Let’s begin the new year of interviews by moving to one of the American territories farthest from Italy, the Northwest. The protagonists of the book written by Tessa Floreano are Idaho, Oregon and Washington, three states that are not among the best known in our country nor among those that have welcomed Italian emigrants the most. But as we have o...
READ MOREWishing for a fabulous Italian restaurant in Oregon where you can dine outside in the cold and rainy winter months? Try Montelupo Italian Market, which serves amazing food in a heated tent. You can also dine inside, but if you’re in the mood for outside dining, where’s the fun in that? (Actually, the inside space is quite lovely, too!) Montelupo op...
READ MOREIn Long Island, New York, Bree Licata grew up frequenting Italian American bakeries that stocked dozens of varieties of cookies and pastries. Customers would eye up trays of baked goods in a pastry case, order what they want, and their selections would be boxed up and priced by weight. Licata’s family was one that had always leaned toward cooking r...
READ MOREESPRESSO EXPERT, coffee roaster, and cafe owner Andrea Spella first established his reputation with the eponymous downtown Portland coffee cart he opened in 2006. Now after the pandemic, and massive changes in the neighborhood, Spella has once again put roots down in the city center with Spella Caffè, his new flagship that opened October 12. The ne...
READ MOREMontelupo Italian Market opened its second Portland location on Thursday — bringing fresh-made focaccia and take-and-bake pasta to the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood. The new market, on Southeast Bybee Boulevard, offers lunch and dinner with indoor and outdoor seating, along with take-home dinner and dessert. “We’re so happy to be in the neighborho...
READ MOREMore than 20 years ago, while Portland restaurateur Adam Berger was learning to make pasta in Montelupo Albese, Italy, he would watch the matriarch of the the restaurant bake her daily focaccia: Pans slid into the wood-fired oven, and bread would emerge airy and crisp at the bottom to be placed at the tables in the dining room. “I can still remembe...
READ MOREIt’s time to celebrate summer with a picnic basket, blanket, a libation, and lawn chairs (low profile, of course) and then head to the park where you can hear live classical music for free. That’s right – free! Portland’s annual Opera in the Park will take place in Washington Park on Sunday, Aug. 13, with a production of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Rigoletto...
READ MOREMontelupo, the popular Kerns neighborhood Italian restaurant, will expand with a new market for Italian pantry goods, focaccia sandwiches and Roman-style pizza, opening as soon as August. According to Montelupo’s Adam Berger, the idea for the market came together quickly this summer, after Portland restaurateur Micah Camden reached out about taking...
READ MOREAfter closing its downtown shop during the pandemic, Spella Caffè is doing something unusual for a business that shuttered in the city’s core: reopening in the same neighborhood. Founder Andrea Spella tells WW the new outpost will be located in the former Moonstruck Chocolate store at 608 SW Alder St. That’s in the Selling Building, which is owned...
READ MOREOur Festa in the park is fun for the entire family and a great venue to meet with family, old friends and also an opportunity to meet new friends. There will be Entertainment, Italian Food/ Beverages, Raffle, Wall of Wine and Auction. The Festa Italiana 4 Person Open Bocce Tournament will start up at 8:30am (see here). Come to the Park and have a g...
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