Off the eaten path: Vincenzo's Pastaria survives and thrives in south Fort Myers
by Annabelle Tometich The pizza starts with a 50-pound dough ball, made from a precise recipe John Bongiorno has taped to the kitchen wall at Vincenzo's Pastaria. The dough, enough for about a half-day's worth of pies during peak times, is kneaded then portioned into rounds for the south Fort Myers restaurant's 14-, 18- and 22-inc...
LIDI Ristorante on a mission to bring the Italian culinary soul to Daniel Island
by Deidre Schipani The culinary latitude and longitude has shifted on the corner that chef Ken Vedrinski originally established as a restaurant. Red-and-white checkered tablecloths have replaced the racing silks of Siena; the cuisine of Tuscany is pre-empted by that of Apulia, Campania and Sicily. Ristorante LIDI, the current resident, pro...
Taste Of The Town: La Fontana, Doral’s Newest Authentic Italian Eatery
Welcome to La Fontana, Doral's newest authentic Italian eatery straight from Venezuela! Did we say Italian food from Venezuela? Yes we did! La Fontana was founded in South America in 1980 by an Italian restaurateur, who moved there 25 years ago. Levin De Grazia is the son of the original founder. "Everything started in Venezuela with my fathe...
Dining Out: Valenti's brings authentic Italian to Vass
by Steve DeVane Staff Tell us about your place: Adam Valenti's family moved to Moore County from Long Island, New York, in 1987. His father opened a restaurant in Vass but sold it six years later. He saw the need for quality Italian food in the area, so he bought some land about a half mile away and built Valenti's in 1996. The re...
A Via to Italy
By Roberta Sabban If Addison Mizner wandered through Via Mizner today, he would feel right at home. The warren of boutiques, restaurants and apartments built in the early 1920s are very much as he left them. Although the historic complex has been gently modernized over the decades, his basic designs and original concepts are still...
Mama Leone's Serves Italian Favorites in Nokomis
by Judi Gallagher I can remember when Mama Leone's was housed in little white building on Tamiami Trail in Nokomis. The service was friendly, but more than anything we loved the real-deal veal parmesan overflowing on the plate and a large cheese pizza (ordered well-done and served perfectly browned). It was the saltiness of the cheese on t...
Happy hour of the week: Dolce Italian
On the busy street of Collins Avenue, amidst art deco buildings and swanky nightclubs, is Dolce Italian, a restaurant tucked inside the Gale South Beach Hotel. Happy hour is offered seven days a week from 4-8 p.m. at the bar and café area only. Sadly, this means you can't sit outside and watch the characters of South Beach walk by, though...
A job opportunity
Varuni-Napoli, the new Italian event in the pizza scene, opening in late December in Midtown, Atlanta, is looking for personnel for pastry-chef, bus, runners, waiters, cashier, receptionist and wine-bar tender. Requirements are: basic Italian (or an accent), over 18 years of age, affability of character (sociable) and good physical presence, modera...
Franklin's new Italian Trattoria restaurant is a one-man showBy
by Emily R. West The timer started chirping on Matthew Antonovich's phone in his back pocket. Looking up from pounding out his pasta dough, he strides toward the oven, the smells providing only a sampling of what's to come. "I do all of this myself," he said, reaching toward the handle. He then resets the timer on the bread. "This is...
Italian-American Classics on Chicco's Menu
by Erin Perkins Soon-to-open venture Vincent Chicco's chef Aaron Lemieux may have a French surname that translates to "the best" and come from behind the line at brasserie Rue de Jean, but he has Italian food at heart. In a interview with Lemieux, he states his last meal would be his "mother's stuffed shells" and goes on to explain the ite...
A slice of Italy in downtown Miami
The Place: No need to hop a flight to Florence — you can find a taste of Tuscany in Mary Brickell Village at Toscana Divino. The space is dimly lit and hip, with a central round glass wine cellar and outdoor tables on the pavement for those willing to brave the al fresco heat in downtown. The menu is divided into traditional dishes and modern takes...
Pietro’s maintains neighborhood vibe
By Amy Pearson Pietro's is the perfect blend of neighborhood pizzeria and progressive Italian eatery empire. Constantine has nothing on Joseph Filippazzo, who, along with brother Stefano and parents — and founders — Pietro and Rosaria Filappazzo, run the 35-year-old institution that has expanded to Bossier City, La, and now to Cape Canaveral,...