Most visitors going to Staten Island are doing so to see the Statue of Liberty, but within the kitchen at 27 Hyatt Street can be found one of the most unique restaurants in the whole city.
Enoteca Maria is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for visitors to get a glimpse inside another world—many other worlds—as the menu prepared for each weekend is designed and cooked to order by a staff of grandmothers.
From Syria to Peru, Japan to Sicily, the “Nonnas of the World” project showcases traditional home cooking by those in the family who almost always do it best, and whether they’re American citizens, visiting grandmothers, or even refugees, the food and recipes are cooked the way they ought to be, the way they always were.
Established by the son of Sicilian immigrants Enoteca Maria opened in 2007 with a staff entirely of Italian Nonne, or grandmothers.
More than 100 women have come through the doors since then, representing Sri Lanka, Syria, Bulgaria, Greece, South Korea, and Siberian regions according to the BBC, while La Reppublica reports the visiting contributions of grandmas from Egypt, Peru, Japan, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Turkey, and Argentina.
Grandma Rosa from Peru cooks ceviche or lomo saltado, while Grandma Yumi makes dengaku: sliced and steamed eggplant with a sweet miso glaze.
Owner Joe Scaravella opened the restaurant to try and replace something he lost—his own grandma, the sweetest woman on earth he says, who raised him, and who was the best cook. But what started as an homage to his Sicilian heritage transformed into a living, gastronomic, cultural repository.
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As well as filling out the reservation book, Scaravella created a virtual registry project called Nonnas of the World where the stories and recipes of the grandmothers who come through to cook are recorded, ensuring that they will be available to anyone looking to celebrate as their ancestors did.
As it happens, a similar restaurant concept was opened in London—La Mia Mamma.
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