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Piccolo’s executive chef, Damian Sansonetti, is chuckling in the background. Despite his efforts, I can hear him over the speakerphone. I’ve just asked his wife, pastry chef Ilma Lopez, what inspired her to put smoked walnuts on a dark chocolate budino ($12) – an addition that pitch-shifts the tones of the custard-like dessert from bittersweet to t...

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Let’s get some initial questions about Tesoro, the newly revamped Italian eatery on Harlow Street in Bangor that reopened under new ownership this week after three months closed, out of the way first. Yes, it still offers pizza, pasta and carafes of wine. Yes, there’s still classic diner-style seating in the front room. And yes, nearly 25 years aft...

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The Light in the Piazza will be lighting up City Theater in Biddeford for 3 weekends in March. This exciting production features some the best vocal talent in Southern, Maine and an extraordinary 5 piece chamber orchestra. This new production has been said to have "the most intensely romantic score of any musical since West Side Story" (NY Times) T...

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Maine lawmakers are set to consider trading the Columbus Day holiday for a tribute to Native Americans. The Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee is set to hold a hearing on the bill Monday. Democratic Rep. Benjamin Collings of Portland sponsored the bill that renames the state holiday celebrated on the second Monday in October to Indi...

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Two months after putting it up for sale, Tesoro Pizzeria & Restaurant owners Fortunata and Rocco Agrusa have sold their business to a pair with extensive experience in the local restaurant scene. Johanna Harvey and Mark Greenleaf, both of Bangor, purchased Tesoro from the Agrusas last month, and have been busy over the past few weeks renovating the...

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Momma Baldacci's has been resurrected, a decade after the bricks-and-mortar Bangor restaurant closed, as a food truck. The Bangor Daily News reported that Paul Baldacci Jr., the fourth generation to be involved in the well-known restaurant, was in his early 20s when his father died in 2006. Baldacci Jr. wasn't ready for the operation, which closed...

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Eleven local sandwich shops gathered in Portland’s Monument Square late morning Thursday to build what may be the unofficial World’s Largest Maine Italian Sandwich – 160 feet from end to end. Collectively, it took the sandwich makers about 25 minutes to build it, said Gillian Britt, one of the owner/producers of Portland’s Harvest on the Harbor fes...

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If you’re a fan of the Maine Italian, head to Monument Square Thursday to get a bite of what is being billed as the World’s Largest Maine Italian Sandwich. At least eight local sandwich shops plan to meet there at 11 a.m. Each will construct 16 feet of its own signature Maine Italian. Together, they hope to construct a finished sandwich that is 144...

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Think of Catholicism in New England and Boston’s churches probably come to mind. Indeed, St. Leonard, one of the oldest Catholic churches in the US, was built in 1873 by Italian immigrants at the corner of Hanover and Prince Streets in Boston’s North End. But the oldest continuously operating Catholic church in the area is actually found in Newcast...

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Every so often I get a little extra excited about a new restaurant or market, for one reason or another. Like in this case, when I imagine I am jumping up and down, clapping my hands like a little girl and totally embarrassing myself. That’s because soon I may be driving by Monte’s Fine Foods every day, a project that longtime Portland chef Steve Q...

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