Where's all the good Italian in Portland? This is the question every New Yorker asks when they arrive here—every Chicagoan, every Bostonian or San Diegan, people from cities with a Little Italy that still matters. But we have nowhere to send them. Portland has no neighborhood centered on Italian culture and food, and few Italian spots with traditions older than 30 years.

"It's scattered," says Mike Sciaraffo, spokesperson for Festa Italiana, August 24-26, in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square, celebrating Portland's Italian culture and history. "I like Piazza Italia in the Pearl, there's another one on Alberta called Enzo's Caffe Italiano. Last night I ate at a food cart on Division Street called Artigiano. But they're not clustered."