Luigi Di Palo, a youthful 56-year-old better known as Lou, runs Little Italy’s century-old Di Palo’s Fine Foods with his brother and sister. The store started out as a latteria, selling only fresh cheese, milk and butter. Di Palo likes to say that he and his family are among the “last of the real, original Little Italy people.” These days the store is a little Italy in its own right with hundreds of Italian specialties – salumi, cheese, olive oil, preserves, and Balsamic vinegar among other things. Di Palo’s still makes its own cheese daily and as one customer kvelled, “There’s no ricotta like his ricotta.” And they were right, the bit we tasted was like eating a cloud made out of milk. We chatted with him about his family’s store as well as the neighborhood and its upcoming Carnevale festival, which runs through February 3 and will feature special dishes at area restaurants as well as impromptu shows by Italian performers and singers on weekends. more ›