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Two Kankakee County Italian-Americans residents, Jeff Bruno and Joe Armenise, will be honored with Leonardo da Vinci awards. The da Vinci awards, given by the Sons of Italy in America, honor Italian-Americans for achievement. This year, Bruno and Armenise are among a dozen recipients from Illinois and Wisconsin to be honored at a ceremony at White...

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An east side Milwaukee church would be demolished and replaced with a new building that would provide senior housing, as well as worship space, under terms of a new proposal. St. Rita Catholic Church, 1601 N. Cass St., would be purchased by developer James Tarantino, according to a $20 million proposal announced Monday. Tarantino, who operates Tara...

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Construction of the downtown Westin Hotel is on pace for a June opening, and the hotel's Italian steakhouse is taking shape. It now has a name, Stella Van Buren, and a menu of steaks and house-made pastas. The 220-room Westin is the higher-end hotel going up at 550 N. Van Buren St., just blocks from the lakefront. It will be connected at its third...

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There’s certainly no shortage of lunch options downtown, and there are more than a few places where you can find a great sandwich. But there are perhaps none better and more buzz-worthy than Casetta Kitchen and Counter, the new Italian-American deli on West Washington Avenue. The restaurant opened in February in the space formerly home to Bluephies...

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New JCCIA President Enza Raineri will be among a dozen community leaders honored at the 16th annual Leonardo da Vinci Award of Excellence Gala on May 7 at White Eagle Banquets in Niles. The event is hosted by the Order Sons of Italy in America’s Grand Lodge of Illinois and Wisconsin. Raineri will receive a Community Leadership Award along with Berw...

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The Italian-American deli Casetta Kitchen and Counter makes some of the most extraordinary sandwiches in Madison. It’s hard to beat its turkey sandwich. The breakfast and lunch spot opened Feb. 16 on West Washington Avenue, where Bluephies Downtown Deli used to be. It’s on the ground floor of an office building that is home to Sonic Foundry, the U....

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Remember Osteria del Mondo? It's coming back and will be known simply as Osteria. "I am extremely excited. And it's about time," said chef and co-owner Marc Bianchini. Osteria del Mondo closed on Milwaukee's lower east side in 2011. It was in the Knickerbocker Hotel, 1028 E. Juneau Ave., for 16 years. Bianchini will reopen his Italian restaurant wi...

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Occupying an unassuming building, you could easily drive by Vince’s Pizza thinking it was yet another pizza joint. But you’d be missing out. Vince’s serves more than pizza, with an extensive “Vince’s Dinners” page that caught our eye. We are always up for ethnic food, and we had heard the chef was from Italy, so we thought we’d give Vince’s a try....

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These are hectic days for Lauren Carlini, living with one foot in her former life and one stepping toward her future. Carlini, who completed her storied University of Wisconsin volleyball career in December, still is a regular around the UW Field House. Three days a week she arrives at 6:15 a.m. for workouts with her former teammates. She’s also ca...

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Like the ingredients in a good sandwich, the owners of the new Casetta Kitchen and Counter complement each other. Casetta, an Italian-American sandwich shop and bar, opened in February on West Washington Avenue in the space formerly occupied by Bluephie’s Downtown Deli. Of the two owners, James Juedes, 30, recently a sommelier at L’Etoile, is outgo...

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