I had heard about the 5-course tasting menu at Nonna’s Italian Restaurant and wanted to try it out, so I jumped at the chance to help host a Rotating Dinner there, featuring Nonna’s Italian Chef’s 5-Course Tasting Menu, with Random Events and New York Social Network. It was a pleasant experience and I enjoyed getting to know different people throughout the meal.
We started off with something called rice balls, which look like spaghetti meatballs but are much better. The rice balls are deep fried in a red sauce with mozzerella cheese sprinkled on top, with risotto (rice with peas and melted cheese) inside. These were soo good: Full of flavor, crispy and melt in your mouth delicious.
Next came Cesar salad and a plate of meat and vegetables. The salad was just okay, nothing to write home about, though the accompanying little cheese balls on the side were quite good. The plate of assorted meats and vegetables was lovely- Bright, colorful, fresh and came with carrots, olives, peppers, artichoke, tomato, cauliflower, a whole head of garlic, cheese and prosciutto.
After that was the pasta dish. I had the pappardalle with mushroom sauce and truffle butter. Although the description made my mouth water, the actual dish wasn’t delectable as anticipated. Though the pasta was well made, the sauce wasn’t flavorful enough.
For the main course, I had gotten the cod with some sort of white bean underneath. The cod was light and flaky, with just a the right amount of crispiness and complementary seasoning. The white beans came with a delightful sauce.
I had my dessert with coffee (included). To our utter delights, we were given 2 desserts: Zeppoli and Tiramisu. The zeppoli is fried dough balls with a honey sauce, with powdered sugar on top. They were just okay next to the Tiramisu, which was simply divine. Perfectly melded tastes of coffee, expresso, marsepone cheese, whipped cream and a sweet egg yolk mixture. The tiramisu was both light and creamy, sweet but not overly so and just melted in your mouth.
Overall, quite an Italian feast with good service and great company!
Address: 520 Columbus Avenue
Dress, Dine & Sparkle 