Grandma’s kitchen packs a tasty punch
[media-credit name="Sarah Tse" align="alignright" width="216"][/media-credit]
Inside Little Nonna’s I found a dimly lit dining room with photos and antiques hanging on its walls, as if in a grandmother’s kitchen. While Nonna's interior is slightly cramped, the restaurant has a spacious 40–seat outdoor patio to make up for it, with a clothesline of hanging laundry that makes diners feel at home.
The menu mimics an Italian grandmother’s cuisine, too. There’s a wide array of traditional appetizers, all of which have modern twists. The garlic bread ($4) has a DIY component: toasted bread comes with roasted garlic cloves, which diners must spread onto the bread themselves. While the roasted garlic provides a mellow sweetness, it’s missing the bite that traditional garlic bread should have. The grilled little gem Caesar ($10) missed the mark with a dressing that was overwhelmingly lemony. However, some of the other reinvented classics, like the crispy eggplant parmigiana ($12) and the B+V+P (beef, veal and pork) meatballs ($11) stuffed with fontina cheese, were spot on. The eggplant parmigiana, made with Japanese eggplant and Thai basil, highlighted the range of textures possible in eggplant, while the sparing use of marinara let the eggplant’s flavor come through.
[media-credit name="Sarah Tse" align="alignleft" width="255"][/media-credit]
The entrees were similarly well done. The cavatelli nero ($12) with calamari, blistered baby tomatoes, broccoli rabe, pickled fresno chile and mint was bright and flavorful. The potato gnocchi ($13), while simple, was light and fluffy. And the swordfish in the grilled swordfish oreganata ($22) was surprisingly delicate and paired well with the strong flavors of the cauliflower picata and its rich lemon butter sauce.
The desserts don’t disappoint, either. The spumoni ($10) has an interesting combination of cherry, pistachio and chocolate ice creams and is topped with juicy roasted bing cherries. The heirloom tomato–basil water ice ($6), though more apt to be a palate cleanser than a sweet tooth satisfier, works surprisingly well, with the creaminess of the basil ice rounding out the acidity of the tomato.
While 13th Street is lined with quality restaurants, Little Nonna’s is certainly worth its own trip downtown.
Little Nonna's
1234 Locust St
@littlenonnas
(215) 546–2100
Don't Miss: Grilled Swordfish Oreganata
Skip: Grilled Little Gem Caesar
$$$
