Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Zucchini blossoms pop up on menus across the area each summer, but Amore Mio in Palatine has a leg up on the competition. “They come straight from my father’s garden,” says Chef Tony Barbanente, who lightly breads them; fills them with mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and basil; and pan fries them to perfection. And the bounty of Nicola Barbanente’s garden doesn’t end there. In season, he and his wife, Francesca, cart eggplants, cucumbers, long beans, Melrose peppers and host of other veggies and herbs from their home in Inverness directly to Tony’s kitchen.
