Watch Mitt Run: Romney's Campaign For President

Was That Who I Think That Was In the Center?

Lots of Romney sightings in Belmont as campaign takes time off from trail.

The black Chevy Tahoe SUVs, the security, the press, the dash inside the up-scale restaurant, the surprised diners, the excited staff.  A celebrity sighting in Belmont Center!  Was it Belmont's own Hollywood producer and writer David Kelley and his wife, Michelle Pfeiffer, entering il Casale? Did the entire Boston Bruins team return to the restaurant where they held this year's break up dinner to celebrate the NHL's lock-out? Is comedian Dane Cook still a big enough star to warrant the "TMZ" treatment? Nope, just long-time resident Mitt and Ann Romney with their son and daughter-in-law, Tagg and Jennifer, out at their favorite local restaurant.  (There wasn't this much fuss last year.) Apparently with both campaigns – Romney's and …

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il Casale is Best Once Again

Racks up yet another honor in Boston Magazine's annual "Best of" issue.

There is only one restaurant to eat in the western suburbs and that place is, once again, in Belmont. And for the second time, Belmont Center's il Casale takes home Boston magazine's Best of Boston award for excellence as the Best Suburbs, West restaurant. The honor can be found in the magazine that hit the newsstands on July 31.  with its always-highly-anticipated Best of Boston awards issue.  "For the past 12 months, Boston magazine’s team of expert judges ate, drank, and shopped their way across the city, the ‘burbs, the Cape and the Islands to find the very best the area has to offer," said the editors. "This year the magazine names 291 winners – from best new restaurant to best fine jewelry – including its 19 'Singular Sensations,' …

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Photo Gallery: Bruins Bring Out a Crowd in Belmont

Social media spreads word as teens and youngsters head to team dinner at il Casale.

Blame Tyler Seguin. The young (he's just 20, everyone) Boston Bruin scoring star tweeted (@tylerseguin92) that he was heading to a team dinner before the "real" season – the playoffs – begin. Someone discovered through the social media world of Facebook and twitter that the dinner was taking place in Belmont, at the critically-acclaimed il Casale in the Center. That was retweeted and businesses in town began twittering the scene happening around 7 p.m. And before you could say Mark Zuckerberg, a crowd of Bruins fans, hockey players and teen age girls were outside Chef Dante de Magistris' restaurant waiting for their favorites to walk through a gauntlet of screams, hands and cellphone cameras to SUVs or a team bus waiting along Leonard …

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[Photo Gallery] il Casale in Commercial Spotlight

Belmont Center restaurant now a backdrop for a new software web commercial.

Belmont Center's il Casale has seen its fair share of cameras prancing about the bar and restaurant to film the exceptional cooking and great drinks that makes the Leonard Street eatery a fine dining destination outside of Boston. Tuesday afternoon, the outside patio was being filmed but not this time for the food the restaurant was serving to customers. Rather, the establishment was being used as the scene and backdrop of the filming of a commercial. While not bringing the level of enthusiasm that occurred a few years back when Dane Cook filmed a scene of a movie in the Center, curious lunch time pedestrians did take quick looks into the umbrella-shaded patio with two digital cameras and a slew of people required to shot even the simplest…

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Trio of Belmont Businesses Named Best of

Restaurant, bikes and women's fashions selected by largest regional magazine.

It's always nice to be the "best." And in the 38th edition of its "Best of Boston" isuue, Boston magazine announced that Belmont has three businesses that came home with the top award, in various categories including people, restaurants and shops. This year, the honorees include: • Belmont Wheelworks for Best Bicycles west of the city, • Bessie Blue for Best Women’s Clothing Store west of the city, and • Il Casale for Best Restaurant with General Excellence west of the city. For more than a half-million monthly readers, Boston magazine is the voice that captures the best of contemporary life in the city and beyond. 

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Patch Picks

The Popular Chefs In Belmont

Five outstanding chefs who create great meal and baked goods in our town.

This week, Patch Picks takes a look at some of the popular chefs in Belmont. • Dante deMagistris, chef and owner of il Casale in Belmont Center, received a 24 from the Zagat Guide for the food. He manages and sets the menu for the James Beard-nominated eatery that has become a destination restaurant in Greater Boston. • Savinos Grill's Tom Cutrone cooks and leads the kitchen staff at the Cushing Square location which specializes in truly special Italian and Mediterranean cuisine that rotates seasonally.  • Joh Kolubo's small store front, Kitchen on Common, also in Cushing Square, is home to the height in local casual comfort food. • Michael Ehlenfeldt, the chef and general manager at Stone Hearth Pizza Co. in Belmont Center is not your …

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