Tag Archives: Agostino Fiasche

An iconic Italian restaurant that attracted a faithful following over nearly four decades is no more. Ristorante Agostino owners Agostino Fiasche and his wife, Anna Longobardi Fiasche, announced the “bittersweet ending” of their “second home away from home” with a Facebook post on Aug. 1, marking the closure of their restaurant at 2817 N. Harlem Ave. in Chicago. “When we migrated from Italy to start a new life in America, little did we know we would own a successful restaurant together with our family, cook for thousands of people, and meet so many wonderful clientele and staff we would call …

In only three years, Antonio “Tony” Fiasche has led the effort to pluck nduja, a spreadable salume, from the obscurity of a small Calabrian town and make it something of a sensation in the gourmet world. The Wall Street Journal and foodie magazines have been salivating over it, and chefs worldwide are inventing ways to use it in pizza, vinaigrette, aioli, arrabiata, marinara, hollandaise and more. The skyrocketing acclaim of Fiasche’s company, Nduja Artisans, has engendered plans to open a gourmet deli just west of the Loop in the near future. But like many success stories, Fiasche’s began decades earlier. …