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The History of Italian Ice in New York City

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Friday, October 10th, 2025 | 362 views

Lemon flavored Italian Ice -- aka water ice in Philadelphia

Summer tastes like Italian Ice. The sweet cold treat was introduced to American cities with Italian immigrant enclaves in the early 20th century. Those early vendors launched the Italian Ice industry from pushcarts selling penny licks before eventually growing a multi-million dollar industry.

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A History of Eating Contests at The Feast of San Gennaro

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Sunday, September 14th, 2025 | 776 views

San Gennaro bunting and lights across the street with the Italian flag and the empire state building

The feast of San Gennaro once hosted competitive eating contests for cannoli, meatballs, pizza, and zeppole, but then in 2023 all that changed. Here’s a look back at the history eating contests at the Feast.

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Marcella Hazan’s Secret Sauce: A Conversation With Filmmaker Peter Miller

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Wednesday, May 7th, 2025 | 3,332 views

Marcella film poster and Marcella Hazan in front of her cookbooks, image courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment

Marcella a documentary examining the life of Marcella Hazan will premiere in New York City on May 9. Image courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment

Marcella Hazan changed the way Americans cooked and thought about Italian cuisine. Now filmmaker Peter Miller has made a documentary about her life. We had a chance to speak to him about the making of the film, Marcella’s philosophy, and cooking Italian food.

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A Brief History of Chicken Francese

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Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025 | 2,431 views

Chicken Francese in a pot

The French have never heard of it. Neither have most Italians. Today, it’s a widely eaten Italian American staple, an icon of wedding buffets for decades. So where did this buttery, lemony chicken come from?

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The History of Minnesota’s Spicy Sausage Sandwich That’s Too Hot To Talk About

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Friday, January 24th, 2025 | 4,799 views

Italians settling in the Twin Cities developed a unique sandwich with spicy sausage known today by a slur for people of Italian heritage.

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2024 Italian Cookbook Guide

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Thursday, December 12th, 2024 | 2,131 views

2024 Italian cookbook, a guide

Cookbooks featuring Italian cuisine were as popular as ever in 2024. There were a few trends that emerged.

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The History of Pesto Genovese

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Friday, September 20th, 2024 | 5,611 views

homemade pesto sauce

Pesto sauce made in an electric food processor with basil, garlic, pine nuts, parmigiana, oil, salt and black pepper.



Spicy, creamy, and bright green, Pesto Genovese has become synonymous with modern Italian cuisine, particularly in the United States. But that wasn’t always the case…

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The History of Chicago’s Pizza(s)

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Monday, August 19th, 2024 | 13,066 views

Thin crust tavern style from Aurelio's

Tavern style pizza in Chicago is more common than deep dish



Chicago has a deep history of pizza, and there’s a lot more than the thick crust pizza most Americans associate with the windy city.

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Original, Famous, and Everything In Between: Ray’s, a Pizza Wars Story

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Friday, August 9th, 2024 | 8,525 views

Ray's Pizza neon sign

There have been many Ray’s pizzas, some famous, some original, some famous and original, but nobody actually named Ray


Ray’s — or some variation of the original, famous pizzeria — because ubiquitous in New York City. And then the lawsuits began. A look at the pizza wars that gripped the many Ray’s of New York.

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The History of the Giglio Festival

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Sunday, July 7th, 2024 | 6,842 views

The festival is religious in its nature and includes Catholic celebrations

Bishop Robert Brennan leads a precession in 2022

Since 1908, the Italian American community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has celebrated the Giglio festival.

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