Tucson Weekly: Back To The Old Country (May 20

Back To The Old Country

Former Café Melange Owner Phil Ferranti Goes Back To His Italian Roots With Nonna's Blessing
By Rebecca Cook
DOES TUCSON REALLY need another Italian restaurant? By now, everyone has weighed in on his or her personal favorites, running the gamut from elegant and upscale Vivace to the enduring popularity of the more casual and affordable Caruso's. Volumes could be written about the wonders of Gavi (rumored to be opening yet a third location at Skyline and Kolb) and DaVinci's, Michelangelo's, Trattoria Pina and Cibaria constitute a familial dynasty of appetizing fare from the northern regions deep into the boot of the Italian peninsula.
There's no shortage of places to grab a decent pizza pie and even restaurants specializing in something other than Italian cuisine work a number of pasta dishes into the menu. Is there room for yet another pasta purveyor? Where Nonna's Italian Restaurant is concerned, the answer is an unqualified yes.
Chow The latest eatery to slip into the exclusive corner of Tanque Verde Road and Camino Principal (the last being Le Melange, formerly known as Café Melange), Nonna's enhances the local Italian dining scene with a solid menu of family favorites quite literally prepared in the style of Grandma's kitchen.
Owner and former professional golfer Phil Ferranti (also owner of La Placita Café) tried his hand at resurrecting Café Melange by renaming it Le Melange and featuring a Swiss-French bill of fare. When customer response was less than rousing, Ferranti changed course last fall by focusing on something he understood intimately: Italian food just like Grandma--or Nonna--used to make.
Using many recipes from his nonna's files (her photograph beams from the cover of the menu), Ferranti redesigned the essential concept of the eatery and tried again. This time, he appears to have a solid winner on his hands.
Not that everything at Nonna's is perfect, mind you. Most jarring is the service, which though friendly, ranks as some of the most amateur in town. Do your best to figure the menu out for yourself, because if you have questions, chances are good that your server won't be able to answer them without a good deal of time and research. We actually had to point to the items on the menu so our waiter could see what we wanted and accurately copy down our requests. Now, I know my Italian may leave a lot to be desired, but I would think anyone even vaguely familiar with the menu could understand a request for ravioli formaggio or osso buco.
Queries into the finer points of the menu were met with a blank stare, a cheerful shrug, and "Gee, I really don't know." The final straw came when the check arrived well in advance of our dessert order. Quaint, but I prefer the usual custom of waiting until I've finished my meal before being presented with the tab.
While these faux pas were a distraction from the overall experience, Nonna's eventually wins with its combination of excellent food and comfortably warm ambiance. The cool blue hues that once distinguished the Melange scene have been replaced with a fiery red, white and natural wood scheme. The inviting front patio is encased in mature greenery and alight with several twinkling, white lights. The divided main dining room is softly lit and plush enough to absorb excess sound so that dinner conversation remains intimate. Italian music and colorful posters from the mother country complete the mood.
As soon as you're seated, a basket of warm bread--a delightful sourdough--and a small bowl of olive oil with just a dab of balsamic vinegar are proffered. Some gentle prodding yields the discovery that Viro's Bakery is behind the yeasty magic of this delicious bread, as well as some of Nonna's desserts.
Having not yet met our bread quotient for the evening, we ordered the house bruschetta ($7.95) as an appetizer. Four long cuts of Italian bread are brushed and baked with decadent amounts of butter, garlic and fresh parmesan cheese. Nonna's presents a triumvirate of goodies to add at your discretion: gorgonzola and crushed pine nuts, a brine-cured olive tapenade, and dried and marinated tomato. Each topping was superb, but the olive tapenade was the stand-out, hands down, with its briny tang the perfect match to the buttery toasted bread.
House green, Caesar and spinach salads are featured as potential second courses, along with a short list of homemade soups (the Italian wedding soup, with its tiny meatballs, silky chicken-based broth and pasta-vegetable mix is particularly tempting). We deviated from the green norm by ordering the Caprese salad ($6.95) instead, a palette of sliced tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and fresh, whole basil leaves drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. The blend of flavors was masterful, even though the tomatoes were a few days short of ripe. Had the dish delivered on its promise of vine-ripened beefsteak tomatoes, the salad would have catapulted to ambrosial.
Diners have much to consider here. Not only are there a host of the usual pasta dishes, but there's quite a selection of veal, chicken, seafood and pizza. Although the only solution to such a wealth of options is to plan several return visits, we decided to begin with a few favorites: the aforementioned osso buco ($16.95) and cheese ravioli in red sauce ($10.95).
If your experience with ravioli hasn't extended much beyond the experiences of youth, it's time to grow up. There's nothing canned about Nonna's delicate pasta encasing ricotta, parmesan and gorgonzola cheeses mixed with a generous mincing of fresh parsley. The surrounding red sauce is a thick puree of tomatoes and garlic infused with a restrained touch of oregano and basil. It's an exquisitely savory composition.
Osso buco, or veal shanks gently braised in a roux of olive oil, white wine, stock, garlic and various vegetables, is a dish of singular sensitivity. Prepared well, it's an elegant repast; but if given a heavy-handed treatment, it's barely better than campfire stew. Nonna's version is right on, with the meat on the sizable shank so tender it practically falls off the bone, and the cascade of flavors is impressively luscious. Diced tomatoes, carrots, onion and a sprinkling of gremolata (a garnish of minced parsley, lemon peel and garlic) imbue the dish with a sprightly and delicious character.
In addition to the veal, spaghetti with marinara sauce and a julienned sauté of yellow and green squash is also included on the platter. On the merits of its osso buco alone, Nonna's could build a formidable reputation.
While most desserts are made elsewhere, the house crème brûlée ($5.25) is whipped up in Nonna's own kitchen. Delicately laced with amaretto and served with sliced fresh strawberries, this first-class custard is a delightful way to conclude a filling meal.
I think there's definitely room on the local scene for one more Italian restaurant. If Nonna's works out a few kinks in its service, it could easily become a Tucson classic.
Nonna's Italian Restaurant. 6761 E. Tanque Verde Road. 298-2233. Open 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Closed Mondays. Full bar. V, MC, AMEX, DC, checks. Menu items: $3.95-$18.95.

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