Nonna

I met up with S at Nonna on the Upper West Side a few days ago to catch up. Nonna has been on my "to try" list for quite awhile. As soon as I moved to the neighborhood, my friend M strongly recommended it. We first started out by sharing some baked mussels in savory broth with roasted plum tomatoes, garlic and focaccia chips. It took me back to the day of the Landmarc mussels and beer tasting. Once again, I fell in love with the broth a bit more than the mussels.


For my entree I ordered the Pappardelle with mushrooms, which were highly recommended by M. The dish was made of homemade pappardelle pasta, fresh morel, chanterelle, porcini, and matsutake mushrooms sauteed in shallot butter. I've never had pappardelle before, but they're kind of like fettucini's big brother. They're much larger and broader. The freshly grated parmesan cheese added a pleasant tang and texture to the pasta. Did you know that the name "pappardelle" is derived from the verb, "pappare," which means to gobble up? (via Wikipedia) Well, that dish definitely lives up to its name.

I'd like to return to Nonna sometime in the near future for brunch, since they've certainly won me over with dinner.