Quanto Basta owner Betsy English has leased the original LB Kitchen location where she plans establish a permanent home for her Neapolitan pizzeria. "If you had told me two years ago that the world’s tiniest little food truck would become an actual pizza place, I’d say you were out of your mind. And perhaps I am..a little..but you kind of have to b...

Strolling through the cobblestone streets and brick buildings of Portland can sometimes make you feel like you are right in Europe. Wander down Wharf Street and you could convince yourself you’re in Bologna. This may elicit a feeling in you that makes you crave some authentic Italian cuisine. We may not be in Europe but we do have cozy and authenti...

The St. Peter’s Italian Bazaar planning committee kicked off a week of festivities on Friday by delivering the Italian national flag to Portland City Hall.  The flag was flown atop City Hall over the weekend, for the first time ever, to mark the 96th annual Italian Bazaar. Willie Audet, 2022 Bazaar chairman, delivered the flag to city official John...

The world has lost a true Portland icon. Famed Portland master baker, artist, author, and teacher Stephen Lanzalotta has passed away after a long battle with cancer. Slab Sicilian Street Food announced the news on social media over the weekend. Stephen had been the head baker/chef and partner at Slab since its opening eight years ago. The news cert...

Evangelista Donatelli,  known to many friends and customers as Vange or Vangie, liked to sit in a white plastic lawn chair on the sidewalk facing Congress Street and wave and talk to people passing by his longtime Munjoy Hill tailor shop. Donatelli, who opened Donatelli’s Custom Tailor Shop in 1972, died on May 16. He was 84. He was a master tailor...

According to New England Today, an Italian immigrant baker named Giovanni Amato decided to create an affordable, convenient, and hearty meal for road construction workers in Portland, Maine in 1899. His creation, a sandwich made from freshly baked rolls filled with sliced meats, melty cheeses, savory veggies, and other toppings, was a hit right awa...

The Washington D.C. upscale osteria Via Sophia will expand into Maine this May when it opens Italian seafood restaurant Via Sophia by the Sea in Kennebunk. The Via Sophia spinoff will be open year-round at 27 Western Ave., a space formerly occupied by Grissini Italian Bistro. The building has been vacant since last fall. The restaurant is part of t...

It's a Maine Foodie Miracle! Incredible baked delights from World Famous Modern Pastry are now available in Portland! Micucci's Italian Grocery on India Street in Portland gave us the good news on Facebook: "Are you all ready for this?! For 40 of our 73 years in business, we have brought you the delicious Modern Pastry of Boston every Christmas….We...

It was 9 years ago that DiPietro’s Italian Sandwiches on Cumberland Street closed after being a Portland landmark for 69 years. Now, the beloved DiPierto's italians will return for one day only to help raise money to pay for a heart and double lung transplant. DiPietro’s opened in 1944 at the bottom of Munjoy Hill in Portland as a family business t...

The pandemic forced the cancellation of the St. Peter’s Italian Bazaar in 2020, but the 2021 version is set for later this week and volunteers are needed to bake, decorate and package thousands of cookies for the annual fundraiser. The cookie bake is set for Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 10-11, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parish hall at 72 Federal S...