Dining

The owner and chef behind the first plant-based Italian restaurant in the United States shares all her secrets in a debut cookbook titled “Vegana Italiana.” A native of New York, Tara Punzone opened Pura Vita in West Hollywood, California, in 2018, focusing on transforming classic Italian staples into vegan dishes without sacrificing flavor. The cookbook offers more than 100 vegan Italian recipes inspired by her family’s meals and favorites from her restaurant. “When Punzone decided to go vegan when she was 12 years old, she learned how to follow a vegan lifestyle without compromising her traditions, heritage or love of …

The Italian restaurant Tortello, whose owner Dario Monni is from Venice, was named by Eater Chicago among the city’s best outdoor dining spots. Monni and his wife, Jill Gray, a native Chicagoan, opened the neighborhood counter-service restaurant and handcrafted pastificio in 2019. “Locals are known to frequently swing by for fresh pasta and jarred sauces, including a stellar cacio e pepe, to cook at home, but there’s a lot to be said for slurping freshly made pappardelle on its Division Street patio for lunch or dinner (or both),” Eater wrote. For more, click here.

After 54 years in business, My Pi Pizza — among Chicago’s most iconic pizzerias — announced it was closing in June. “From our first location on Sheridan Road in 1971 to our Bucktown home since 2000, My Pi has been a labor of love,” the restaurant wrote on Instagram. “We introduced deep-dish beyond Illinois, opened 25 locations across nine states and shared our family recipe with generations of pizza lovers.” Founder Larry Aronson, whose family came from Belarus, perfected his recipe using lower-acid tomatoes, a top-secret “spice pack” and dough built on generations of baking knowledge, Time Out reported. The …

Italian candy giant Ferrero plans to launch its first new flavor variety of Nutella next year, right from the Chicago area, the Chicago Tribune reported. Nutella Peanut was developed by Ferrero’s food scientists and will be made exclusively at the company’s factory in suburban Franklin Park. “We think it’s going to be big,” Seth Gonzalez, senior director of marketing for Nutella, told the newspaper. “We do plan on it becoming a significant part of the portfolio going forward, and so we hope that consumers will get behind it and come try it out.” The plant — which also makes peanut-packed …

Seven-time James Beard-nominated chef Cathy Whims published her first cookbook, “The Italian Summer Kitchen: Timeless Recipes for La Dolce Vita,” in the spring. Whims owns Nostrana, an Italian restaurant that celebrated its 20th anniversary this year in Portland, Oregon. Her cookbook features some of the restaurant’s most beloved dishes, along with some of her own from travels abroad, Axios reported. Recipes include fluffy potato gnocchi, zucchini Parmigiana, tuna-caper pâté, grilled shrimp with herbed remoulade, fennel Alfredo pasta, eggplant caponata and Nostrana’s famous Caesar salad. All are focused on “simple, veggie-forward Italian cooking.” “I think that’s a real tenet of Italian …

Elgin-based Cafe Roma is expected to open a second location by this fall inside Old Village Hall in Huntley, in suburban Chicago. The restaurant is owned by chef Frank Redisi, who lived and studied in Rome. His background includes Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago and extensive travel studying and sampling multicultural fare throughout Europe and Southeast Asia, according to Cafe Roma’s website. The restaurant at 2175 Point Boulevard in Elgin opened in 2009 as a lunch-only spot; over time, the lineup was expanded to include dinner hours and catering services. For more, click here.  

Celebrity chef and entrepreneur Giada De Laurentiis has partnered with PENN Entertainment to open upscale restaurants at the future Hollywood Casino sites in Aurora and Joliet in suburban Chicago. The new dining experiences will bring De Laurentiis’ signature fusion of classic Italian cuisine and modern California influence to Sorellina by Giada at the Joliet casino, expected to open later this year, and Sorella by Giada at the Aurora casino, expected to open in 2026. Each restaurant will have its own unique menu of pizza, pastas and more, according to a press release. “I am thrilled to partner with PENN Entertainment …

Having undergone a $4 million renovation over the last two years, Carmine’s on Rush Street in Chicago is scheduled to unveil a new look by June. Known for its classic Italian fare and vibrant atmosphere, the restaurant will feature “an upgraded dining experience, offering both traditional favorites and signature steakhouse selections in a revitalized setting,” according to a press release from parent company Rosebud Restaurant Group. The new 10,000-square-foot building will have a one-floor layout featuring indoor dining, a new private dining room, indoor and outdoor bars, and expansive terrace space, with a total seating capacity of 366. The menu …

After 30 years in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, Tarantino’s closed in the spring after customers flocked to it over its last few weeks to show their appreciation. “My family, my close friends, my sister, my nieces, people from the North Shore, kids of longtime customers literally flying in just to have one last meal here — it’s been really special,” owner John Tarantino told Block Club Chicago. The restaurant’s menu featured recipes from Tarantino’s mother, Grace. Tarantino has worked in restaurants since age 18 but has never cooked. “I couldn’t cook you one of our sauces if we went back …

After selling her creations at suburban Chicago farmers markets, Nicole Pietrarosso-Pavlinic now has her own bakery, Nicola’s Heavenly Cucina, located in the Lockport Metra station. “I’ve been baking my whole life — my mom taught me — and it’s been a dream for me to open up my own bakery,” Pietrarosso-Pavlinic, whose father is Italian, told the Herald-News. “A lot of these recipes have been in my family for decades.” The menu includes Italian classics such as butter cookies, cannoli and tiramisù, the latter imported from Italy; coffee; and her house specialty, sourdough bread. She also sells other sourdough creations, …