Jimmy Breslin, a king of journalists, joins the ranks of the immortals
Earlier this month, the literary gods that decide these things sent me a message from the great beyond and said it was high time I finally read, front cover to back cover, Pietro di Donato’s 1939 novel Christ in Concrete. (What, you think we only read Irish stuff around here?) This raw New York story is about an Italian immigrant laborer working u...
Take a walk through Emperor Nero’s garden with a virtual reality tour
What remains of the once vast landscaped palace is small. It once stood in the middle of the ancient city, its walls decorated with gold-leaf, ivory and gemstones, among gardens boasting vineyards, pastures, woods and an artificial lake. Treasures looted in Eastern cities were displayed in the complex of porticoes and rooms built by Nero after the...
Police chiefs among Nutley, Belleville Columbus Parade 2017 dignitaries
The Nutley-Belleville Columbus Parade Committee has named its 2017 dignitaries. The parade honorees are: John Apicella, Italian Business LeaderRuth Bedford, Community Excellence AwardDr. Louis Crupi, Italian Heritage AwardAnthony Iannorone, Lifetime Achievement AwardAl Lembo Jr., Grand MarshalHenry Meola, Renaissance AwardBelleville Police Chief Ma...
New Italian Restaurant Opens In Takoma Park
A new Italian restaurant called Trattoria Da Lina opened its doors this past week on Carroll Avenue in Takoma Park, according to the Main Street Takoma organization. Dolci Gelati Cafe co-founder Marcello Minna is the owner of the new restaurant. The restaurant will serve a variety of pasta dishes, entrees like fish and steaks, sweet treats like cre...
Franciacorta embraces forgotten grape to fight climate change
Franciacorta, the sparkling wine DOCG from Lombardy, has made move to allow its own indigenous variety to be used in blends alongside Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco. Silvano Brescianini, vice president of Franciacorta and director of Barone Pizzini winery, told Decanter.com that he expects Erbamat to be an ‘ally’ against climate change, pa...
Rocco Petrone: A Modern-Day Cathedral Builder
"The Invisible Pyramid" by Loren Eisely contains a chapter entitled "The Spore Bearers". In it the fungus, Pilobolus, is likened to a rocket. The spore which will project the descendants of Pilobolus into the future prepare themselves with a light sensitive capsule to aim ever toward the brightest light. When the right chemical pressures are built...
Our Lady of Grace celebrates St. Joseph’s Day
Fioretti Hall, the oft-used multi-purpose room at Our Lady of Grace Church in Johnston, has perhaps never looked as festive as it did Saturday night. For example, the Italian colors of red, green and white were everywhere inside the jam-packed Roman Catholic Church’s parish center. Those colors came in many forms and sizes, none more striking than...
Mario Batali, American Chemical Society Weigh in on the Science of Pasta
Like any good Italian, my mother, Victoria Perritano, made her first batch of pasta dough as young bride newly married to her Italian groom. She learned the technique from her mother, my grandmother. Pasta making has been a technique and tradition lovingly passed down in Italian families for generations. In fact, renowned chef, restaurateur and coo...
Rovine Circolari in "Via dei dollari". A Celebration of the Italian Accordion.
When: Friday, April 28th at 7pm - Where: Instituto Cervantes, 31 W Ohio St. - Entrance : Free Via dei dollari” is an hour-long presentation in English with poems and songs performed in Italian. “Via dei dollari,” or Dollar Street, is the name of the avenue that runs through the center of Casteldardo, a small town in the Marche region known througho...
Antonella Ricco: una chef a New York con la Puglia nel cuore
Il suo motto è: “Make simple healthy choices”. Fate delle scelte semplici e salutari. Parliamo chiaramente di alimentazione e nutrizione, che per Antonella Ricco, private chef a New York e nutrizionista, fanno il paio con sostenibilità, qualità e consapevolezza. Da oltre vent’anni sta ai fornelli ma anche sui libri, diventando successivamente anche...
HBO Took A Page Out Of Netflix's Playbook With This New Series
Elena Ferrante fans can rejoice, their heroine is coming to the small screen. Well, kind of. Though many expected Ferrante to fade from public life after an Italian journalist revealed her real name last October, she's instead continued to do what she's always done: Write things for money.HBO just announced a 32-episode order that will cover all fo...
Eataly: A Tale of Four Crusts
Pizza is all about the crust. You can change the sauce, swap out the cheese, and vary the toppings. It’s all a matter of taste. But if the crust is a failure, so is the pizza. And in the end, thick or thin isn’t as important as taste and crumb, the latter being the term bread lovers use when they’re talking about the interior texture of a particula...