One of the joys of being Italian is participating in the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. This year, thanks to Pazzo!, everyone is welcome to enjoy it. “I grew up in an Italian neighborhood in New Jersey,” says Skip Quillen, owner of the Culinary Concepts restaurants (Chops City Grill, Pazzo!, Yabba, and The Saloon Wood Fired Grill). “Mo...

A science fiction writer who for decades wrote a column in the Naples Daily News has died. Ben Bova, 88, died Sunday, his niece Kathryn Brusco announced on Twitter. "My Uncle Ben...by marriage...science fiction icon, author, adventure lover, story teller, futurist, and my son's namesake, Ben Bova, has passed away this morning from COVID-19 related...

Opening a restaurant is a high-risk proposition at the best of times. These days, with COVID-19 precautions, limited occupancy, and a staggering 85 percent of restaurants at serious risk of closing in the coming months, it seems to be too serious a risk, like a poker player drawing to an inside straight. But on the Isles of Capri, AJ Black exudes a...

You can never have too much of a good thing, at least as far as Fabrizio and Ingrid Aielli are concerned. The couple first came to the Paradise Coast when chef Fabrizio cooked for the Naples Winter Wine Festival, and the seaside ambience and availability of fresh seafood immediately transported him back to his native Venice. After relocating here...

Fabrizio Aielli is chef and owner to three of Naples' most prominent restaurants: Sea Salt, Dorona and Barbatella. Last week, he welcomed a fourth into the fold, Grappino, with a menu focused on Italian comfort foods. “It’s a very classic, very homey Italian menu,” Ingrid Aielli said.  Fabrizio's wife and business partner, Ingrid has helped launch...

When past Naples Italian American Foundation president Marilyn Romeo thinks of her organization, a smile creeps into her voice. “The best friends I have made in Naples in the last 20 years have been in the Italian American club,” she said. The Naples Italian American Foundation, which started as a social club before transitioning to a non-profit, i...

Having been in business along the East Naples Corridor for only five years, Baci Pizza & Ristorante has held steady with its growing clientele. Sit in for lunch and hear “Welcome to Baci’s” hollered as proprietor Francesco “Frank” Garofalo greets guests. The cozy venue where Beach Deli used to be is now the hidden gem of pizzerias south of New York...

A new Italian pizzeria and restaurant debuted Friday in the Fifth Avenue South space occupied briefly by Kitchen and for many years by Mangrove Cafe. The partners for the new dinner-only La Trattoria in Naples are Luca Di Falco, who also is managing partner of Bice and Caffe Milano on Fifth Avenue South; Massimiliano Tonni, former manager of Caffe...