Dining

The wine2wine Vinitaly Business Forum will debut in Chicago on Oct. 5 and 6 at the iconic Navy Pier, marking the first time this trade and networking event has been held outside Italy. Over two days, the program will feature a range of masterclasses designed to contextualize every aspect of the contemporary wine industry and showcase Italian styles, regions and trends currently shaping the global wine scene. Among the event’s offerings, the Italian Trade Agency will host three masterclasses to strengthen the role of Italian wine in the U.S. market and highlight ITA’s mission as a facilitator for Italian producers abroad. For more, click …

A new Pompei restaurant opened last month in Elmwood Park, guided by the third generation of the family-owned Chicago staple. The original restaurant on Taylor Street in Little Italy started more than a century ago as a bakery that sold bread, cheese pizza and, later, pastries. In the 1980s, the menu expanded to include other varieties of pizza, plus sandwiches and “strudels” (similar to calzone). The new location at 22 Conti Parkway in Elmwood Park is a great fit because of the area’s deep connection to Little Italy, owner Ralph Davino told the Wednesday Journal. Many Italians settled in Elmwood …

The Elmhurst retail location of Lezza Spumoni & Desserts is celebrating its 10th year in the Chicago suburb, Food Industry News reported. The bakery started in Chicago’s Little Italy with a spumoni recipe brought from Italy by Salvatore Lezza in 1905. The business, which eventually moved to suburban Bellwood due to the need for more space, was later run by Salvatore’s son Victor. Today the business is in the hands of Ed Lezza Sr. (the family’s third generation) and nephew Louis (fourth generation). Opened in 2015, the Elmhurst store also features a cake-tasting room and a coffee bar that serves …

Roman chefs accused Britain’s leading recipe brand of bastardizing the famous cacio e pepe pasta dish, The Times reported this summer. The original recipe calls for combining black pepper and sharp Pecorino Romano, but Good Food published a recipe that added butter and featured Parmigiano Reggiano instead of Pecorino Romano. In a letter to Good Food and the British Embassy in Rome, chefs in the Italian capital complained about the move. “That’s like us coming to Britain and demanding the finest double malt whiskey mixed with lemonade,” said Claudio Pica, author of the letter and president of the Rome branch …

The cookbook “Milk Street Backroads Italy: Finding Italy’s Forgotten Recipes” features more than 140 recipes, along with explanations about their original techniques and the stories behind the dishes. Founded by Christopher Kimball, the co-founder of America’s Test Kitchen, Milk Street is a Boston media company that features a cooking school with in-person and online classes, a TV show, a magazine and a podcast. To create the cookbook, Milk Street editors “scoured small eateries, local markets, farms and home kitchens from Lombardy to Calabria and from Sardinia to Sicily in search of fresh takes on classic recipes as well as little-known …

This summer, Cornerstone Restaurant Group opened Dimmi Dimmi Corner Italian in the former Tarantino’s space at 1112 W. Armitage Ave. in Chicago. (“Dimmi” means “tell me” in Italian.) Headed by executive chef Matt Eckfeld, the restaurant has a “fresh, feel-good take on Italian-American fare,” according to a press release. Eckfeld’s culinary background includes work at award-winning New York restaurants such as Carbone and ZZ’s Club. Dimmi Dimmi “blends Eckfeld’s modern approach with the nostalgic warmth of Italian-American comfort, creating a welcoming neighborhood spot in the heart of Lincoln Park where community and cuisine meet with ease.” The menu features homemade …

Ascione Bistro opened at 8006 Lincoln Ave. in downtown Skokie, the second location for the restaurant owned by third-generation restaurant owner Alex Argirov and his wife, Lauren Lucchesi, the Chicago Tribune reported. At 5,000 square feet, the Skokie Ascione is much bigger than the original Hyde Park location, and includes a 24-seat bar, patio seating and semi-open-air seating. The menu features generations-old Lucchesi family recipes from southern Italy. “We wanted to expand our business and (were) just looking to do something close to our house,” Lucchesi told the newspaper. “Something for our friends, something for our family and people in …

The eighth location of Joey’s Red Hots & Pizza opened recently at 7920 Lavergne Ave. in Burbank. The enterprise was founded by longtime friends Anthony Nardo and Nick Iozzo, who launched a hot dog stand more than two decades ago in south suburban Orland Park, Food Industry News reported. Today, Joey’s includes sit-down restaurants in seven suburban locations — New Lenox, Justice, Crest Hill, Riverdale, Orland Hills, Orland Park and Burbank — and one in Chicago’s Morgan Park neighborhood. Joey’s Red Hots serves Vienna Beef franks, Italian beef, gyros, pizza and gelato. The venture also features a catering arm and …

“Italopunk: 145 Recipes to Shock Your Nonna” is the English-language debut from Vanja van der Leeden, a Dutch-Indonesian chef and culinary writer. The cookbook features 145 recipes that “refresh beloved Italian dishes and reimagine what they can become,” a press release stated. “Rooted in the traditional elements of Italian trattoria cooking, van der Leeden shares riffs on classics — panzanella with mango, cacio e pepe with mint, tiramisù with sesame — offering a vegetable-forward, climate-conscious, seasonal collection that encourages readers to explore Italian ingredients beyond the usual grocery store fare.” Van der Leeden studied language and literature in Florence and …

As part of Gene & Georgetti’s 85th anniversary celebrations, a portion of Franklin Street near the legendary Chicago steakhouse was officially dedicated as Way. Durpetti, who took over the restaurant in 1989 after the passing of his father-in-law, died last year. “It was a moment decades in the making and one that reflects the indelible impact Tony had on our family, our team and the city we proudly call home,” the restaurant stated about the dedication. The ceremony was led by 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly, with remarks delivered by Tony’s daughter, Michelle Durpetti, now managing partner, and her husband, …