How to drink coffee like an Italian
My sister and brother-in-law’s wedding reception was in a 15th-century palazzo in Venice. We approached by gondola, with opera singers serenading from balconies, and lounged in rooms lit with no artificial light, only hundreds of flickering candles. But let me tell you about the coffee. After the feast, a hot, bitter espresso gave me just enough bo...
Casting rounds out on Fonzo, Al Capone biopic coming from Fantastic Four director Josh Trank.
Fonzo, the upcoming biopic on Al Capone, is rounding out it's cast. It was previously announced that British actor Tom Hardy will chomp on the cigar. Linda Cardellini, Matt Dillon, Kyle MacLachlan, and Kathrine Narducci will be joining the gang, according to Variety. Al Capone, aka Scarface, the Brooklyn mobster who was sent by Frankie Yale to cool...
Remembering When ‘The New York Times’ Explained Pizza
On September 20, 1944, the New York Times published its “News of Food” column. A new dish was being offered in the United States “for Home Consumption,” the headline read. Reporter Jane Holt went on to describe this exotic new dish: pizza. It’s “a pie made from yeast dough and filled with any number of centers,” she wrote, “each one containing toma...
Lewis Turco’s Latest Collection of Poems Available in April
The Sonnetarium, the latest collection of poems by Maine author Lewis P. Turco of Dresden, will be published next month by Bordighera Press of New York City (www.BordigheraPress.org) under the VIA Folios line, a series of poetry, prose, fiction, translations from the Italian, and critical studies on Italian and Italian-American culture. The collect...
Modern Languages Professor Invited to Present a Workshop at Princeton University
Dr. Enza Antenos, Assistant Professor of Italian, will lead a workshop at Princeton University Tuesday, March 27th at 2:00 PM entitled, "Made in…: Exploring Contemporary Narratives in the Teaching of Foreign Languages." Making languages relevant to higher education is key. A paradigm shift is needed in our foreign language curricula to meet the con...
Influential ’90s Italian Trattoria Coco Pazzo Returns With a Fast-Casual Bent
Legendary Italian restaurant Coco Pazzo of the ’90s and early aughts is fully back in action — this time in Soho and with a very 2018 fast-casual portion. Storied restaurateur Pino Luongo, who used to run an empire of Italian restaurants in New York, has joined forces with partner Alessandro Bandini to open the new location at 160 Prince St., at th...
Franco’s Ristorante Italiano owner dies
Franco Germano was a connoisseur in the kitchen — carefully orchestrating each meal, leaving customers with just one reaction: “Magnifico!” Germano, the owner of Franco’s Ristorante Italiano in the Oregon District, died on Sunday. He was 73. The owner of the popular Italian restaurant grew up in Duronia, Italy, where he developed an expansive knowl...
Cortina d’Ampezzo Emerges As New Italian Contender For 2026 Olympic Winter Games Bid
Just days before Saturday’s (March 31) deadline to submit letters-of-interest to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Cortina d’Ampezzo has raised its hand among two other Italian prospects to vie for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. In a press release late last week Mayor Gianpietro Ghedina said his town “expresses its interest in the candidat...
Dine & Dish: The Italians know how to eat for Easter
I want pasta for Easter supper instead of ham and pimento cheese. This Easter, I want to ditch the usual Sunday brunch menu I put together: Pineapple casserole, drop biscuits, honey-glazed ham, green beans, deviled eggs, pimento cheese, more ham and pound cake. Instead I want a heavy, can’t-eat-one-more-bite Italian feast, because, pasta. I’ll fly...
Historians, authors and activists honored at Middle Village ceremony to remember the Triangle factory fire
On the 107th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, family members of the victims honored their legacy during a March 25 ceremony in the CNL Center at Christ the King High School in Middle Village. The annual gathering — hosted by former state Senator Serphin R. Maltese, now chairman of the Christ the King Board of Trustees and presid...
The 42nd anniversary gala of Il Circolo
Il Circolo, the Italian Cultural Society, held its 42nd anniversary gala at the Breakers on March 18, 2018. La Bella Figura as it was titled, is an expression meaning making a good impression. As pointed out in Bishop Barbarito’s letter to the organization, “Whether it was going to church, going to school, visiting relatives or friends, we had to d...
New festival showcases Italian food
North Little Rock is getting ready to turn red, white and -- green. From April 20-21, everything from the bridges over the Arkansas River to the cotton candy carried through the North Shore Riverwalk Park will sport the tricolore -- the colors of the Italian flag -- for the inaugural Arkansas Italian Food & Culture Festival. Patrick Presley, direct...