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NEW YORK - "Just like grandma used to make" isn't just a clever slogan at one Staten Island restaurant. Grandmothers are using home-style recipes to keep foodies coming back for more.
Meet Nonna May Joseph. She is making hoppers along with an egg, curry king fish, and onions -- a traditional dish from her native Sri Lanka.
"Nonna" is Italian for grandmother. But these nonnas and nonno are from all over the world. Most of them work at least once a month at Staten Island's Enoteca Maria to cook dishes from their home countries. Owner Jody Scaravella implemented the idea at his restaurant about a year ago. He says one kitchen is always staffed by an Italian grandmother and a second kitchen rotates every night.
Nonno Giuseppe makes the pasta. He has been cooking for over a half a century.
After the pasta course, there is the main dish: roasted chicken. It's cooked by Nonna Adelina.
To say all of this food made me hungry may be an understatement. The nonnas aim to make you feel like you're at home no matter how far away that may be.
Enoteca Maria also has nonnas from Russia, Greece, Mexico, Venezuela, and Turkey.