Foodie File: Bellini’s serves up family-style Italian
Dot Brown stands with Scott Groth, owner of Bellini’s Italian Restaurant, after a satisfying meal of spaghetti and a house salad. Our family went out to dinner to celebrate the Hotel Putnam’s recent victory and DeLand winning the America’s Main Street contest. What better place to celebrate than Bellini’s Italian Restaurant, a family-owned DeLand r...
Le Sirenuse Makes Waves in Miami
Positano’s household name, Le Sirenuse, has arrived Stateside, with a restaurant and champagne bar situated in the historic Miami landmark the Surf Club. Serving authentic Italian cuisine at the iconic oceanfront property, in a space designed by Joseph Dirand, Le Sirenuse Miami is the family-owned resort’s first venture away from its Amalfi home. S...
Still hidden, still tasty, Buon Appetito Cafe turns 13
Finding Buon Appetito Cafe in south Fort Myers still takes a little work. Set away from the streets amid nondescript rows of office buildings on Corporate Court off College Parkway, the restaurant is easy to miss. But scratch-made Italian dishes and familial service have drawn people to it for more than 13 years. Most customers hear about Buon App...
Divieto's twist: Real fettuccine Alfredo made in cheese wheel
You haven't truly had fettuccine Alfredo until you've had it served from a wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Ruota di Parmigiano — Italian for "wheel of Parmesan" — is the specialty of Divieto Ristorante in Coconut Point in Estero. Order it and a friendly server will appear tableside with a large wheel of the salty cheese and freshly prepared fettuccin...
At Cape Coral's Mangia Bene, Italian family tosses pizza for the ages
At age 7, Anthony Salvatore used to stand on top of tomato cases. This allowed him to peer over the edge of his father’s countertop and make his first pizzas. Thousands of pizzas and almost 30 years later, Salvatore, 35, no longer needs a boost. At Mangia Bene, one of the oldest and only authentic Italian restaurants in Cape Coral, the pizza pies a...
Frank & Dino's Italian restaurant relocates to Boca Raton
After seven years, this Rat Pack-themed, Southern Italian restaurant has moved from Deerfield Beach into the former Merlino’s with a startling design change from traditional to modern.“We think our core of clients are from Boca Raton, especially downtown,” co-owner Carlo Vaccarezza says. “Boca Raton has became a mini New York City with new restaura...
Enjoy a taste of Sardinia at Sospiri Italian Bakery & Gelato
Mauro Filippeddu grew up in Sardinia, Italy, where he learned to cook the traditional way: from his grandmother. He loved making cookies with her especially treats such as biscotti and papassini. “My first teacher and her (his wife and business partner) first teacher were our grandmothers,” Filippeddu said. “Our grandmothers are the best teachers e...
La Masseria in Palm Beach Gardens is as authentic as Italian food gets in Florida
I walked into La Masseria, located in PGA Commons, severely underdressed. I had just come from making Pizzas with the Pizza Girls down the street, so I was sporting a ballcap, T-shirt, and shorts. I was greeted by the general manager, a friendly Italian gentleman named Massimo De Luca, who dismissed my wardrobe faux pas as if it was nothing (it was...
Giordano’s Deli the place for a submarine sandwich, lunch platters
Indian River County has great supermarkets, delis, convenience stores and restaurants where hungry patrons can get a good submarine sandwich, and many of us have those phone numbers handy to order up a quick meal. Girodano’s Deli definitely is a name and number you want to tack onto your refrigerator door. Two old friends, Dave D’Albora and Dave Ko...
Double Zero’s shared plates can delight; pizza, pasta miss mark
The Castellucci Hospitality Group holds court over Double Zero. The group is young and energetic under the direction of Castellucci Hospitality Group co-owners and siblings Federico Castellucci III, Stephanie and John Castellucci. Among its holdings are Spanish concepts Iberian Pig, Cooks & Soldiers and forthcoming tapas spot Bar Mercado at Krog S...
Divieto Ristorante launches in Coconut Point
A new lunch-dinner option in Coconut Point has the trappings of a fine-dining restaurant but it provides a fun, relaxed, casual dining experience. Divieto Ristorante opened Monday in the regional mall in Estero. The Italian restaurant replaces Bice Grand Café, which closed last June after operating nine years. Divieto offers a fusion of traditional...
Antico Pizza Napoletana Offers Lemon Chicken and Late-Night Pizza in South Beach
Antico Pizza Napoletana, housed where David’s Café used to be (1058 Collins Ave., Miami Beach), opened with the goal of incorporating owner Giovanni Di Palma's several Atlanta-based restaurants into one eatery. The South Beach location serves menu highlights from his Antico Pizza Napoletana, Gio’s Chicken Bar Amalfi, and Caffè Antico under one roof...