Enoteca Maria

Tag: Staten Island Advance

  • Restaurant Looking for Nonnas Who Cook

    by Tevah Platt
    STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

    St. George — Enoteca Maria is looking for a few good nonnas.
      
    Since the St. George restaurant opened in 2007, it has capitalized on the behind-the-scenes talents of the Italian housewife.

    A rotating staff of cooks—“ladies,” owner Joe Scaravella calls them—prepares dishes representing eight unique regions of Italy and anonymous, centuries-old recipes preserved along matrilineal lines.
       
    The Enoteca is looking to cement its niche by hiring six new “grandmothers.”

    “Everyone is looking for their grandmother’s cooking,” says the goateed, round-spectacled Scaravella, known for chatting with customers on the subject of wine. He refers to the mission in what he acknowledges is improper Italian: “guarde per nonna,” literally, “looking for grandma.”

    Anna Maria (Nina) Picariolo of the Bronx, by way of Salerno, one of the eatery’s eight cooks who take turns as chef-of-the-day, joined the staff when she read about the restaurant’s opening in the Italian newspaper, Oggi. She starts her work day inventing a menu drawn from her region’s culinary traditions and the ingredients in the Enoteca refrigerator. Ms. Picariolo, who speaks Italian, said through a translator last week that Enoteca makes her happy because the menu never repeats. It’s wholly different from cooking at home, she said: “A casa – me no like.”
     
    Each cook has a chance to showcase her skills and bask in patrons’ adoration.

    “Adelena (Masana, of Naples) dotes on her husband and sons and I’m sure they complain, ‘Why didn’t you make this? This one has too much salt….” These women are easily taken for granted,” said Scaravella of one of his most prized chefs.

    The proprietor is seeking cooks who would work about two days a month.

    They needn’t be grandmothers, but they must bring their heritage to the table, Scaravella said.

    The restaurant’s youngest cook by far is Alma Benussi, 26 and a dark-eyed beauty, who lives in Milan and visits the restaurant to cook for pleasure. Her cooking inspired Scaravella to write in his Facebook update: “If you close your eyes, you’ll swear that your grandma is cooking in the kitchen, and if you open them, you’ll see what she looked like 50 years earlier.”

    The Enoteca opens around 3 and serves roughly 50 to 100 guests a night. The menu changes daily, but the frutta di mare salad and capozzelli (stuffed sheep’s head) are regular menu items.

    The restaurant and its lineup of cooks will be featured on an upcoming episode of WABC-TV’s Rachael Ray Show on October 9.

    “The ladies come in here and they get applause,” said Scaravella. “It’s about time they get credit for what they do.”
        
    Tevah Platt covers the North and East shores of Staten Island. She can be reached at [email protected].

  • Staten Island Advance – Dining Out Review

    ENOTECA MARIA / THREE STARS
    By Pamela Silvestri
    March 5, 2009

    advance_review3-5-09_100x100After being totally spoiled by home-cooked meals while on maternity leave, this palate scoped out several restaurants for possible review: Only Enoteca Maria made the grade for a solid three-star rating.

    This eatery certainly sets the bar for quality Italian food in the borough. In short, this is not your abodanza/gravy type of joint. Instead, Enoteca’s style translates to simple, tasty edibles that can be pleasantly rough around the edges. Indeed it has little hang ups – we’ll get to that later – but wholesome home-style cooking is the ultimate reward from this St. George kitchen.

    Enoteca came to Staten Island in winter 2007 with a unique concept: Female cooks from various regions of Italy played chef with a different lady starring behind the stove every day. The idea turned out to be a winning one that whet the appetites of bloggers citywide.

    It is still a little wine bar that serves dinners (no more lunches–boo!) and flavorful accoutrements on heavy robin’s egg plateware, an attractive backdrop for colorful food. Too bad these neat table settings make reasonably sized portions appear small, and plates typically are cool to the touch, something that pulls heat out of food.

    Gifts from the kitchen–tasty amuse bouche like sundried tomato strips with pignoli nuts or garlicky cauliflower come with hunks of foccaccia – start the meal. Not so amusing for some patrons: They arrive after the food order is placed, hence no bread basket goodies on which to nibble.

    Along with apps, entrees and handmade pastas, the menu features spuntino (small plates) like chick pea and grape tomato salad seasoned with oregano, an artichoke swollen with seasoned breadcrumb or quartered then marinated and grilled with balsamic vinegar. Polpette (meatballs) are intensely garlicked with distinct meat flavor, a nice chemistry that happens when few fillers clutter the meat mixture. Sliced mushrooms in “sweet tomato sauce” are very good, although the sauce looked unappealingly heavy with oil.

    And pizza–as in the explosively flavorful four-cheese variety which melds gorgonzola, provolone, mozzarella and parmesan–is like no other pie on S.I., something perhaps a home cook might pull together in his own kitchen using top notch ingredients.

    One recent evening, cook Adelina made gnocchi in a few shining flavors–sundried tomato, spinach and potato–turning out those steaming dumplings with pleasant pillowy-doughy texture. Vibrantly colored sautéed fresh veggies shared a plate with a fist-sized puff pastry pocket folded with floured chicken breast bits, oozing mozzarella and tangy orange marmalade, a seemingly simple combination that delivered sophisticated, contrasting flavors.

    Zuppe di Pesce (housemade seafood soup) was thick with calamari yet shy on broth. Salmon with capers and olives featured a fish that was overcooked and devoid of flavor. Perfectly steamed whole Branzini bass came tucked in a crumpled mass of aluminum foil. Basted in its own juices with fresh garlic and herbs, it was thoroughly delightful despite a messy presentation. A few items listed on the menu teased but weren’t always featured, including capunatz (sheep’s head) stuffed with breadcrumb. With dessert, cookies were grainy and could be better. Biscotti, presumably a staple sweet in the repertoire, was notably absent on our visits. But an island of vanilla semifreddo (half-frozen gelato) floating in espresso was extraordinary.

    Enoteca’s patrons have expressed mixed emotions on service, something worthy of mention.

    Fans of the place enthuse over the relaxed atmosphere and the owner’s attentiveness. A server (or the owner himself for that matter) might replenish a beverage on the house, bring over a freshly prepared side dish for sampling or add fruit to an almost finished pitcher of house wine. Some find this behavior to be over-solicitous. Others, like myself, find the gestures to be unpretentious, incredibly warm and a sign of good service from one of the borough’s finer establishments.

    Menu: Enoteca (Italian translation: wine bar) serves home-style regional Italian food cooked by several different female cooks straight from The Boot. The menu has a staple spuntino (a menu of small plates meant for sharing as appetizers), but for the most part offerings change nightly depending on the featured gal in the kitchen.

    Atmosphere: Narrow storefront houses marble floors & tabletops, pearlescent subway wall tiles & caged glass bulbs making for a sophisticated industrial décor. Seats 30 (only two seats at the bar). Acoustics can be brash and loud but for some customers this is part of Enoteca’s unique charm.

    Hours: Abbreviated menu of appetizers, salads & pizza Wednesday-Sunday, 3 to 5 p.m. Full menu starts at 5 p.m. and runs to about 11 p.m. Evening hours can be erratic so call before paying a visit.

    Prices: Apps generally run under $10; most entrees under $20. Major credit cards accepted.

    Drinks: Bellinis (seasonal fruit floated in wine), plus an interesting Italian wine inventory with all bottles offered by the glass. Oenophiles will love the proper vino stemware & the staff’s enthusiasm for allowing sample sips.

    Specs: Street/meter parking is plentiful after 5 p.m. Municipal parking lot is across the street. Check the St. George Theater schedule: When shows are playing, neighborhood parking is tight. Wheelchair access is very awkward but doable at a few tables. Bathroom is too tiny for negotiating a wheelchair.

    (Article reprinted with kind permission of The Staten Island Advance)

  • Dining Out: Raising The Wine Bar

    A quintet of chefs from different regions of Italy deliver a stellar new addition to the North Shore dining scene.

    By Pamela Silvestri
    Staten Island Advance

    Enoteca Maria in St. George created ripples in the borough when it opened three months ago. At the time, Denise and Jody Scaravella’s concept seemed so romantic, perhaps even far-fetched: Every day women from different regions of Italy would take turns in the kitchen preparing lunch and dinner.

    In practice, the idea is brilliant. At the very least, it’s a unique endeavor that is orchestrated quite well. So far, Enoteca Maria has been blessed with some good people management and the bonus of a warm, passionate staff. By the way, “enoteca” means “wine bar” in Italian. Maria is Mr. Scaravella’s late mother’s name.

    Lunch and dinner menus are updated daily like clockwork before meal times on the restaurant’s Web site. That’s just outstanding! It makes Enoteca Maria the only Staten Island restaurant to take advantage of the Internet in such a way.

    Beyond a glass curtain wall, the Enoteca’s dining room can best be described as laid back, industrial environs. Metal fans hook into a jet black ceiling and light comes from caged glass bulbs. Marble floors and gray marble subway tile contribute to a modern, Roman look.

    Somewhere in a downstairs kitchen, the Italian ladies hand-craft potato gnocchi, ravioli and Pappardelle ribbons. They bake herbed focaccia and neatly fold cookies with jam and nutella. They produce rudimentary layer cakes out of fresh cream, liquor-soaked sponge cake and fruit.

    Teresa, Caterina, Argentina, Nina and Patrizia – the cooks who respectively hail from Palermo, Torretta, Marche, Salerno and Rome – may leave their post behind the stove to check on customers’ reactions.

    Not to worry, ladies! Clams in Vongole di Salsa Piccante – Littlenecks bathed in slightly spiced, thin red sauce – were plump and fresh. The Pasta Girasole was an absolute thriller with tubes of fine quality penne tossed in an electric orange sauce made from tomatoes, roasted sunflower seeds and the essence of rendered sweet sausage. Paninis – sometimes tucked with smoked salmon, sometimes with grilled veggies – are made with awesome bread.

    Slices of bread topped with anchovy butter and fresh mozzarella (croustini con alici) for lunch one day was simple and fabulous. I think about that item once in a while and the memory makes me salivate.

    Bay leaf or thyme-tinged stews cooked separately with oxtail, veal, rabbit and lamb were outrageous. Farro made an unbelievable presence in an already stunning minestrone soup. At one point, Ms. Scaravella offered artisanal cheeses, a wonderful thing to see in a wine bar. Customers weren’t adventurous with such treasures and, alas, those cheeses have gone by the wayside. (Oh, please bring them back.)

    Four little treats – like an amuse bouche – with focaccia arrive prior to the meal on miniature square plates. These are always a delightful surprise. See the occasional appearance of Gaeta olives and parsley flecked, vinegar button mushrooms or fresh (yes, fresh!), tender artichoke hearts. Occasionally catch sun-dried tomatoes dotted with vibrant green pine nut pesto or corn (fresh-shaven from the cob) tossed with fennel and carrot discs. All food is presented on matching turquoise platters and mini-plates.

    Yes, there is a downside to such fluid menues: Favorite dishes may never be featured again unless the staff is given a few day’s notice. And fussy eaters face a menu limited to about a dozen items. Could Enoteca Maria be extending the best selection of wines by the glass we’ve seen so far on Staten Island? I say yes.

    Oenophiles will appreciate how wine is handled in general. For instance, Ms. Scaravella gingerly plucks stemware from an overhead rack with a soft cloth. Hence the customer receives a crystal clear, fingerprint-free goblet. (Note that these are the kinds of goblets a foodie would find in first-class Manhattan restaurants.) Carefully chosen Italian wines are offered by the glass, bottle and even by the flight. Jody Scaravella frequently pops new bottles, enthusiastically offers a taste to guests and asks their opinions. The gesture certainly wins friends.

    While Enoteca Maria is fabulous in the wine department, there is just one teensy criticism due to the realities of properly storing its vast inventory: Red wines are sometimes a bit too chilled. Other quibbles include the matter of paper napkins. The high-quality, disposable kind or real linen ones are much more dignified when eating such great food. I also felt that sugar packets tucked on espresso and cappuccino saucers were a diner-esque touch. Surely there’s a more graceful way of handling the condiment.

    A remarkable restaurant requires a complete package, one that features honest food, superior ingredients, sincere hospitality and proprietors who are totally into their work. No doubt, Enoteca Maria has all of that. My great hopes are that it can sustain its momentum and that Islanders will see the value in supporting such a unique Island restaurant.

    (Reposted courtesy of The Staten Island Advance)