Sarah Campise Hallier

Food & Travel

Chef Alex Espinoza-Executive Chef August 2025.jpg

Chef Alex Espinoza Keeps Bottega's Legacy Alive in Napa Valley

In Napa Valley, food isn’t just about eating - it’s all about the experience. Driving into Yountville (one of Napa's small, surrounding towns), rows of grapevines and olive trees lined the roads, and a hint of the changing season was in the air. Couples strolled hand in hand, groups of friends lingered on street corners, all seeming to take it in and appreciate its beauty. At the center of it all sits Bottega, a restaurant that captures the valley’s spirit with a level of innovation and hospitality few can match.

Sarah Campise Hallier, food writer for Appetito, TASTE catskills Scott Conant

TASTE: Sullivan Catskills Food & Wine is Back

The 2025 festival will welcome Scott Conant, Robbie Felice, and Giorgio Rapicavoli, alongside a roster of chefs who are helping to define the Catskills’ growing dining scene.

Conant, who has deep ties to the region, told Appetito Magazine, "When chefs bring their unique strengths, combined with conviviality and camaraderie, that’s what makes the experience so special. Food is a conduit for connection. "

Sarah Campise Hallier, food writer for Appetito, Marc Forgione of Peasant

Chef Marc Forgione Brings Purposeful Meat to Peasant

In NoLita, acclaimed chef Marc Forgione has already been ahead of the curve. At Peasant, the rustic, wood-fired restaurant he revived and now steers, Forgione launched a whole animal program earlier this year that treats meat with sustainability, creativity, and respect.

Via Aurelia Opens at San Francisco’s Mission Rock

Via Aurelia, the latest restaurant from Chef David Nayfeld and partner Matt Brewer, recently opened at Mission Rock in San Francisco. The team behind Che Fico, the acclaimed Italian restaurant in the NoPa neighborhood, calls this their first fine dining project.

Sarah Campise Hallier, food writer for Appetito Magazine,

CasaSalvo Opens in SoHo

When Sicilian chef Salvo Lo Castro opened his first restaurant in New York this summer, it marked more than another fine dining address for SoHo. CasaSalvo at 195 Spring Street is the culmination of a career that began in Catania, carried him through the kitchens of luxury hotels and the Vatican, and now places him squarely in the center of Manhattan’s culinary scene.

Sarah Campise Hallier, food writer for Appetito Magazine, Austin'sAstiTrattoria_LasagnaRotolo_3

Austin’s Asti Trattoria Continues Its Story in Hyde Park

For more than twenty years, Asti Trattoria has been a Hyde Park fixture, where neighbors gather over handmade pasta and a glass of wine with friends. But in 2021, co-owners Chris Moore and Chef Bryan Beneke took over the restaurant, bringing fresh energy to a place already deeply rooted in the community. Chef de Cuisine Evan Van Nort now leads in the kitchen alongside Chef Bryan, helping shape the menu and daily rhythm of the restaurant.

Sarah Campise Hallier, food writer, inside Tana Restaurant in New Orleans

Tana Delivers Thoughtful Sicilian Cuisine in New Orleans Style

In a quiet corner of Metairie, just outside New Orleans, where strip malls brush against magnolia trees, Tana emerges not with fanfare, but with feeling—rooted in Sicilian spirit, unapologetically modern yet anchored in the old world.

Sarah Campise Hallier, food writer for Appetito Magazine, three chefs for Flour + Water in San Francisco

Flour + Water Pizza Shop Opens at Mission Rock in San Francisco

Flour + Water Pizza Shop has landed at Mission Rock in San Francisco, and it’s bringing more than just pizza to the table—it’s delivering a thoughtfully executed, fast-casual experience rooted in quality, craft, and a little bit of fun.

Sarah Campise Hallier, travel writer for Appetito Magazine, article about Italian citizenship

Italy’s Jure Sanguinis Changes Threaten Italian Food Culture

For decades, Italian-American chefs, bakers, and culinary dreamers have used Italy’s Jure Sanguinis (citizenship by descent) law as a gateway not just to a passport, but to a deeper, more immersive connection with their ancestral roots. They’ve apprenticed with village nonnas, trained in small-town trattorias, and walked through vineyards their great-grandparents once worked—only to return to America and open restaurants that celebrate this living tradition. But in early 2025, Italy quietly closed the door to many of them.

Sarah Campise Hallier, travel writer, photo of raviolis in Switzerland

Fine Food & Fast Trains:
Discover Elite Dining Just Beyond Milan

As the sun sets over the glistening waters of Lake Como, the atmosphere at Villa Bianca transforms into something genuinely nostalgic. You'll find that each dish is not just a meal but a culinary masterpiece. If you’re lucky, you may even catch a peek at the chef delicately arranging plates with the precision of a fine artist.

Sarah Campise Hallier, food writer for Appetito MagazinePasta Bowl at the Hilton

Poggioreale in America Reunion Celebrates Heritage in New Orleans

New Orleans, LA – March 22–23, 2025 — Hundreds of descendants of Poggioreale, Sicily, gathered in New Orleans for the Poggioreale in America, Inc. (PIA) reunion—an emotional, joyful celebration of ancestry, culture, community and food that drew participants from across the United States and beyond.

Sarah Campise Hallier, travel writer, having lunch in Palermo, Sicily

Tasting our Way Through Sicily

Move over Tucci! With the hope that Sicily will soon allow tourists to wander its enchanting and somewhat mysterious island by the end of the year, an American tourist shares her pre-pandemic journey through the captivating western side of Sicily.

Sarah Campise Hallier, food, travel, and health & wellness writer, old photo of Poggioreale, Sicily

Hidden in the Rubble:
Finding our Past in Poggioreale, Sicily

Our last names seeped out of the concrete homes of the new town, inching closer to the missing branches of our family trees. The Campisis and Todaros and Tondolas and Caronnas were all still there – relatives of our great grandparents who had stayed behind for reasons we may never know, and could only fully appreciate after spending time there. And each day we unpeeled their stories, 150 years of families who still call Poggioreale their home today.

Sarah Campise Hallier, food writer, VinItaly event in Venice

Vinitaly and the City Brings a Toast to Verona this April

Verona, located in the Veneto region in northern Italy, is about to become the wine capital of the world—again. From April 4th to 6th, 2025, Vinitaly and the City returns, transforming the city's historic center into a vibrant celebration of Italian wine, culture, and culinary tradition.

Sarah Campise Hallier, food writer, Tagliolini all'astice

Three Northern Italian Grand Hotels That Define Luxury & Fine Cuisine

Italy is synonymous with elegance, but some of its most exquisite treasures remain hidden in plain sight—its grand hotels. Each one tells a unique story, offering a glimpse into Italian sophistication, world-class cocktails, and the art of indulgence.

Fiesta Italiano, Bryan, Texas, Sarah Campise Hallier, food and travel writer for Appetito Magazine

First Annual Festa Italiana in Historic Downtown Bryan, Texas!

As Mayor Bobby Gutierrez likes to say, “Leave Bryan better than you found it,” and the local Italian community in Bryan, Texas, is doing just that! Owner of Zeitman’s Grocery, Blake Zeitman, is helping plan the first annual Festa Italiana, a food and heritage festival celebrating Bryan’s rich Italian culture.

Sarah Campise Hallier, food writer, Juliet Restaurant in Austin for Appetito MAgazine

Juliet Italian Kitchen Brings a Spring Wine Series to Austin

Tucked into some of Austin’s most beloved neighborhoods, Juliet Italian Kitchen has quietly become a local favorite—bringing with it the romance of rustic Italian cooking and the hospitality of a dinner at nonna’s.

Sarah Campise Hallier, food writer, photo of AJ Tusa, owner of New Orleans restaurant

How AJ & Anna Tusa Celebrate Creole Italian Cuisine in New Orleans

In a city known for its vibrant food culture, few restaurateurs embody the heart of New Orleans cuisine quite like AJ and Anna Tusa. The husband-and-wife duo, owners of Briquette Restaurant and New Orleans Creole Cookery, have built a career around their passion for hospitality, blending Creole and Italian flavors into a unique dining experience.

Sarah Campise Hallier, food writer, Italian restaurant week in San Francisco for Appetito Magazine

There’s Still Time for the Best Italian in San Francisco Restaurant Week

With half-a-week remaining, we are sharing some Italian highlights featured in San Francisco Restaurant Week 2025.

Food and Wine Classic24 Aspen, Sarah Campise Hallier food writer for Appetito Magazine

Italian Cuisine Shines at the 2025 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen

Italian chefs and winemakers bring bold flavors and energy to the 2025 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen this June, offering a true taste of Italy in the Rockies.

Sarah Campise Hallier, food and travel writer for Appetito Magazine, Lindsey Marie MOrris author

“The Last Letter from Sicily” Serves Up Family, Fiction, and Flavor

In The Last Letter from Sicily, author Lindsay Marie Morris brings her ancestral roots to life through a sweeping, emotional narrative inspired by her great-grandparents’ journey from Sicily to America.