Stacey S.
Yelp
I have obviously never had real Italian food even when in Italy. My (now obsolete) joke is that Italian and Mexican food are just the same four ingredients, just presented in different forms. How wrong I was proven at Nonna Dora's Tribeca.
As a final meal on my vacation, I was wanting to try Italian food in New York City, and found this restaurant after an internet search for 'best new restaurants in New York.' We were only a few blocks away, so headed over to put our name on the reservation list, as I didn't want to put my credit card info into Resy. When we inquired, the host directed us to use Resy, but the owner told us to just show up at dinner time and there wouldn't be a problem getting a table.
Before the dinner service, we really got a kick out of watching Nonna Dora in the front window making orrchiette with a knife, along with another lady hand rolling little bits of pasta along a grooved board. When it was dinnertime, we were seated right away. The atmosphere is that of a cute, friendly Italian diner.
The menu is extensive! Everything sounded delicious and the restaurant made it easy to try several dishes with their tasting menu. Our server described the portions as being 'very small,' but by the time we got to the final course, we were quite satiated.
We started with foccacio, which as others have mentioned, is on the crispy side, but that is what I prefer, as I don't like to eat doughy bread. Unfortunately, if you want olive oil for dipping, that's an extra charge, which was a little disappointing. Next up were the first two dishes, gnudi in a green sauce and cappelletti with tomatoes and guanciale. Both dishes were delicious, light, and not greasy. A perfect introduction to the style of cooking here. The second round of dishes were orecchiette with rabbit ragu and macceroncini with duck. Both dishes were again presented in a light sauce which perfectly coated the pasta but allowed the flavors of the protien and vegetable to shine. But, the masterpiece was the smoky flavor of the maccheroncini. I don't know how they 'burned' the pasta so evenly and delicately, but it had a wonderful subtle smokiness to it which was perfectly balanced against the fresh flavor of the peas. Finally, the malloreddus that we had seen being made in the window, was presented as the final course. The chewy texture of the pasta was what I have always dreamed about when I imagine 'real' Italian pasta and it didn't disappoint. The flavor of the finely ground sausage was intense and a bit salty, cancelling out the saffron, however. It was enjoyable, but left me feeling very thirsty.
I was delighted when the owner sat down next to our table and described the origins and development of their recipes. Personal interaction is always fun and I enjoyed learning his story.
Overall, I would highly recommend this restaurant if you want to try pasta that has authentic origins with modern flavor influences.