Staten Island – Nonnas Gone Wild at Enoteca Maria

Thats what you get when you combine Italian nonnas and Nirvana (as in smells like teen spirit Nirvana).  A party!  a slightly unconfirtable one but still.

This Enoteca (wine shop for those scoring at home) comes with an interesting concept.  Nonnas representing different Italian regions taking turn each day of the week cooking.  There’s a set menu on one side and today’s nonna menu on the other.  You can see the stories and more about the concept on their site.  What you also see on the site is something probably 98.3% of the folks dining there miss.  Below the concept, the cooks, the menu, the wine you got this…

“The Music: Our music selection is an eclectic compilation from the past and the present: classical, rock, jazz, world, and everything in between. Sometimes…it gets loud!”

He’s not kidding!!  Much to the surprise of some older folks, families, singles, pretty much everybody.  Arguing is useless as I’ve witnessed on a few occassions.

But I’m here for the food.  Sampled quite a few after 2 visits and these were the highlights:  Burrata – Smooth, creamy    mozzarella goodness.  Meatballs – Very flavorful.  Rabbit stew – Tender, meaty deliciousness.  Didnt see the rabbit on the second visit so must have been a specialty of one of the nonnas.  I would time my next visit to coincide with the rabbit nonna.

On an island packed with all sorts of Italian establishments, Enoteca Maria is the only one that has that authentic menu I can only see in other boroughs.   Rock on Nonnas!!

Photo courtesy of Glen Dicrocco  (I’m guessing to the tunes of Iron Maiden in the backgound 👿 )