Folinazzo

Thanks to my second favorite website, Yelp, I just found out about Gioco, an Italian restaurant in the South Loop. I am thrilled about Gioco for one reason: it specializes in Tuscan and Umbrian cuisine. I am sure there are more restaurants in Chicago featuring similar fare; I just have not found them yet. But I loved the food in Umbria, all so pleasingly simple and rustic, and I cannot wait to try the papperdelle al ragu di cinghiale (wide ribbon pasta, red wine braised wild boar) at Gioco. The papperdelle with cinghiale is a typical Umbrian dish and it is on the menu at just about every restaurant in the region.

Mark and I will be trying Gioco next weekend.

Posted by Francesca

Today I received as a Christmas present from my boss, Carla, The Book of Italian Wisdom by Antonio Santi. It is a collection of quotes from famous Italians and Italian-Americans, and those who are not so famous. I quickly thumbed through the book and glanced at some of the quotes. One in particular caught my eye, mainly because it describes exactly the situation in my neighborhood when I was growing up: “In my neighborhood you were either Italian or you were American. American meant you were anything but Italian. You had to be one or the other.” -Joe Maselli

Posted by Francesca

On the list of things to do before leaving for Italy is brush up on my Italian language skills. I started studying Italian in fourth grade and continued for a total of eight years (not eight consecutive years, though). ... [Continue reading this entry]

Some of us are familiar with the stereotype that young Italian men are "Mamma's Boys". There even is an Italian word for it: mammoni. (I've heard my father use that word to describe my brother many a ... [Continue reading this entry]

An old Italian man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig his tomato garden, but it was very hard work as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The ... [Continue reading this entry]

Our grandmother, Mimi, handed down a tradition to my mother, my sister and me that we've been keeping alive since Mimi passed almost eighteen years ago. We get together every year on Good Friday to make calzone. Many ... [Continue reading this entry]

Every year on Good Friday, I make calzone (Easter pie) with my mom. We've been emailing for the last two weeks about the details for the day. Below is the latest email my mom sent to Francesca & ... [Continue reading this entry]

On a recent transatlantic flight, a plane passes through a severe storm. The turbulence is awful, and things go from bad to worse when one wing is struck by lightning. One woman in particular loses it. Screaming, she ... [Continue reading this entry]

This Sunday, March 19th, is the annual feast of St. Joseph. We Italian-Americans celebrate the day by either hosting or attending a traditional St. Joseph's Table. Two years ago Felicia wrote about this tradition and the meaning ... [Continue reading this entry]

As kids, we all rocked 'em. If you wanted any respect in this neighborhood, you had to wear one. You were cool if you had one. Well, I had one. So did Francesca and Frankie. ... [Continue reading this entry]