Little Nonna’s, Philadelphia

I had two wonderful grandmothers who cooked with love and were determined to feed me well.  But if I could choose a third grandmother, she would have been Italian.

Little Nonna’s is the restaurant equivalent of that grandmother – homey and welcoming, and serving a seriously impressive Sunday gravy.

We sat out back on the charming covered patio, where one wall is decorated with old lady-approved lace doilies hung up on laundry lines.

After a couple of slightly-too-sweet cocktails, we switched to wine (an unusual light red, peidirosso, from the Mastroberardino winery in Campagna) to go with our antipasta platter.  It turned out to be a mammoth spread of cured meats – salami, sopressata, gentile, and spicy “gabagool” (the South Philly name for capicola) – plus olives, fennel mostarda, white beans, gorgonzola, and one long breadstick.  Very good, especially the gabagool, but definitely could have fed more than just the two of us!

We also had lemony “cauliflower piccata” and a Brussels sprout salad with fennel – wonderfully bright and crisp. I’m always so happy to see healthy-ish vegetables at restaurants, especially when they make a refreshing appearance between cured meats and pasta.

Finally, it was time for the Sunday gravy.  It’s basically a long-simmered tomato sauce, with different kinds of meats – just the thing for a big family dinner.  Little Nonna’s serves it in two parts: sauce and meat (short rib, a baseball-sized meatball, and sausage) with bitter broccoli rabe in one dish, and sauce-moistened pasta in another.

We shared one generous order, enough for both of us with a bit extra – which I left on the plate with great regret.

One thing all grandmas have in common?  You’ll never leave their home hungry.