Italian Food and Cooking

My Thrifty Valentine

Seven suggestions for a romantic date night in the Twin Cities under $50

Festa Italiana arrives this Week in Food

It's a packed Week in Food, with a wine-tasting club, Festa Italiana on Harriet Island, and a lesson in Argentine cooking. Luckily it's all spread out over the week, so if you're dedicated, there's no reason not to hit up each and every one. 9/18 Just because you're young doesn't mean you can't b ... More >>

Fat Lorenzo's makes list of 51 great American pizza parlors

See Also:Top 10 pizzerias in the Twin CitiesFat Lorenzo's blood orange gelato: 100 Favorite Dishes, no. 13As part of its Great American Bites series, USA Today issued a list of 51 (one selection for each state, including D.C.) great pizza parlors. Thanks to a recommendation from James Norton, e ... More >>

Risotto closing tomorrow

It's a sad part of the industry that just as new restaurants pop up, other neighborhoods must say goodbye to treasured eateries. Tomorrow, Saturday, April 21, will be the last day of service for Risotto in its Lyn-Lake location.

Chef Daniel Green of ShopNBC: A life of healthy eating, part 1

Daniel Green is the James Bond of the cooking world. Complete with the dashing smile, British accent, and a touch of sophistication, he might as well be wearing a tux and sipping a martini. Like 007, he too is an International man of mystery. Raised on the outskirts of London, he works in the Twin ... More >>

Dennis Leaf-Smith of 112 Eatery: Chef Chat, Part 3

We've been spending the last few days getting to know Dennis Leaf-Smith, chef de cuisine at 112 Eatery (click here to view part 1 and part 2 of the interview). As the restaurant hits the seven-year mark, he gives us an insider's look at 112: how things have changed over the years, preparation det ... More >>

Bar La Grassa has Italian galore for under $12

To kick off 2012, we're highlighting 12 of the best dishes under $12 in the Twin Cities. Scroll down to view the complete list. It's big. It's boisterous. It's a little bit of Manhattan's Mulberry Street brought to the Midwest. Welcome to Nancy St. Pierre and Isaac Becker's Bar La Grassa. "Bar L ... More >>

La Belle Vie offers exquisite fare for $12 or less in the Lounge

To kick off 2012, we're highlighting 12 of the best dishes under $12 in the Twin Cities. Scroll down to view the complete list. Tim McKee's fingerprints are scattered around the Twin Cities. And we all eat better because of it. The first Minnesotan to be anointed Best Chef: Midwest by the James Be ... More >>

Technique: A first look at the student-run restaurant's new location

Le Cordon BleuVeal shank with risotto is one entree option at Technique.​Technique, the student-run restaurant serving three-course meals for only $10, recently moved to its new location out of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Mendota Heights. It is one of 14 Technique locations foun ... More >>

Acme's Comedy Kitchen will feature 3 comedian-inspired dishes

Acme Comedy CompanyWhat's so funny about this meal? Find out next week at Acme's 20th anniversary celebration​There's nothing funny about badly prepared food, but luckily Acme Comedy Company and Sticks Restaurant have teamed up with award-winning chef Vincent Francoual of Vincent A Restaurant ... More >>

I Nonni wine tasting October 30

I Nonni's wine shop and restaurant offer elite Italian bottlings ​I Nonni Osteria in Lilydale is set to host its annual wine tasting, showcasing the very finest Italian wine available in our market, some of it only available at I Nonni. The tasting will take place Sunday, October 30, from 3 to 6 ... More >>

RedRossa Italian Grille now open in Bloomington

Debbie TallenRed Rossa is attached to the Best Western on the south side of MOA​RedRossa Italian Grille, the newest venture from WR Restaurants, which owns fifteen restaurants throughout the Midwest, is the company's first Minnesota location. RedRossa highlights affordable Italian & America ... More >>

Pandolfi now open, serving Palazzolo's gelato

Gelato worth navigating Edina's back alleys. ​A sweet new shop, Pandolfi, has opened at 50th and France in Edina, just east of Mozza Mia--but only accessible from the alley side, next to the parking garage. The shop offers dozens of candies and chocolates, and even has a cotton candy machine ... More >>

Sopranos Italian hits some high notes

J.P. Samuelson joins the Crave team

Fat Lorenzo's blood orange gelato: 100 Favorite Dishes, no. 13

​Gelato is the reason Italians can strut around with their cravings happily sated and still button their skinny black pants: the creamy frozen treat is just as satisfying as ice cream, but has a fraction of the butterfat. After a few slices of pizza or after a jog around Lake Nokomis, the ho ... More >>

Anniversary dinner, maybe Italian, in Minneapolis?

​@touchof_flair asks: Looking for a place to celebrate an anniversary in Minneapolis, any thoughts? Maybe Italian?

Broders' wants to take you on a Food Lover's Tour of Italy

Get a taste of Italy this weekend...​The Broder family loves sourcing the best Italian ingredients--carnaroli rice, truffle products, olive oils, etc.--for its Italian restaurant and deli and wants to introduce you to some of its favorites at its Food Lover's Tour of Italy this Saturday, from ... More >>

Bar La Grassa, Parma 8200 in a duel of Caprese salads

Lisa GulyaCaprese salad at Bar La Grassa​If the end of tomato season has you waxing poetic before you concede to seasonality and switch to squash, this Food Fight is for you. We tested two upscale Caprese salads, at Parma 8200 in Bloomington and Bar La Grassa in Minneapolis, to find the best-t ... More >>

Amelia Santaniello, Frank Vascellaro with breaking news on what's for dinner

Santaniello recovers from the State Fair's pork chops​Husband and wife team Amelia Santaniello and Frank Vascellaro co-anchor the 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts for WCCO--taking up prime dinnertime real estate for their family (the couple has three children). Working around their busy schedules--and w ... More >>

Pinstripes is Edina's answer to the Bryant-Lake Bowl

www.pinstripes.comPinstripes: Edina's answer to the Bryant-Lake Bowl.​Pinstripes--a dining/entertainment concept out of Illinois--is bringing Italian fare, bowling, and bocce to Centennial Lakes in Edina. The company currently has locations in Northbrook and South Barrington, IL, which, in man ... More >>

Where can I find Sfogliatelle and Coda d'aragosta?

​I've been in and out of the Cities for around thirty years, with relatives in in Chicago and the Eastern Seaboard. Two things that I've been unable to locate are Sfogliatelle (clam) and Coda d'aragosta (lobster tail), the signature pastries of the Italian neighborhoods. Making them takes fiv ... More >>

Bastille Day is tomorrow--celebrate with this fabulous risotto and shrimp from Colette

What's more French than ratatouille?​Bastille Day, the French national holiday, is tomorrow, and even though Americans have little reason to celebrate the French Revolution, we can always use another excuse for a holiday (see Cinco de Mayo). We may be thousands of miles from France, but it doe ... More >>

Parma 8200 from D'Amico: Coming Soon

​D'Amico and Partners plans to open its latest restaurant, Parma 8200, in the Normandale Lake Office Park (the 8200 building, across the street from Kincaids) in Bloomington on June 28th. We caught up with Richard D'Amico to learn more about what's in store at the classic Italian taverna.

Black Forest Inn's Spargelfest: deep-fried asparagus

Lisa Gulya​Some spears are made for scarfing, but not this dainty appetizer from the Black Forest Inn: puff pastry- and prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, deep-fried. To compare it to last week's deep-fried asparagus contenders, we took knife and fork to the appetizer, as funny as it felt to use silver ... More >>

Nonna Rosa's: Coming Soon

​Robbinsdale's best-known restaurant, Thistles, closed on New Year's Eve 2009. Very soon, the owners promise, an authentic Italian restaurant, Nonna Rosa's, will take its place at 4148 West Broadway. Nonna Rosa's is named after chef and co-owner Francesco Suglia's mother, Rosa, and he'll be ru ... More >>

Bibo: RIP

Eagan's dining scene just took a big blow.

Top Food Trends of the Decade via. the Food Channel

From Acai to DIY, is there anything they missed?

This week's "Best of Hot Dish"

This week, Hot Dish started counting down the Twin Cities 100 best dishes. Check out what else we've been up to.

Epic Sandwich: Brianno's tasty Italian-American classics

Brianno's in Eagan slings some pretty mean "Italian-American" classics and an inability to decide left me officiating a head-to-head sandwich throwdown.

Butcher Block in Minneapolis offers 29 different kinds of wings

But will it fly?

Northeast Social values old-fashioned camaraderie and great dinners

Restaurant is located at one of the city's coolest "new" crossroads

A caprese must-have: fior di bufala

When you make your first caprese of the season, consider using buffalo mozzarella.

Linden Hills' Trattoria Tosca makes the ambitious seem effortless

Chef Adam Vickerman creates simple-seeming creations with seasonal ingredients

Coming soon: Butcher Block

The Butcher Block will feature, wait for it, 29 chicken wing flavors. Twenteee nigghn.

Iowa gives us one more reason to love it

Broder's brunch on April 19 features acorn-fed Iowa-grown pork.

FireLake brings Minnesota elk to NYC

FireLake chef Paul Lynch will debut his cooking for the James Beard House in NYC today.

Interview: Scott Siegel of Fat Lorenzo's

Nice Ice

New Grand Italian Ice Café specializes in the frozen, non-dairy treats of the Italian American diaspora

Sweet Tooth

New University area coffee shop serves 30 decadent cupcakes, and grownups, too

Cooking For The Crowd

New downtown restaurant Nochee is a fine place for dancing, drinking, lunch, and warm cookies

Deck Days of Summer

Storing up extra sunshine for the winter ahead

Buon Giorno Indeed

Global Vision

Italy and South America meet in Golden Valley

Trimming the Appetizer Tree

Twice as Glittering for Half the Stress

The Food Chain's Missing Link

Rolling on the River

No Wake Cafe

Plaza Suite

The Supermodel's New Face

While You Wait