We Invite You To Read The Raves....
Recently, Daniel Maggipinto, Caffe Nonna's executive chef and co-owner, sat down with Alexa Hinton of Nashville's City Paper. Click on this link to read what Alexa has to say about the restaurant and read Daniel's comments and insights. Prefer to read this review in PDF format? Click this link to read the Nashville City Paper review using Adobe Acrobat Reader.
It’s a pleasant surprise to enjoy a dining experience as exceptional as Caffe Nonna. Located in the heart of Sylvan Park, this charming restaurant offers diners something that is hard to come by these days: comfort. Offering rustic comfort foods is one of the driving philosophies of Chef Daniel Maggipinto, who creates the family dishes of his childhood, inspired by his own Nonna (Italian for Grandmother).
Now in it’s seventh year, Caffe Nonna continues a thriving business
for flair with earthy, authentic Italian fare. The attention to customer
service
is evident before we even reach the door, where we are greeted by part-owner
Jeff Bloom, ushered to a table and warmly greeted by our server. It is patently
obvious throughout the evening that it is paramount to the staff that the dining
experience be as thoroughly pleasurable as possible, and, indeed, they could
not have delivered any better.
Though the seasonal menu is small, it is by no means diminutive. Each item
is carefully thought out, with attention to flavor pairings, textures,
and visual
appeal. The rustic Italian fare is accented by a European flair, evidence of
Maggipinto’s extensive training in France, and (obviously) the education
of his Grandmother’s dinner table.
Our appetizer was a Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella Napoleon, liberally doused
with a homemade pesto, whole pine nuts and basil. The freshness was exquisitely
refreshing; and as important as what I could taste was what I couldn't’t
taste – the pesto most definitely didn't’t arrive in a jar, the mozzarella
wasn't’t out of a bag, and the basil and tomatoes were fresh and sweet.
Next, our gigantic salads arrived, leaving me to wonder how in the world
I was going to eat all the food I had ordered. I had a portobello salad,
a most inventive
concoction of fresh greens, roasted portobello mushrooms, toasted walnuts roasted
yellow bells, and gorgonzola. The pairing of the sweet peppers, loamy portobellos
and fragrant walnuts is earthy, and no less pleasing for it’s simplicity.
No pomp, no foo-foo airs, just excellent flavors melded together. My wife took
on the Riviera Salad, a mix of assorted greens and toppings sure to conjure images
of sun-soaked vineyards and shady olive groves overlooking the Mediterranean.
With a mix of olives, pignolis, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, and feta cheese,
freshness was again a key ingredient in a pleasing and flavorful dish.
The simple freshness of the salads created a foundation for more complex
flavorings in the entrees, in the form of Pan Seared Scaloppine and Lamb
Shank Toscana,
a house specialty. For fans of lamb shanks, the art of taking what would otherwise
be an unusable cut of meat and turning it into a succulent delight of meaty
goodness is a process not to be taken lightly. If braised improperly,
the diner could
be left to gnaw off any pieces of meat from the bone, wrestling fibrous meat
like a vicious puppet. However, done right, the meat simply falls off the bone
in tender, juicy, flavorful strips. Maggipinto comes through, serving the shank
on a bed of Tuscan ragout: white beans, Swiss chard, onions, and a silky Chianti
sauce. While the lamb has a robust flavor, the delicate herbs and seasonings
are by no means trampled, but instead stand up to one another in gustatory
harmony.
Likewise the veal, smothered in haystack potatoes, is a delightful dish
with underlying smokiness contrasting the fresh basil chiffonade topping.
It was
served on a similar ragout, with the additions of mushrooms and artichokes.
We finalized our meal with two very nice desserts: classic tiramisu and the
ricotta mocha cheesecake. Both were excellent, but if sharing you might be
advised to
vary one of these, as both are similarly flavored.
Overall, the vision of Chef Maggipinto and owner Jeff Bloom and Bob Sillers
is readily achieved. After enjoying the fine food and the rustic dining environment
filled with ochre and earth tones, wooden furniture, and original artwork,
we felt as if we might step out into the nightlife of the Italian piazza,
instead of back onto Murphy road. Fortunately for us, and all Nashvillians,
that fiction
can at least be perpetuated for a time with just a visit to Caffe Nonna.
-- Scott Johnson
Read other reviews.
Wcities has reviews and candid comments from past guests.
Read what Gayot.Com has to say about the Caffe Nonna experience.
The Nashville City Paper found Caffe Nonna dining worthy of comment. Read what this respected local paper has to say about the restaurant!
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