Two Rockford Area Italian Favorites Headed to America’s Best Restaurants

Two Rockford area Italian restaurants will soon be featured on America's Best Restaurants Roadshow, but they need our help now deciding which dishes to showcase.

Joonirang

What Is America's Best Restaurants Roadshow?

Do you watch a lot of food shows and wonder, "How come these shows never feature places around Rockford?" Well, America's Best Restaurants Roadshow will soon be making another stop in the Stateline area, and this time Italian food is on the menu.

So, what exactly is America's Best Restaurants Roadshow?

This show travels across the country highlighting independently owned restaurants that have become staples in their communities. The goal of the show is simple: to highlight what makes local restaurants special, from signature dishes to unique stories, and to help them succeed.

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In September 2025, America's Best Restaurants Roadshow made stops at Salamone's Italian Restaurant in Cherry Valley, and Big O's On the Hollow in Freeport, and soon two more Stateline favorites will be getting the ABR star treatment.

America's Best Restaurants Roadshow in Rockford

For Rockford-area food lovers, seeing Sam's Ristorante & Pizzeria on E Riverside in Rockford and Cimino's Little Italy in Freeport chosen to be a part of America's Best Restaurants isn't much of a surprise.

Sam's has been serving up delicious pizza, pasta and more for over 50 years in the Rockford community, and Cimino's Little Italy in Freeport is one of my family's favorite places to grab a pizza.

America's Best Restaurants crews are scheduled to be at Sam's on June 30 and at Cimino's in Freeport on July 1, but both restaurants need our help now to decide what dishes they should feature during filming.

After the episodes have been filmed and produced, we will be able to watch them on  America's Best Restaurants' website and social media channels.

Here's a video from ABR's stop at Salamone's in Cherry Valley in 2025... I can't wait to see Cimino's Little Italy and Sam's Ristorante featured soon!