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On the blistering Fifth Avenue streets, armed with bustling tourists and haute couture icons, there lies a piece of Italy: the Armani Ristorante Fifth Avenue. Posted inside Giorgio Armani’s New York flagship store, this contemporary and elegant midtown gem presents a unique sensory experience—with eyes set on Central Park in the background—lending...

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When it comes to restaurants, this adage tends to be proven again and again: There’s no substitute for experience. The concept may be intriguing, the menu may be well-crafted and the décor may be dazzling (and often terribly expensive), but the confidence that comes with experience usually outshines them all. The new Autentico’s Kitchen with its It...

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Soon after New Jersey transplant Anthony Spina opened O4W Pizza in Atlanta’s Irwin Street Market in 2015, his signature Grandma Pie became a sensation, gathering a cultlike following and “best-of” accolades from dining critics.  But in 2016, Spina left Irwin Street for a restaurant on Main Street in Duluth, where his famous 16-inch square pan pie c...

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A touch of Italian fare with Los Angeles roots arrived in Las Vegas for the new year. The Factory Kitchen opened in the former B&B Ristorante space on restaurant row at the Venetian. Restaurateur Matteo Ferdinandi, who formerly worked at Spago, and chef Angelo Auriana, who spent 18 years as the chef at LA’s Valentino, serve traditional Italian dish...

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You may have notice I do tend to rumble about my family quite a lot when I begin writing: it is because I am a dreamer by nature, and like reminiscing quite a lot. I am also pretty lucky, in the sense I had a very much ideal childhood, which left me with plenty of amazing memories to share, and two grandmothers who cooked divinely, which means I ha...

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It was once called Pine Street and East Meadow Street, home for many Swedes, French Canadians and Irish immigrants trying to make a better life in the New World in the 1700s and 1800s. But the mile-long strip between Belmont Street and Mulberry Street, renamed Shrewsbury Street around 1860, is most known for being “Little Italy,” where Italian immi...

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You can visit the Italian Alps here in Chicago. Baita, located in the River North spot Eataly ( 43 E. Ohio St.; www.eataly.com/us_en/stores/chicago/chi-baita/ ), brings this area of Europe to the Windy City. And it's a seasonal spot, bringing the Italian winter through March. ( Also, "baita" means "small ski lodge," reinforcing the decor. ) I advis...

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The thought of sampling vinegar dribbled straight into a spoon is enough to draw anyone’s face into a squeamish pucker. But traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena, aceto balsamico t radizionale di Modena, is not just any vinegar, and it’s anything but bitter. Instead, it’s considered the king of vinegars and one of Italy's most important culinary l...

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A Springfield couple took a risk when they opened their own European-style bakery in downtown Springfield, but just a few months later the business has already expanded with a new Italian deli set to host a grand opening Saturday. Salato Deli has been serving customers under a soft opening for about a week at 40 N. Fountain Ave., but will officiall...

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Whatever you think of tea-smoked duck breast stacked like masonry, or aggressively deconstructed Key lime pie, or the novelty of dining inside an Airstream-sized “nest” made of bent birch wood—you probably winced a little bit the day downtown’s stunningly innovative Cerulean closed its doors. It happened a year ago this month, and losing that glass...

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