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“Hey Joe” “Hec, what’s up?” If I learned anything from my Italian father-in-law, and his brothers it’s that “old school” Italians are full of great stories, history, and they love to share it with whomever will listen. A simple ‘hello’ leads into the old days of Buffalo and you go down the rabbit hole filled with imagination and amazing stories. Th...

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A month ago we announced that Osteria 166’s Stock the Freezer campaign had reached the 6500 meal donation mark. Incredibly, that astounding number led to a brand new business tact taken by Osteria 166 owner Nick Pitillo, who now says that his pre-packaged and frozen, ready-to-go Italian meals have landed on the shelves of all four Western NY Dash’s...

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The first line in the email said everything. "Buffalo lost a part of its soul yesterday with the passing of Joseph Giambra," a family representative wrote in a note about the death of a civic legend. Giambra – almost always known as "Joey" – died at 86 late Thursday in a Covid-19 wing at Buffalo General Medical Center. He had been hospitalized sinc...

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You can add the Galbani Italian Heritage Festival to the list of summer events that will not happen in 2020. Organizers have canceled the two-day event, scheduled for July 18 and 19 in Niagara Square, due to COVID-19. "For the health and safety of our guests, vendors and board members it was essential to come to this decision," organizer Marco Scio...

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In the arc of my family’s history, there have been many hardships—grueling emigration, job loss, war, poverty—much of which I can’t fully relate to. But in the growing crisis that has paralyzed Italy, the U.S. and much of the world, I now have a glimpse at just one of many unforgiving realities that our ancestors faced for much of their lives. It g...

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The Chromatic Club of Buffalo – Buffalo’s oldest active music organization (founded in 1898) – along with the Mazzotti Anatomy Conference Scholarship Fund and CCI of Buffalo, will present Italian Opera in WNY on Saturday, March 14. This recital, brought to us by The Centro Culturale Italiano di Buffalo, in collaboration with the Chromatic Club of B...

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Retired Surrogate Court Judge Joseph S. Mattina, who oversaw about 10,000 adoptions in his decades on the bench, received cards every Christmas from adoptive parents. When he went out in public, someone invariably pulled up a child’s photo on their phone or from their wallet. In 2016, Judge Mattina was especially touched by a long, handwritten lett...

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For years, Nick Mogavero, longtime director of health education and physical education for the Buffalo schools, was known as the coach who cut basketball all-star Bob Lanier from the Bennett High School team in 1963. It wasn’t until 1990, though, that he told his side of the story. Prompted by the sudden death of a college basketball player, Mr. Mo...

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Mulberry Street, the heart of Manhattan’s Little Italy, is the epicenter of Italian American culinary imagination. Its iconic logo awnings, natty white tablecloths and seen-it-all servers set the scene. Pasta and red sauce, workingman’s dishes elevated through skill, love and respect for the old ways, made it the neighborhood that launched a 1,000...

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You learn something new everyday…like, for instance when you find out about the  Italian origins  of Buffalo wings and pretzels. I honestly didn’t expect it. One of my best friends is a proud Buffalonian: she loves her city, is a faithful Bills’ supporter and there’s nothing about Buffalo she doesn’t miss dearly now that she lives in Europe. She wa...

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