Nonna Trattoria ed Enoteca, Nonna for short, is a little Italian restaurant in College Park. The restaurant itself is actually an old house that’s been remodeled to fit a restaurant. It was recently taken over and renamed by Chef/Co-Owner Kevin Fonzo & his brother Chef/Co-Owner Greg Fonzo. Kevin is most notably known for his restaurant, K Restaurant Wine Bar, which is just a few blocks down the street. Inside Nonna is a small bar with two main dining rooms. With a warm feeling in the dining rooms, the atmosphere reminds me of small Italian restaurants I’ve visited in Italy. Nonna also has an outdoor dining porch which is perfect dining on cool nights. The menu changes nightly and everything is made to order which allowed for short breaks between each course. If you’re in a hurry to eat and run, this isn’t the place for you unless you order takeout.

The wine list offers a good variety of choices. A bottle of 2005 Clos Lachance ($35) was promptly delivered and poured. Not once during the visit was my glass empty, but never more than half full. Accompanying the wine was their Beef Carpaccio ($10). Thin slices of beef with ricotta salata topped off with some lemon oil and basil. It was an excellent dish, the carpaccio dissolved in my mouth and the flavor was perfect.

After the carpaccio was finished two salads arrived. The first was an Arugula Salad ($7) with gorgonzola cheese, grapes and walnuts topped off with balsamic vinaigrette. The second was a Caprese Salad ($8), yellow and red tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil with the traditional balsamic and olive oil. The arugula salad was excellent. The grapes and walnuts were a fine compliment to the sometimes strong pungent gorgonzola cheese. The caprese salad was served a little differently than the traditional mozzarella stacked on top of the tomato. The tomatoes and mozzarella were chopped up and served like a fruit salad. The tomatoes were perfectly ripe; especially the yellow ones had a wonderful sweet taste.

For our entrées we ordered the Veal “Milanese” ($21) and the Roast Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Breast “Saltimbocca” ($19). Both entrées were large portions. The breaded veal cutlet came with sautéed crushed potatoes, lemon butter and an olive-caper relish. The lemon butter was perfect along with the addition of the olive-caper relish, a unique combination which worked. A piece of the veal, tender potato with some relish was a superb bite. The chicken breast was stuffed with fontina cheese and sage and was wrapped in prosciutto which was nice and crispy, but not over done. The chicken sat on top of polenta with tomato basil butter. Upon slicing off a piece of chicken, fontina cheese and sage seeped out. A bite of chicken, cheese and the polenta with a little basil butter was an excellent blend of great taste. Both of the entrées were excellent.

Finally their desert menu arrived. We ordered two deserts, a traditional homemade Canoli ($5) and the “Zuppa Inglese” ($7). The canoli was good, but nothing special about it. The Zuppa Inglese was served in a tall desert glass. It had lady fingers, house made preserves with cheese cake gelato and sweet cream. It was excellent and I’d recommend it as an after dinner treat.

Overall the entire meal was great. The service was excellent and non-invading. I’d recommend Nonna if you’re looking for a great Italian meal with great food and flavors.

Restaurant Hours:

Thursday, Friday & Saturday: 5-10pm

http://www.nonnawinebar.com