Where are the Italians??? (Atlanta, Lawrenceville: middle-class, restaurants, food)

[ja1myn]

Are there any Italians/Italian-Americans in Atlanta? I miss Italian cooking and have had only one Italian restaurant recommended to me so far.

[shalc]

Ninos and Alfredos are both on Cheshire Bridge -- long time Atlanta landmarks and supposed to be great Italian American fare. I don't know of any Italian heavy areas of town though.... maybe someone else can chime in about that.

[rorqual]

It seems that like metro Atlanta the italian communities are scattered all over - is there a Little Italy ?

[VJP]

There's no little Italy specifically. There are pockets of Italians in north Fulton and east Cobb. I grew up on Long Island, so my definition of Italian food is defined by my youth...and a couple of places do the trick for me: Capozzi (N Decatur & Clairmont, along with 2 pizzerias in Cobb County) - all food made from scratch, in house; La Tavola in Virginia Highland; Gino's Pizza in Norcross;

It took a long time for quality Italian to pass muster here, but we have it now. It's hard to find, but worth the drive.

[AnsleyPark]

In addition to Nino's and Alfredo's, in Midtown: La Pietra Cucina (Peachtree Pointe), Veni Vidi Vici (Once Atlantic Center), Campagnola (10th and Piedmont at Piedmont Park), Pasta Da Pulcinella (Peachtree Walk), Baraonda (Peachtree and Third) and Cucina Asallina (12th and Midtown), just to name a few. Atlanta is replete with pretty good Italian restaurants.

[dichloromethane]

This is an excellent authentic restaurant. It isn't in Atlanta, but I'd make the drive.

Dominick's Italian - Buford, Lawrenceville, Norcross & Watkinsville

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

In addition to Nino's and Alfredo's, in Midtown: La Pietra Cucina (Peachtree Pointe), Veni Vidi Vici (Once Atlantic Center), Campagnola (10th and Piedmont at Piedmont Park), Pasta Da Pulcinella (Peachtree Walk), Baraonda (Peachtree and Third) and Cucina Asallina (12th and Midtown), just to name a few. Atlanta is replete with pretty good Italian restaurants.

Great recommendations, Ansley.

Also, Antica Pasta on East Paces Ferry. Marco will take good care of you.

Pano's has Pricci on Pharr Road. It's a a long time standby.

La Grotta on Peachtree has been solid for 35 years.

[workaholics]

Cities with a large Italian influence tend to be the places that experienced large scale immigration of Italians a century ago. We're talking about NYC, Boston, Chicago, Philly, even Cleveland and Detroit. Atlanta wasn't even a blip on the radar during this immigration wave. Most of its growth has been in the past 50 years, so our ethnic communities reflect the type of immigrants who have settled in the US in that period. We have a large Hispanic presence, a growing Korean community, Caribbeans, and enclaves of other fourth wave immigrants.

There are plenty of people with Italian descent (like me) in the metro area, but not many Italians- ones who really take pride in their ancestry and see it as part of their identity. That said, there are still plenty of Italian restaurants here, but you won't see many Italian supermarkets or Italian festivals and things along those lines.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by workaholics

Cities with a large Italian influence tend to be the places that experienced large scale immigration of Italians a century ago. We're talking about NYC, Boston, Chicago, Philly, even Cleveland and Detroit. Atlanta wasn't even a blip on the radar during this immigration wave. Most of its growth has been in the past 50 years, so our ethnic communities reflect the type of immigrants who have settled in the US in that period. We have a large Hispanic presence, a growing Korean community, Caribbeans, and enclaves of other fourth wave immigrants.

There are plenty of people with Italian descent (like me) in the metro area, but not many Italians- ones who really take pride in their ancestry and see it as part of their identity. That said, there are still plenty of Italian restaurants here, but you won't see many Italian supermarkets or Italian festivals and things along those lines.

Exactly. For the most part the Italians that moved to Atlanta did so in the 20th century from cities in the northern US and had assimilated into middle-class American life.
Another favorite restaurant of mine: Bambinelli's on Northlake Parkway.

[roxyrn]

After two years of trying to find good Italian food we have:
-started making our own pasta from scratch
-continued making our own sauces
-built an outdoor wood-burning pizza oven
My next goal is to tackle bagel making.