian American Culinary Journey," premiered in October last year with two more episodes set to be released this spring. Mark Rotell...
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