Missing Your Grandma’s Cooking? Head to Enoteca Maria in Staten Island, NYC!
If you were fortunate enough to enjoy your grandma’s delicious home-cooked meals, then you know exactly how special they are.
If not, you can still experience the gastronomic love and affection of grandmothers from around the world at a restaurant in Staten Island, New York City.
Enoteca Maria in Staten Island, New York City, is a one-of-a-kind eatery, also known as the grandma restaurant.
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Located at 27 Hyatt Street, be sure to visit this unique restaurant the next time you’re in NYC to see the Statue of Liberty.
Founded in 2007 by Joe Scaravella, the son of Italian immigrants, he was raised by his grandmother.
According to Scaravella, his grandmother was the best cook in the world and the most loving woman he had ever known. He started the restaurant as a tribute to his grandmother and his Italian roots.
However, with time the restaurant has evolved into a rich culinary experience and vibrant cultural resource.
The restaurant serves on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays with a new menu each week. Grandmothers, or ‘Nonnas’ (Italian for grandmother), from around the world design and cook the menu entirely on their own.
The restaurant also features a special virtual register called “Nonnas of the World,” where grandmothers share their recipes along with memories attached to the dish.
Scaravella believes this virtual register will provide everyone with authentic and genuine recipes from various cuisines around the world.
The “Nonnas of the World” project features traditional recipes from grandmothers in countries ranging from Peru to Syria and Japan to Sicily.
The Nonnas who cook at the restaurant are either American citizens, refugees, or visiting grandmothers. They prepare the recipes as authentically as they have always been made.
Since its inception in 2007, the register has been filled by more than 100 women from countries such as Siberia, South Korea, Syria, Bulgaria, Sri Lanka, and Greece, according to the BBC.
According to La Repubblica, Nonnas from Azerbaijan, Algeria, Argentina, Egypt, Japan, Peru, and Turkey have also visited and cooked at the restaurant.
The grandmothers enjoy cooking at the eatery, which feels just like home for many of them.
Nonna Yumi from Japan prepares ‘dengaku’ by slicing, steaming, and grilling eggplants with a touch of sweet miso sauce. On the other hand, Nonna Rosa from Peru makes ‘lomo saltado’ and ‘ceviche’ with raw fish.
Inspired by the success of Enoteca Maria, a restaurant called La Mia Mamma, based on a similar concept, has opened in London.
