THE NONNAS
THE NONNAS
By LouLou Piscatore
FOOD
Jody Scaravella grew up spending a lot of time with his grandmother. “My nonna Domenica was an amazing cook and the sweetest woman I’ve ever known…we would go to the fruit market, the butcher, and the fish market regularly. When we got home, I would watch her cook everything we bought. I can still remember eating her pasta with peas and often find myself making it today.” Every Sunday the whole family would have dinner at her house. He describes grandmothers as the “glue that holds the family together.” After his grandmother and mother passed, it was something he missed. The inspiration for the restaurant was to try and “recreate what had been lost” — the culture, the comfort, the wisdom, the memories, the recipes.
In the beginning, Jody focussed on Italian food. He placed an ad in an Italian newspaper, and then grandmothers started showing up to his house. “It was an amazing moment in my life. All these ladies chasing me around with plates of food to try, I often compare it to a Fellini movie.” Over time, he noticed that the customers of the restaurant were from many different nationalities, and he was inspired to expand to celebrate multiple cultures. Now the restaurant runs two kitchens — one is always Italian, and the other is the cuisine of whatever nonna is working that night. “We have nonnas from Greece, Japan, Italy, Peru, Bangladesh, Egypt, Azerbaijan, and more! I hope to be able to represent every country.” He finds that food is a unifying force, and describes it as “taking people across the border, safely” to experience another culture. “I think what we don’t understand makes us anxious and uneasy. My feelings are that when you break bread together, our preconceived notions may change and truths become clearer.”
At the heart of Nonnas of the World are the nonnas. Many of them have lost husbands or are empty-nesters. The opportunity to cook their food and share their culture has brought them back to life. According to one of the nonnas, “There isn’t a better feeling than watching a customer enjoy your food.” And they have so much to share. They carry the traditions and the recipes, and pass them down to the next generation. Now, they get to pass them down to a whole community. “I think we’ve struck a nerve,” says Jody, “and our popularity rests squarely on this principle; whenever a Nonna is in the kitchen hundreds of years of her culture flows from her fingertips.”
The restaurant is open Friday – Sunday, and is walking distance from the Staten Island ferry.
Call for reservations
718-447-2777
27 Hyatt Street, Staten Island, New York 10301
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