Italian Food and Cooking

A Date Night At Coppa...And Why I Can't Wait To Go Back

When it comes time for date night, I want two things, and two things only: good food and flowing wine. Okay fine -- I guess my fiancé, too. So, three things and three things only... Follow me as I chronicle the magic of a good date night (and not in a creepy way like that totally sounds)... See a ... More >>

What's Cooking This Week? Skirt Steak with Chimichurri & More

I love cooking for my fiancé and me, but most of the time, cooking for two proves to be difficult. If I don't make a plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredient's I've bought (and I hate wasting food). Enter What's Cooking This Week - my weekly meal ... More >>

Upcoming Events: 'Tis the Truffle Season

White truffle season has finally arrived after a delay in the harvest thanks to weather issues in Italy. And as a result of that weather delay, the white truffle supply is somewhat limited this year -- so the truffles that are already Italy's most expensive (costing upwards of $350 an ounce) are mor ... More >>

In Italy, Make Sure Your Silver Spoon Is a Measuring Spoon and Kid-Size

If The Silver Spoon cookbook is the bible of Italian cooking, then The Silver Spoon for Children is the Sunday school reader of Italian cooking for kids. The Silver Spoon for Children takes 40 recipes from the original The Silver Spoon, adapting them so they are very easy to read, follow and cook. ... More >>

Eat Local, Support Local: The GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up Is Here

Houston Restaurant Weeks is coming this August. But before you budget all your dining dollars to that worthy cause, remember that an equally worthy one is going on this week: The GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up. Each year, the GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up features restaurants across the state cooking ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes 2012: No. 58, Eggplant Involtini at Giacomo's Cibo e Vino

This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston® issue, we're counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston's cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least o ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Six Texas Spirits and Six Courses of Dessert

Did you know that it's National Ice Cream Month? You can celebrate by buying yourself a scoop at one of our 10 favorite ice cream shops, or you can let Prince's Hamburgers buy the ice cream for you. Prince's wants its guests to chill out this month, and will be offering complimentary ice cream float ... More >>

Bruschetta: More Than Just Tomatoes and Basil

The beauty of Italian cooking is the simple flavors. One of my favorite Italian dishes is an antipasti, bruschetta. Every restaurant in Italy serves bruschetta with classic tomato, basil and olive oil on top. But there are endless varieties of bruschetta. Here are five recipes that you can easily m ... More >>

The 5 Most Common Risotto Mistakes

Risotto is one of the most difficult dishes to master. The first attempt is not perfect, unless you're Gordon Ramsay, of course, but these five common mistakes people make while cooking a risotto dish may help you become a master, or at least not screw up one completely. 5. Texture can make or brea ... More >>

What's Cooking This Week? Grilled BBQ Chicken Thighs, Antipasto Salad & More

I love homemade meals with my fiancé, but most of the time, cooking for two proves to be difficult. If I don't have a game plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredients I've bought (and I hate wasting food). Enter What's Cooking This Week -- my weekl ... More >>

A Roman Repast at Giacomo's Cibo e Vino

When I told my husband I wanted to go to the May Roman Feast at Giacomo's Cibo e Vino, he responded: "Will there be a vomitorium?"* "Good God, I hope not," I said. "Though its presence might actually suggest people were really enjoying the food." And they were. Light tones and merry laughter circ ... More >>

A Helluva Italian Sub at Raia's Italian Cafe and Market

Being from NJ, where a gazillion old-school delis are right at my fingertips, I often find myself craving a good Italian sub. The perfect sub is like an antipasto stuffed inside bread - with quality ingredients, it can't not be good. But not every deli meets the criteria. Luckily, just last week, I ... More >>

A Nice, Quiet Dinner at Fratteli's

"Red or white?" the server asked. My partner got the white, and I ordered the red. As I sipped the serviceable house Chianti, I considered that sometimes it's nice to be presented with such a simple choice. No fretting over the wine list, just a quick glass to help shunt off the workday. There was ... More >>

What's Cooking This Week?

Last week was filled with classic favorites, Galumpkis, Corned Beef Deli Sandwiches & Blackened Tilapia. I picked up some amazing sweet potato gnocchi and an awesome-looking mango chutney last weekend, so this week I'll definitely be using both in my menu. Here's what I'm making: Veal Saltimbocca ... More >>

He's Still Got It

Arturo Boada is turning out lovely pizzas and tapas at his namesake Memorial Villages restaurant.

An Auspicious Dinner at Nardino Ristorante

I am usually not one to predict the future. When it comes to prognostication, I am far too conservative and neurotic to articulate publicly my thoughts on upcoming fads, fashions, movements, etc. Seriously, identifying the Big Cupcake as a 2012 food trend was really going out on a limb for me. But ... More >>

How To: Make an Antipasto Plate

Photo by Bruce TurnerMamma mia!​It's not a holiday in my family without a big platter of antipasti. Every holiday, my aunt Estelle brings all the goodies from an amazing deli in Brooklyn. She leaves the presentation of the plate up to my friend Marisa and me, and then, without fail, proceeds t ... More >>

Ingredient of the Week: Prosciutto

Photo by John SuhI dream of prosciutto pizza.​What is it? Pronounced "proh-SHOOT-oh," prosciutto is a thinly sliced Italian dry-cured ham. The uncooked version highlighted today is called prosciutto crudo (the cooked kind is prosciutto cotto). The most revered cuts of prosciutto come from t ... More >>

10 Pumpkin Dishes to Try in Houston: #3 Pumpkin Ravioli at Fratelli's

Pumpkin ravioli.​In 2010, I had a grand ol' time scouring Houston for outstanding pumpkin dishes. One year later I'm older, definitely not wiser, and still in love with orange squash. So from now until Thanksgiving I'll be counting down (again) 10 Pumpkin Dishes to Try in Houston. Forks at t ... More >>

Tuesday October 18, 2011 Deals of the Day

​Today's VOICE Daily Deal from the Houston Press is good for 50 percent off ($25 for $50) at Sapori Ristorante Italiano. Their Northern Italian menu serves up dishes by Chef Alberto Baffoni; fresh ingredients showcase classic Italian cooking for lunch, brunch, and dinner. Enjoy the cooler temp ... More >>

Ingredient of the Week: Roma Tomatoes

Photo by John SuhBruschetta [broo-SKEH-tah]​What is it? Also called the Italian tomato, the Roma tomato is a common type of plum tomato: egg-shaped, with fewer seeds than the round tomato. (All Romas are plum tomatoes--also called paste tomatoes -- but not all plum tomatoes are Romas.) Summer ... More >>

Dinner at Fratelli's

Joanna O'LearyCalamari Fritti​When I lived in Boston, the proximity of the North End to my apartment meant I ate Italian food fairly regularly. I gnoshed on arancini during street festivals, savored truffled risotto at some high-end joints, and devoured slices loaded with sausage and peppers a ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 3: Renato De Pirro of Ristorante Cavour

Photo by Matthew DresdenSicilian smoked swordfish and eggplant involtini. Note the Sichuan peppercorn "sea foam" on top.​After our energetic and wide-ranging discussion (covered in Chef Chat, Parts One and Two), Chef De Pirro brought out a few of Ristorante Cavour's representative dishes, each ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 1: Renato De Pirro of Ristorante Cavour

Photo by Matthew DresdenRistorante Cavour executive chef Renato De Pirro.​Last April, Renato De Pirro took over for David Denis as executive chef at Ristorante Cavour, the jewel box of a restaurant inside Uptown Park's Hotel Granduca. Whereas the Provence-born Denis had turned out sumptuous Fr ... More >>

Capri in Spring

Little restaurant outside town turns out spectacular Italian food.

First Look at Sapori

The vitello tonnato is back.​It looks like Chef Alberto Baffoni might have finally landed in a spot suited perfectly for his talents after years of bouncing around, most recently at the ill-fated Bohemia, after leaving his initial Houston post at Simposio (which is also now closed): Saprori Ri ... More >>

10 Pumpkin Dishes to Try in Houston: #2: Pumpkin Risotto at Prego

​I adore pumpkin. It's orange (my favorite color), healthful (fiber! Vitamin A!), and associated with two lovely, food-centric holidays (Halloween and Thanksgiving). Starting around October, I always find myself on the hunt for pumpkin-flavored foods, and this autumn is no exception. So, betwe ... More >>

First Look at Piola

Photos courtesy of Piola because I also managed to forget my camera last night on top of everything else.​Between a dead car battery and an inhaler emergency (thanks for nothing, Walgreen's) last night, I didn't make it to Piola (3201 Louisiana, 713-524-8222) either on time or in my typical ca ... More >>

Michaelangelo: A Masterpiece at Gelato Blu

The Michaelangelo on the left, the chocolate-peanut butter (another favorite) on the right.​With the last few ragingly hot weekends of the year (hopefully) coming to an end, I celebrated with one of my favorite summer treats over the weekend: gelato. Gelato Blu (5710 Memorial Drive, Suite B) ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 3: Riccardo Palazzo-Giorgio of Sabetta Café & Wine Bar

Sausage antipasti.​Chef Riccardo Palazzo-Giorgio of Sabetta Café & Wine Bar is on a mission to bring his customers authentic Italian food. He describes it as Italian home cooking, the kind you would find in your grandmother's kitchen (if you grandmother was Italian, that is). From the food to ... More >>

Pan-Seared Branzino at Ristorante Cavour

​The tart heirloom tomatoes gushed warm, juicy deliciousness over the flaky flesh of the branzino. The tenderly sautéed tomatoes were a great textural contrast to the crisply seared fish skin, both of which complemented the firmness of the fish. On the side was a shaved fennel salad simply ga ... More >>

Five Delicious Alternatives to Wheat Pasta

Photo by avlxyzWe're here to help support those daily pad thai cravings.​That's right; it's gluten-free time again here at Eating Our Words. But unlike our previous few posts which have been GF product assessments, we're instead going to spotlight some of our favorite (and occasionally overloo ... More >>

Fatbutter.com

​Despite what you may think, this is not a website warning you about butter. You know about the fat, calories, and clotted arteries. No, this is the website for La Vista Restaurant. And it's very accurate. Our dining companions had been raving about the dinner they had at the La Vista at 126 ... More >>

Fall Wine Tasting at Simposio Ristorante

​In 2007, Vasco Luti, owner of Simposio Ristorante, opened the restaurant's new location in an unlikely shopping center at the corner of Westheimer and Dunvale. Historically, this native Tuscan focused on Northern Italian cuisine, but last night, Simposio debuted some new wines and Southern It ... More >>

Lingering Over the Linguine

Lynette Hawkins's new wine bar Giacomo's Cibo e Vino captures the Italian spirit of drinking, eating and hanging around.

Easy Risotto: An Oxymoron?

Photo by Robb Walsh​My friend Paul Howell makes risotto all the time. Pumpkin risotto and mushroom risotto are two of his favorites. I have always found the labor-intensive stirring and adding of liquid required for perfect risotto a little tedious. But Paul introduced me to the pressure coo ... More >>

The Scoop

We all scream for Houston's best ice cream

An Ice Cream, An Espresso and A Hookah

Photo by Robb Walsh​While researching this week's ice cream feature, I went looking for Trentino Gelato's dulce de leche -- it's an Argentine-style caramel flavor gelato with big hunks of melted chocolate all through it. I called two of Trentino's biggest distributors, Cricket Creamery and Cof ... More >>

Top 10 Ice Cream Experiences in Houston

This week, Robb Walsh explores the vast world of Houston's ice cream parlors in the feature story, "The Scoop." In the course of writing his article, he ate more ice cream than Napoleon Bonaparte did at the Ziggy Pig in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (but didn't get a pin afterwards). He imparts t ... More >>

Hollister Hospitality

Customers love to get coddled at this new neighborhood grill in Spring Branch.

Big Flavors, Little Tables

Marco Wiles expands his Westheimer restaurant empire with another great Italian joint.

Cafe: What's a Salumeria?

Photo by Luiz CastroPoscol, Marco Wiles's fabulous new Italian joint on Westheimer, is the subject of this week's Cafe review. While I raved about the food I ate there, I also whined about the cured meats. Wiles calls the place an enoteca (wine bar) and salumeria (cured meat shop). But if you have e ... More >>

Scoop It Up at Cricket's Creamery & Cafe

Missing Vowel at Luigi's Pizzeria

Michelangelo's Fave at Gelato Blu

Crash Course at Ristorante Cavour

Get a real Italian experience -- in both food and service

Simposio

An old favorite has opened at a new location, but is its upscale Northern Italian fare still worth the price?

Celebration of Beer Dinner

Chef Igor Rosi proves Italians know beer as well as wine

$13 at D’Amico’s Italian Lunch Market Café

Frenchie's Italian Restaurant