Dining review: Pat’s Italian Restaurant in Johnston gets a splendid reboot
If you haven't been to Pat's Italian Restaurant in a while, you haven't been to Pat's. Before a visit last month, I hadn't been to Pat's since the Boston Red Sox were down three games to the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series. I was there the Saturday night the Sox lost, 19-8. For that dinner at Pat's, I dined by a fau...
New pizzeria opens in Topsfield
Topsfield has a new pizzeria. Osteria Peppino Pizza had its grand opening last Saturday at 414 Boston Street. The family friendly restaurant is brightly lit and has bistro seating near the kitchen to complement the dining room tables. When the Transcript stopped by around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, almost all the tables were full. Owner Giuseppe Giugl...
Review: New Haven's Olives and Oil Offers Italian, in Technicolor
A 1904 New York Tribune article about Italian immigration to New Haven carried the fevered headline “ITALIANS ARE FLOODING CONNECTICUT.” The article quotes the Rev. Joel Ives of the Missionary Society of Connecticut, who worries that the Italians coming into the state are “poor, superstitious, ignorant, and indifferent.” Well, the Rev. Ives has dep...
Venture north for a true Italian treat
Portofino Italian Restaurant in Merrimack, N.H., is a true family ristorante. Patriarch Giuliano Mastantuono handles the cooking while his wife, Maria, and his brother in-law, Helder “Pepper” Pimenta, are among the family members who help out. Giuliano is a native of Italy and worked in his family’s restaurant as a young man. When he was in his tee...
Port City Tuscan Kitchen opens for business
The doors at Tuscan Kitchen on Lafayette Road opened for the first time at 3 p.m. Wednesday, and by 3:20, there were only a few spots left at the spacious bar. Tommy Mattie of Nottingham has been anxiously awaiting the new Italian restaurant. Mattie said he has been trying to get to the Salem location after seeing it featured on the Food Network, b...
It's no act -- Italy's La Spinetta makes fine wines
A quick glance across the room and it looks as if Al Pacino is standing in front of a map of Italy's Piedmont region, pointing to the unique hillside vineyards where some of the world's most majestic and monolithic wines are made. The Italian's hair is longish, tousled, salt-and-pepper, the same as his scraggly beard. His face is warm, inviting and...
Sulmona Is Now Open in Cambridge
An Italian restaurant opened its doors last night in Cambridge, bringing so much pizza, pasta, and wine to Kendall Square. Sulmona made its debut at 608 Main St. with chef Delio Susi at the helm. The menu at Sulmona showcases a mix of antipasti, street food, pasta, pizza, salumi, and “secondi,” according to the Improper Bostonian. Diners will find...
Book Presentation, Cooking Demonstration & Food Tasting Event with Author Letizia Mattiacci
Thursday, March 30, 2017. 6:30-8:15 pm. Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts, 41 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, MA. Join us for: Book Presentation, Cooking Demonstration & Food Tasting Event with Author Letizia Mattiacci Letizia Mattiacci is an owner of Alla Madonna del Piatto Cooking School near Assisi (Umbria) and cookbook author. "Use good qua...
Tuscan Kitchen brings artisan Italian food to Portsmouth
The long-anticipated opening of the Tuscan Kitchen will become a reality March 1 when the doors open for dinner at 581 Lafayette Road. This week, the restaurant was bustling with employees completing their fourth week of training, with chefs and cooks in the open kitchen and others serving artistically plated rustic Italian cuisine to staff. This...
Sfizi Will Soon Reopen as Aquapazza
A North End restaurant that closed for renovations back in January will reopen this spring, but with a new name and a new concept. Sfizi specialized in Italian and Mediterranean cuisine and was a member of the DePasquale Ventures family, along with Mare, Trattoria Il Panino, Quattro, and Bricco. The group is overseen by Frank DePasquale, who will s...
Ansonia’s Lulu Pazzo opens with Cassetti Sangweech
Four years ago few would think the nearly vacant Main Street would become restaurant row or that this blue-collar heavily Democratic city would be overthrown by Republicans. Both have happened. And on Monday Lulu Pazzo, the latest brainchild of Vincent Noce, a Bridgeport lawyer and Dino Tetu, a well-known interior designer, conducted its grand open...
One Dish: Tutto Italiano, a taste of Italy
At 7 a.m., Tuesday through Saturday, you'll find Rob Palizzolo, owner of Tutto Italiano on 570 Washington St. in downtown Wellesley, lining up cans of whole plum and ground tomatoes for two large pots of his homemade tomato sauce. And every morning he'll make fresh mozzarella, and his famous meatballs. Palizzolo said while growing up he learned tri...