Food

Now on menus across the country, Caesar’s salad is said to have been invented a century ago by an Italian chef in Mexico. According to legend, Caesar Cardini came up with the dish on July 4, 1924, at his restaurant, Caesar’s Place, in Tijuana, Mexico, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Cardini was struggling to feed an influx of Californians who had crossed the border to escape Prohibition, so he threw together the ingredients at hand: whole Romaine leaves with garlic-flavored oil, Worcestershire sauce, lemons, eggs and Parmesan. Tijuana commemorated the anniversary in July with a three-day food and wine festival, and …

SLYCE Coal Fired Pizza Company now has a fourth location at 5500 N. River Road, inside the Embassy Suites hotel in Rosemont. SLYCE specializes in coal-fired pizzas, whose dough is mixed and fermented daily, and stretched by hand. Each pizza is cooked at more than 800 degrees, “just long enough to produce that classically crisp, leopard-spotted crust with a soft and chewy interior,” the company says. The menu features pizza, including build-your-own, plus salads, soups, chicken wings, sandwiches and desserts such as tiramisu and affogato. A late-night bar offers wine, beer and a variety of liquor. The mother-and-daughter team of …

Supermarkets in Italy are now stocking a new Nutella ice cream, launched in June by the confectionary superpower Ferrero. The ice cream version of the popular hazelnut-chocolate spread follows the 60th anniversary of the introduction of Nutella, which first went on sale in Italy on April 20, 1964. Nowadays, half a million tons of Nutella are sold around the world each year. “At Ferrero, we are always exploring new ways to surprise and delight our consumers, such as offering them the possibility to enjoy the unique taste of our beloved brands in the ice cream format,” a Ferrero spokesperson said. …

Pizza manufacturer Palermo’s is expanding its production capacity by building a nearly 200,000-square-foot production facility in West Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The new facility is located just 3 miles from the company’s headquarters. Groundbreaking is slated this month, with expected completion in June 2025. Palermo’s was founded in 1954 by Gaspare “Jack” Fallucca and his wife, Zina, who immigrated from Italy and opened an Italian bakery on Milwaukee’s East Side. The couple then opened a pizzeria and restaurant in 1969 and went into the frozen-food business in 1979.

Actress-turned-food expert Valerie Bertinelli has published her third cookbook, based on her resolution to end the battle with the scale. “Indulge: Delicious and Decadent Dishes to Enjoy and Share” is written in a “warmhearted and intimate style” with heartfelt essays about how to savor moments big and small, according to publisher HarperCollins. “Indulge” contains recipes Bertinelli cooks for her friends and family, including Garlic Confit BLT, Oven “Fried” Okra, Spaghetti al Limone, Salmon Burgers with Quick-Pickled Vegetables, Filet Mignon with Béarnaise Sauce, and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Dates. Bertinelli rose to fame as a teenager in the sitcom “One Day at a …

  “The Tuscans celebrate beef as much as people do in Chicago.” That’s what two-time James Beard-nominated chef Evan Funke told David Manilow, host of “The Dining Table” podcast, during a conversation about his new restaurant, Tre Dita, which he opened in the spring in Chicago in partnership with Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. “Tre dita” means “three fingers” in Italian, a reference to the thickness of a properly cut Bistecca alla Fiorentina, the upscale restaurant’s signature dish featuring 60-day dry-aged, 42-ounce prime porterhouse at $290 a pop. The restaurant, on the second floor of The St. Regis Chicago, 401 E. …

After the closure of its flagship restaurant in Chicago’s Little Italy, Rosebud now boasts its first location outside of Illinois. Rosebud on Taylor closed Dec. 31 but is still open for private events. Originally founded in 1976 as Bocciola della Rose (“bud of the rose” in Italian), the restaurant attracted famous patrons such as Oprah Winfrey, Frank Sinatra, Robert De Niro and Gene Hackman, Eater Chicago reported. However, the area changed over the last 50 years, founder Alex Dana told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Industrial companies moved away, which once provided us with huge lunchtime crowds. Little Italy got smaller, and …

Restaurateur Dominic Florio has come out of retirement to open an Italian restaurant in Crystal Lake, in suburban Chicago. Slated to open in July, at 1540 Carlemont Drive, Florio’s Italian features fresh ingredients and traditional southern Italian recipes. Florio sold his original Florio’s restaurant in Chicago in the 1990s, then went into the car-dealership business until he retired, Shaw Local reported. “I decided, one more time,” the 73-year-old said. “I can only play so much golf, and I love the business.” Chef Renato Marmolino, a native of Italy, helped craft Florio’s Italian menu. For more, click here.  

In the foreword of his debut cookbook, Chef Joey Maggiore is described as “vibrant, entertaining and as wild as they get.” That’s certainly reflected in the 70 recipes featured in his “Brunch King: Eats, Beats, and Boozy Drinks,” which will be out in September. Maggiore is the driving force behind The Maggiore Group and Hash Kitchen, located in Arizona, Utah and Texas. His cookbook includes recipes such as Ten-Layer Breakfast Lasagna, Crème Brulée French Toast Sticks, Blue Corn Bananas Foster Pancakes, Carnitas Hash and Gnocchi Carbonara Hash, as well as a variety of inventive cocktails. For more, click here.   …

Caputo Cheese took home first place in the Fresh Mozzarella category at the 2024 World Championship Cheese Contest. The Melrose Park-based cheesemaker’s “nodini” was crowned the winner at the contest, which took place in Madison, Wisconsin, WBBM Newsradio reported. “Nodini” means “little knot” in Italian. Renzo Berardi, sales manager at Caputo’s, credited the way the cheese is created with the win. “I think it stems (from) the flavor profile and the uniqueness of this item — the hand-tied, the crafting of this cheese. We bring the tradition of handmade products.” Berardi said the nodini has a “chewy bite just in …