STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Almost exactly a decade ago at the Barnes & Noble in New Springville, proprietor Joe Scaravella gathered his staff of nonnas from Enoteca Maria.
On that spring evening, their roles at the bookstore were not as cooks, as they were at his St. George restaurant, but as the real stars of his cookbook, “Nonna’s House.“
As it turns out, the recipes and reminiscing in the tome became film scenes that wrote themselves. Vince Vaughn stars in “Nonnas,” a Netflix comedy directed by Stephen Chbosky, inspired by Scaravella’s story.
The movie’s trailer began appearing on Netflix this week, announcing “Nonnas” debut on May 9, just in time for Mother’s Day.
“Nonnas” follows Scaravella who (for real) started an Italian restaurant employing grandmothers (the now-famed nonnas) as chefs. It’s inspired by his restaurant, Enoteca Maria at 27 Hyatt St. The menu originally was orchestrated by about a dozen nonnas direct from Italy, who brought their regional spin to the country’s food.
Scaravella said, “I am so honored to have had such an amazing director in Steve Chobosky and writer, Liz Maccie, with an unbelievable cast — Vince Vaughn, Joe Manganiello, Susan Sarandon, Brenda Vaccaro, Talia Shire, Lorraine Bracco, Linda Cardellini, and Campbell Scott. And so many more help to tell my story like Jack turner. He’s a Staten Island resident. He’s the producer.”
Vaughn’s goal in the move is to share his cherished family recipes while emphasizing the importance of seizing opportunities.
From the book, the actual recipe collection includes chapters dedicated to the signature dishes of 10 nonnas. Familiar names to regular patrons of Enoteca Maria include Francesca Leone, Carmelina Pica, Nina Picariello, Rosa Turano, Rosaria Vigorito, Adelina Orazzo, Elvira Pantaleo, Christina Narisi Carrozza, Teresa Scalici and Margherita Amato.
Scaravella teased, “And stay tuned, there’s much more to come!”
Pamela Silvestri is Advance/SILive.com food editor. She may be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
