Saint Leo restaurant on Oxford Square is a hot spot
By Allen Brewer After several years of planning, Emily Blount has finally opened her fist restaurant, Saint Leo, in the heart of Oxford. The old fashion wood-fire oven pizza restaurant, located on the east side of the Square, offers a newer, fresher taste for local pizza lovers. Opening on June 30, Saint Leo offers Oxonians a litt...
Pizza and 'pizzazz' coming to Dixon Blvd.
By Casey White The three "wise guys" behind a new Shelby restaurant hope to create a matchless experience for its customers when they open. Wize Guyz American Italian Restaurant, helmed by chef/owner Keith Tagner and owners Ghazi Elrehayel and Daryl Rosenberger, is set to open soon at 210 W. Dixon Blvd. The location was previously occupied by...
Italian restaurant opens on Sixth Avenue
By Charli Kerns Anthony Picariello knew exactly what the perfect name would be for his restaurant on Sixth Avenue, which opened at the site of the former Pampered Palate two weeks ago. "I moved here for my girlfriend, Stacie. Hence the name 'Mi Amore'," Picariello said. Both he and Stacie Coller grew up in Voorhees Township, N.J., ev...
Olive Branch brings Mediterranean-Italian fine dining to Mount Dora
The Olive Branch Grille and Bar is one of the newest additions to the fine dining choices in downtown Mount Dora, offering authentic Mediterranean-Italian dishes under the leadership of Executive Chef Jerry Vejseli. Since its grand opening on New Year's Eve, the restaurant has become an attraction for lunch and dinner. "My wife, Karen, and...
Olive Garden sells 1,000 unlimited pasta passes in just two hours amid pressure from investors
Pasta fans were quick off the mark on Monday, as Olive Garden sold out of its exclusive unlimited dining passes in less than two hours. The US restaurant chain offered 1,000 customers the chance to snap up a $100 pass that will allow them to eat as much as they like between 22 September and 9 November, for its never ending pasta bowl promotion. &...
Southern-style dishes at Italian Grill are top notch
Italian Grill in the shopping center on the north-east corner of 58th Avenue and 20th Street was one of the first restaurants we visited upon moving to Vero Beach several years ago. Coming from New Jersey, we newbies derived comfort from the familiar taste of tangy tomato sauce found in its southern Italian-style dishes. But there was more to...
Celebrate Ravioli Day with Cafe Prima Pasta
Get ready to put the beer down and grab a plate cause Café Prima Pasta Celebrates National Ravioli Day this Thursday, March 20th! Take a load of the tastiest pasta in Miami with complimentary pasta bites throughout the night. The critically acclaimed Italian spot is celebrating with free home made ravioli bites on Pasta's biggest night! Ca...
New online store offers authentic gourmet Italian amaretti cookies
Just in time for the holidays, a new Sarasota company is bringing the taste, tradition and style of Italy to America with a new website focused entirely on fresh-baked amaretti, the Mediterranean country's trademark cookie. Mia Bella opened its virtual doors in October, offering six amaretti cookie varieties baked to order daily and using...
L.A. chef with Italian roots opens Palladio in Bonita Springs
Bonita Springs now hosts a small slice of Northern Italy. Chef Emanuela Calcara opened Palladio Trattoria on May 13 after moving to Southwest Florida after 16 years in California. "I wanted to be closer to my family," Calcara explained. Calcara was born in Maryland and grew up in Vicenza in Northern Italy. She completed her culin...
Chef Michael Toscano serves near-perfect food at Le Farfalle
If Le Farfalle were a person, you'd want to be seen with her. Soundtrack by Alabama Shakes, wardrobe by Ralph Lauren: She's effortlessly cool and unquestionably popular, yet exerts a polished restraint. And then there's the food. You see it and your heart sinks. Just look and you'll understand. It's not just friendship or even a girl crush...
Villa Bellini brings upscale Italian to Tio Pepe space
It's got pilasters and curved archways and marble statuary and carved fireplace mantles and complicated deco wrought-iron work. In short, the new Villa Bellini in the 1928 building that housed Tio Pepe for decades is a knockout. There's valet parking, a gracious gaggle of lovely young women at the front desk, bartenders who ask your name a...
First taste: Nicoletto’s Italian Kitchen on Gallatin Pike
People love pasta. And brothers Ryan and Danny Nicoletto quickly garnered a following for their small batch fresh and dried pastas, made with organic ingredients, heritage wheats and time-honored practices. Success — consistently selling out at farmers markets citywide — gave them the impetus to go from mobile to bricks-and-mortar. In Nove...