Little Italy Podcast & Little Italy of LA Podcast

On our #LittleItalyOfLA Podcast today, our guests Alexandra Ancich and Matteo Becucci, speak with host, Deborah Zara Kobylt about all things Tuscany! ⁠ The two met while Alex, an American, was traveling with her mom in Tuscany, they stopped at his family restaurant, Bellavista Impruneta - also the name of their family hotel in the Tuscan Hills - and let's just say love was in the sauce. ⁠ ⁠ They fell in love, married, and decided to bring the culture, flavor, and lifestyle of Italy to Southern California, where Alex is from. ⁠ ⁠ They have a thriving business cooking and entertaining for families, couples, businesses, and more, picking all the ingredients, explaining each dish with enthusiasm, and bringing the love of food and family into each home. And they stay late, too! ⁠ ⁠ You'll love our segment, and in fact you might want to book for the holidays while you can, because their business has become a hit, #Italian Style. ⁠ ⁠

Want to get to the Italian countryside but it's not convenient at the moment? Then meet Barbara Locci, owner of the @Sardegna_Ranch in San Diego. ⁠ ⁠ Barbara is from #Sardinia, and she fashioned her ranch much like her native Italian island, and she spoke with host of our Little Italy of LA Podcast, Deborah Zara Kobylt. #SardegnaRanch is a beautiful, relaxing 28-acre property along the Potrero Creek waterway, and is a little-known secret for anyone looking to get-away. ⁠ ⁠ The property has its own pond, bee-keeping area where Barbara makes her own honey, and a brick oven for guests to make their own pizzas and learn some of Barbara's favorite recipes. It's like camping in Italy, yet way closer to home. ⁠ ⁠ It's easy to see why HipCamp.com called Sardegna "a relaxed, beautiful retreat in Southern California." #DeborahKobyltLIVE #LittleItalyofLA 🇮🇹⁠ ⁠#sardegnaranch #Potrero #Losangeles #PotreroCreekWaterway #SanDiego #ClevelandNationalForest #PacificCrestTrail #ranch #camping @ubngo

Today our host, #DeborahZaraKobylt of @deborahkobyltlive speaks with #MikeGordon, owner of Toscana, one of the most notorious Italian restaurants in all of Los Angeles for over two decades. Mike fell in LOVE with all things Italian and spent time in Italy to learn everything about food and wine from the best. But it was actually a day spent with Wolfgang Puck that convinced Mike to get into the restaurant business over 25 years ago. Now he's got six restaurants between LA, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, and Santa Ynez. In fact, Mike and his wife have a vineyard on their property in Santa Ynez, where he makes his own wine, and pizza, too! There's so much to talk about from Mike's background as an entertainment executive to his Hollywood A-List friends and customers. #LittleItalyofLA @toscanabrentwood @deborahzarakobylt @ubngo

We've gone the moon, now let's step foot on #Mars! It may soon be possible, according to some scientists, although not everyone would venture to go. On our #LittleItalyOfLA Podcast, host #DeborahZaraKoblyt speaks with the brilliant Alessandro Buscicchio, Robotics Engineer at #NASA and #JPL. In other words, he's the brains behind the #MarsRover & #spidermonkey robot. Alessandro first came to the U.S. from #Italy to study at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, but scientists were so impressed here by his brilliance, they offered him a job, and which he gladly accepted. Hear all about Alessandro's journey into space, how he began his interest as a young boy in Italy, and what inspired him. Now married with a baby, Alessandro talks about the future of robotics in space, in addition to how his early years in Italy prepared him for his advanced studies and work here. Our #LittleItaly and #DeborahKobyltLIVE podcasts are available on all audio and video podcast platforms. Thanks for joining our show, hosted and produced by @littleitalyofla board member and journalist, #DeborahZaraKobylt🇮🇹 #Robotics #ItalianScientifics #rockets #ItalianAmerican #Deborah Zara Kobylt

It's our #LittleItalyOfLA Podcast today, and we're so excited to welcome Kathy McCabe, Travel Expert on all things #Italian, as well as host of the #PBS special, #DreamOfItaly. ⁠ ⁠ Kathy has interviewed everyone from⁠ #Coppola to #Sting and everyone in between, and she's the driving force behind all of it. Hear why she started her show, how she gets her guests, and also learn a thing or two about Italians and Italy you may not know, in addition to all things red, white, and green🇮🇹⁠ Watch the special - Dream of Italy: Travel, Transform and Thrive - www.dreamofitaly.com/ttt Join the magazine - www.dreamofitaly.com/join Learn more about Kathy: https://dreamofitaly.com/2011/12/06/kathy-mccabe-italy-travel-expert/ The main TV page - https://dreamofitaly.com/tv-show/

Who else still believes in sitting around the table and eating together? 🍽🖐 Today, our #LittleItalyofLAPodcast guest, Patricia Di Carlo Bergen, shares a bit about growing up with these traditions, spending summers in #Italy and how this has inspired her endeavors of bringing an #Italian market to Southern California. Listen to the full episode to hear Patricia share with our host, Deborah Zara Kobylt all about how the simple pleasures of Italian life influenced the way she raised her family, her outlook on life and her style of cooking. Please like, subscribe and share to help us grow! Follow us @littleitalyofla Host @deborahkobyltlive Guest @casagiovecalifornia

Ornella Fado, an Italian TV personality and founder of OK Productions LLC, a media productions company based in NY where she currently lives. ⁠ ⁠ Ornella is also the creator of the infamous Brindiamo! brand, including the Television show that has been broadcast on NYC TV since 2005.⁠ ⁠ Ornella Fado also just launched the first and only digital guide about fine Italian eateries around the world called Brindiamo! Guide, and she also hosts a show where age visits true, Italian cuisine in New York City, focusing on chefs and restaurants that are as authentic as Italy itself. ⁠

When I think of fine Italian dining and specialty wines, the name Piero Selvaggio, comes to mind, and we spoke with him recently on our #LittleItalyOfLA Podcast.

Piero founded the legendary West LA restaurant, Valentino, and his famous recipes, buffalo mozzarella, truffles, and wine selection became synonymous with fine dining. Piero has since closed Valentino, and now brings his master selection to the famed Drago restaurant in downtown Los Angeles.

Piero has a fascinating story, born in Sicily, he quickly rose to become one of the great Italian master chefs, bringing his own unique style to welcome some of Hollywood's elite into his restaurants.

Piero is also a wine expert, and his selection of wines at Valentino and now Drago are highly regarded by every major magazine and sought after internationally.

Hear all about Piero, his life, and he even gives us a lesson or two in fine dining, LIVE on Facebook, YouTube, IGTV, and all podcast platforms on @LittleItalyOfLA and #DeborahKobyltLIVE, with our host, #DeborahZaraKobylt. You'll leave hungry🇮🇹

If you love fine, Italian, hand-crafted jewelery, then you'll love our #LittleItalyOfLA Podcast today. We speak with Mario Aprile, founder of Aprile Jewelers, who designs some of the most unique, one-of-a-kind pieces of fine Italian jewelery in the world. We talk about his early years studying electronics in Naples, until he quit to follow his dream of being a jewelery designer in Italy. His work, and love, eventually brought him to Los Angeles, where he had a shop in DTLA, crafting jewelery as unique as the people he designed for. Now Mario has thriving shop in Redondo Beach, close to our Little Italy in San Pedro. Hear all about Mario's remarkable life and journey to America, and how he has become one of the most sought-after jewelers with his stunning masterpieces. LIVE on on Facebook, YouTube, IGTV, and all podcast platforms on @LittleItalyOfLA and #DeborahKobyltLIVE 🇮🇹

Actress and entrepreneur Dina Morrone has certainly led an exciting life, and she joins us on our Little Italy of LA Podcast today. Dina has a fascinating story, growing up with her Italian immigrant parents in Canada, leaving for NY and back to Italy to find work as a model and actress. Dina even met and worked with the famed Fellini and has many stories to share about her experiences working in Italy. Eventually Dina made her way to Los Angeles, wrote and starred in two highly-acclaimed one woman shows, "Moose on the Loose," and "The Italian in Me." Out host, #DeborahZaraKobylt, says Dina is quite a storyteller and has lived a large life. We hope you enjoy some of the stories she shares with us today.