Bay Area coffee icon "Mr. Espresso," Carlo Di Ruocco, passes away
The Bay Area coffee community is mourning the loss of a pioneer this week, as Carlo Di Ruocco, affectionately known as "Mr. Espresso," has passed away at the age of 90. The social media post from the company he founded, Mr. Espresso, announced his death and celebrated his significant contributions to introducing and transforming authentic Italian e...
Carbonaro’s Fast-Casual Italian Coming to SDSU
My college dining experience consisted mainly of cafeteria slop languishing in chafing dishes, supplemented with leftovers from my job working at a wrap and smoothie shop. (I’m still a stealth smoothie-making superstar.) But students at San Diego State University hardly suffer from my barely edible past woes, with spots like Pokedon, Tajima, Woodst...
Legendary Italian sandwich shop, All’antico Vinaio, coming to downtown
All’antico Vinaio, a rapidly growing chain of sandwich shops that originated in Italy in 1991, is preparing to open a new location at 316 Santa Monica Blvd, formally the site of Trejo's Tacos. This marks the third Los Angeles location for the Florence-based firm, following outlets in Koreatown and Venice and co-owner Tanya Bastianich Manuali confir...
Busalacchi family tours real Little Italy
The stereotype of a family-owned restaurant may not include the elaborate bar of Lala or the trendy social scene at Barbusa. The comfort food of Nonna, named after Italian grandmothers everywhere, is more what comes to mind when considering non-corporate dining. Yet the Busalacchi family still proudly owns and manages all three concepts in Little I...
Dinucci’s restaurant has long been a ‘mecca’ for Italian dinners in Valley Ford
In the small, sleepy town of Valley Ford, CA, the building that houses Dinucci's restaurant has remained a constant for over a century — first as a hotel for travelers and ranchers, and then as an Italian dining staple. Around 1908, the Brambani family (also referred to as Brombani) erected a stately hostelry known as the Depot Hotel, according to...
An Italian chef brings panettone home to O.C. for the holidays
When Chef Marco Criscuolo carefully unwraps a freshly baked loaf of panettone bread at his restaurant, Trattoria Trullo in Aliso Viejo (CA), the first things he does is smell it. When he pulls back the cellophane and brings it to his nose, the strong, sweet scent of vanilla and citrus escape from the wrapper. “It is an emotional thing,” said Criscu...
Authentic Italian Pizza by Aromi: Freshly crafted with ingredients from Italy
La Mesa’s Aromi Italian Cuisine Restaurant has expanded its operations to include Pizza by Aromi, a pizzeria located next door to Aromi. The pizzeria serves amazing Sicilian pizzas. Co-owner Marco Lanza, emigrated from Sicily in 2018, received his green card and started working in restaurants. He met his co-owners Andrea Carbonaro and Francesco Man...
I spent years searching for this rare cheese. Now I have the honor of Oakland’s first cut
“Stab straight downward, and then wiggle it back and forth a bit.”My palms grew sweaty inside the black rubber gloves and my pulse quickened. I raised the knife and took a deep breath. For the ninth year, Market Hall Foods in Rockridge had acquired one of two giant wheels of the Italian cheese Crucolo that make their way to the United States each y...
Re-creating a family tradition, one walnut at a time
Fifty years ago my great-grandfather Carlo Portolan hauled down from the roof of his Lincoln Heights home a glass jug full of fragrant black booze, warm from 40 days in the sun. He decanted it into smaller bottles, affixed to each a masking tape label inscribed with the year — 1974 — and passed them around to friends and family. He died four years...
This 28-Year-Old Brentwood Osteria Remains One of LA’s Most Charming Italian Restaurants
Tucked away on an unassuming corner of Brentwood Village, a little Italian osteria called Divino brims with the timeless charm of Florence, Italy. The restaurant, opened by Goran Milic in 1996, features simple decor as well as an open view of the kitchen, wood paneling, stacked wine bottles, and white tablecloths. Since its debut, Milic’s long-last...
One of LA's hardest tables is a 60-year-old Italian restaurant
The first time I went to the Los Angeles Italian American icon Dan Tana’s was before I even moved to LA. I got to the West Hollywood restaurant late-ish and scored a bar seat next to a fellow New Jersey native, a screenwriter whose name I unfortunately can’t remember. We chatted while I dug into a giant platter of chicken Parm smothered in melted...
World Italian Cuisine Week 2024 in Los Angeles
Once again this year the Italian Cuisine Week took place here in Los Angeles, from November 18 to 22, intended primarily to promote our agri-food products and our extraordinary culinary culture in the world. The event is promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that also involves other ministries as well as the Italian Academy of Cuisine founded...