This week brings a major opening in Savannah, a new project from a James Beard Award winner in Milwaukee and a personal Italian osteria in Miami. Plus, Chicago tavern-style pizza gets an Italian twist.
La Vetta opens in Savannah
La Vetta is now open on Broughton Street in downtown Savannah. Executive Chef Michele Minchillo, a Puglia native with experience in Michelin-starred kitchens, leads the restaurant from Southern Cross Hospitality.
The menu is expansive, with favorites like the tonno crudo with bluefin tuna and black truffle, cacio e pepe with Argentine red shrimp and lime, and black cod confit with Mediterranean dashi and panzanella.
The dining room, designed by Savannah's Studio THŌ, has an open kitchen and a hand-painted blue interior inspired by the view from a mountain summit. Next up is V, an underground cocktail lounge.
15 W. Broughton St., Savannah, GA 31401 @lavettasavannah
Il Ponte is coming to Milwaukee
James Beard Award-winning chef Adam Siegel and his wife and business partner, Daria Aitken-Siegel, will open Il Ponte in downtown Milwaukee on Sept. 15.
The 155-seat restaurant will serve New York-style Italian food with house-made pasta, red sauces and a more casual approach than the couple's nearby Lupi & Iris. Aitken-Siegel, a native New Yorker with family roots in Naples, helped inspire the concept.
Il Ponte means "the bridge," a nod to both bringing people together over food and the skywalk connecting its building to Northwestern Mutual Tower & Commons.
814 E. Mason St., Milwaukee, WI 53202 @ilpontemke
Storia opens in Miami
Restaurateur Andrea Fraquelli has opened Storia, a 70-seat Italian osteria in Miami's Upper Buena Vista.
The restaurant is a personal one for Fraquelli. Several members of his team have worked with him for more than 20 years, and the menu includes dishes inspired by family traditions and longtime collaborator Giulio, whom Fraquelli considers a second father.
"For me, Storia is about gratitude," Fraquelli said. "It's a love letter to the team, family, friends and guests who have shared this journey with me."
Storia opened Aug. 15 amid the gardens and banyan trees of Upper Buena Vista.
5040 NE Second Ave., Miami, FL 33137 @storia.miami
On our radar: Dicey’s Pizza & Tavern
Also on our radar this week is Dicey's Pizza & Tavern, specializing in thin, crisp Chicago tavern-style pizza at its Chicago and Nashville locations.
The menu includes Cacio e Pepe pizza with mozzarella, Parmesan cream and Pecorino Romano and a Sausage & Giardiniera pie. There are also meatballs, giardiniera cheese curds, an Italian sub piled with capicola, salami and mortadella, and rotating cannoli.
It's pizza-night territory, with plenty of Italian-American influence and a drinks menu heavy on beer, cocktails and frozen drinks.
It may not be a new opening, but Dicey’s take on Italian-American classics caught our attention.
Chicago: 2435 N. Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60614
Nashville: 425 Chestnut St., Nashville, TN 37203 @diceyspizzatavern
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