Italian food truck launching first brick and mortar kitchen inside local brewery
The Scratch Italian food truck has been serving up a variety of authentic Italian eats for over two years throughout the greater Columbus area, oftentimes while parked outside the Homestead Beer Co. Delaware Public House. And soon enough, they’ll be moving inside the popular brewery. Scratch Italian announced last night on their social media accoun...
Here's a sneak peek at Prime, Rockford's newest Italian steakhouse
A new restaurant is coming to Rockford's east side that hopes to be exactly what people are looking for in a steakhouse. Prime, located at 6565 Lexus Drive, the former site of Five Forks Market, is an Italian restaurant specializing in steaks, seafood and pasta. They will open their doors for the first time on Friday. "I miss some of our old Italia...
Trattoria Is The Indulgent Italian Joint In Cleveland That Serves Enormous Portions You’ll Love
Whether or not you love city life, there are perks to living in a city like Cleveland. For one, the arts and culture. Who doesn’t love the magnificent architectural marvels that line Cleveland’s streets?! Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but one universal truth is that good food brings people together. The Land is filled to the brim with e...
Local Red Sauce Italian Empire Rosebud Unveils a Tri-Level Flagship at Millennium Park
Rosebud Restaurants, the nearly half-century old local Italian restaurant chain, unveiled a new flagship location in Prudential Plaza earlier this month. The new restaurant will be the brand’s ninth, but the three-level structure on Randolph Street, which includes an enclosed rooftop that overlooks Millennium Park, is taking a fresh approach: each...
Coalfire Pizza and Tempesta Market Team Up on Nostalgic Little Italy Restaurant
Three local Italian culinary powerhouses are joining forces to open a nostalgic neighborhood restaurant this month in Little Italy. Peanut Park Trattoria, perched on the corner of Taylor and Loomis streets, aims to establish itself as a cozy, casual haven serving handmade pasta and traditional favorites from Italy’s many regions. The new collaborat...
Suburban Italian Staple Carlucci’s Returns With Downtown Chicago Restaurant
After Joe Carlucci closed his namesake restaurant in Downers Grove three years ago, almost immediately he began planning another Carlucci’s that would bring him back to the city. Carlucci has been in the restaurant business for 36 years. “There’s always something in building a restaurant that you don’t realize is going to surprise you,” he says. “M...
A new Marco's Pizza restaurant has opened in New Berlin's largest shopping center
Marco's Pizza's largest franchisee has added a location in New Berlin's busiest district. Highland Ventures Ltd., which owns and operates more than 100 stores tied to the national pizza delivery and carryout chain, opened its doors Nov. 15 at the Moorland Square Shopping Center, 15415 W. National Ave., between Pick 'n Save and Burghardt's Sporting...
Chicago-Style Giardiniera: Italian-American at Home
Italian immigrants to Chicago had an outsized impact on the city’s food scene during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Few items have endured and even grown in importance as giardiniera, the mix of peppers and other vegetables given a quick pickle and then a soak in oil. Chicagoans and food tourists seeking out a Chicago-style hot dog or an I...
At Buona Beef, a family-run business at a crossroads
At any private company, working alongside relatives can come with plenty of internecine challenges. But how about one big extended Italian family that includes siblings, parents and children all part of the operation? At Buona, which encompasses 25 fast-casual Buona Beef restaurants, catering and a grocery-sales division, family somehow works. The...
Zia’s Social, Modern Italian Bar And Restaurant, Opens In Norwood Park
A new Norwood Park restaurant is ready for business after almost five months of renovations. Zia’s Social, 6158 N. Northwest Highway, fully opened Monday after a soft opening over the weekend. The restaurant and bar — with high tops and booth tables, two stages for music performances, a wood-fired pizza oven, a private party rental room and lots of...
Speck Italian Eatery announces target opening date for new downtown restaurant
It’s been a long time coming for Speck Italian Eatery’s move downtown, but we finally have a timeline for the anticipated project. The restaurant confirmed that it aims to open its downtown space by April 2022. Speck, a popular Delaware spot for Italian fare and a sister restaurant to both Veritas and 1808 Bistro, announced last year its plans to m...
Restaurant review: Oliva, Italian and Mediterranean cuisine, a standout after 13 years
Some of my favorite local restaurants have been combination Mediterranean-Italian places like Oliva (“olive” in Italian), on Madison’s Far West Side. I had long been curious if it still lived up to the meals I had there when I reviewed it in January 2009, a month after it opened. “Service is fast and friendly, the prices are extremely reasonable...