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Back in 1919, a group of 22 young men from northwest Italy’s Piedmont region got together most evenings at a house in North Oakland to drink wine and play cards and bocce. Similar smaller gatherings took place at other Piemontese family houses in the area. By 1920, the men’s exuberant energy overwhelmed their hosts. “So we kicked them out of our ho...

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If you are wandering the Bay Area, craving traditional Italian pasta fresca, it might be time for you to visit Michele Belotti. Throughout the quarantine, this young (33-year-old) chef from Bergamo has continued to work tirelessly at his restaurant and pasta shop in Oakland, still producing staples like bigoli, ravioli, and casonsei (traditional du...

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Three veterans of the food and wine industry are joining forces in Oakland to rediscover the passionate heat, immediacy, and immersive history of food and wine so often lost in the restaurant setting. Chef Alessandro Campitelli of Chiaroscuro and Contrasto restaurants, sommelier Paul Robinson of New York’s Del Posto and Chiaroscuro, and former chef...

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Looking for a mouthwatering Italian meal near you? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top Italian spots around Oakland, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to satisfy your cravings. Looking to pop in to the latest popular spots? It's a good time now, since consumer spending at restaurants...

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Giorgio Tavecchio’s story is one of those stories that should be told to youngsters. His story is an example of how tenacity and grit in sport, and especially in life in general, can really help dreams come true. Much has been said and written about how he fought to play in the NFL, America’s top-flight American football league, and succeeded in be...

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Giorgio Tavecchio, a huge international soccer fan, wanted to take home a piece of history from the Oakland Raiders game at historic Estadio Azteca. So the Raiders kicker grabbed a ball that had the NFL In Mexico logo emblazoned upon it when the team arrived back at its headquarters on Monday. Then he wondered if the K-ball he grabbed, labeled No....

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For five years, it was the same disheartening scenario. Giorgio Tavecchio would intrigue a team just enough to make its preseason roster and go through training camp, only to get cut. Sometimes it was earlier, sometimes it was later. But always he’d find himself at home, watching yet another NFL season start without him. “Close,” Tavecchio said whe...

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This foray into football began innocently enough for Giorgio Tavecchio. It was fun. A catchy Italian song from the 1950s, “Eh, Cumpari!” by Julius La Rosa, bounced from the stadium speakers at Campolindo High in Moraga, California, whenever the Italian-American took the field for a field goal or extra point. He relished the time spent with friends....

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History and literature buffs often speak of 19th century writer Horatio Alger, whose characters rise from obscure poverty to great esteem. For a sporting twist, the 2005 film “Goal! The Dream Begins” and its sequels follow a fictional soccer player from undocumented immigrant struggles to professional stardom. Anyone who appreciates those narrative...

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It may have been a weekday noon Mass, but worshipers thronged St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland on Tuesday in numbers that could have rivaled an Easter service. The standing-room-only crowd of at least 1,500 converged on the cathedral for the one-day opportunity to be near a few bits of hair and cloth that would connect them with one of the most venera...

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