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Marriage may be a celestial thing, but weddings are often an experience closer to Hell, as too many brides know.  That said, even Hell can be screamingly funny filtered through a doddering priest, a claws-out ex-girlfriend in the congregation and relatives with shady pasts dropping in. Hey, aintchoo glad ta see us? "Joey and Maria's Comedy Italian...

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The glut of recent pizzeria news in Southwest Florida supports the theory that pizza may be the circle of life. Most people passionately care about pizza and have deep-seated personal preferences about pizza. New York or Chicago, hand-tossed slices or cracker-thin squares, plain or pineapple, handheld or knife and fork; it’s often best not to broac...

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The Neapolitan Gourmet (NG) is an Italian deli in Naples, Florida serving, well,  Italian delicacies. It has been in business for 25 years. In my book, this is a very good sign. I had heard really good things about their sandwiches, here known as heroes, and decided to take a look. NG, open 10:30 AM to 3 PM Monday-Saturday, is suited for the lunch...

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According to popular legend, in 1889, Queen Margherita of Italy visited Naples, where a local pizzaiolo named Raffaele Esposito whipped up a new style of pizza in honor of her majesty. Made with mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and tomatoes grown in the volcanic soil near Mount Vesuvius, the Margherita pizza, as it came to be known, paid tribute to t...

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I visited Bellini Italian Ristorante late on a Monday afternoon in hopes things wouldn’t be too busy. This is the modern plight of restaurant critics: In normal times, we’re tasked with visiting a restaurant no less than twice, at times when it’s the “typical” restaurant experience customers might find should they visit a place we’ve reviewed. But...

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When Skip Quillen tried to open Pazzo! Cucina Italiana 25 years ago, he hit a snag. “We had a hard time getting waiters, because waiters didn’t want to bet on a new restaurant. And what happened was about a week before we were about to open, we realized these waiters were horrible,” Quillen said. In what would become emblematic of his team-centric...

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I had the pleasure of meeting Alex Alexander about 10 years ago when she jogged the streets of Isles of Capri without breathing hard, while I felt fatigued just watching her run past my house. While doing her standard running miles, she noticed some developers checking out The Blue Heron property. In all probability, she thought the property and bu...

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One of the joys of being Italian is participating in the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. This year, thanks to Pazzo!, everyone is welcome to enjoy it. “I grew up in an Italian neighborhood in New Jersey,” says Skip Quillen, owner of the Culinary Concepts restaurants (Chops City Grill, Pazzo!, Yabba, and The Saloon Wood Fired Grill). “Mo...

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A science fiction writer who for decades wrote a column in the Naples Daily News has died. Ben Bova, 88, died Sunday, his niece Kathryn Brusco announced on Twitter. "My Uncle Ben...by marriage...science fiction icon, author, adventure lover, story teller, futurist, and my son's namesake, Ben Bova, has passed away this morning from COVID-19 related...

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Opening a restaurant is a high-risk proposition at the best of times. These days, with COVID-19 precautions, limited occupancy, and a staggering 85 percent of restaurants at serious risk of closing in the coming months, it seems to be too serious a risk, like a poker player drawing to an inside straight. But on the Isles of Capri, AJ Black exudes a...

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