Limits of Reincarnation on Columbus

On the northwest corner of 85th and Columbus, sits Nonna, the last in a chain of restaurants spreading back in time over a decade. First, there was Il Nostro, which was replaced by Avenue. Those two restaurants, different though they were, were both consistently excellent. Nonna is, by comparison, something of a disappointment.

To be fair, the food gave no cause for complaint. I had the papardelle with forest mushrooms, which featured al dente noodles and a pleasing sufficiency of mushrooms. My girlfriend had the tuna mignon with pesto oil and eggplant caponata, which was quite good. Also, we consumed an amaretto margarita which was somewhat odd, but grew on us over time.

The real defficiencies are two. First, where both of its predeccessors provided roast garlic for the table gratis, it now costs and arrives cold. Second, the decor suffers by comparison, certainly with Avenue, appearing darker and less finished.

We are, I think, somewhat unlikely to return. Thugh not regulars at Avenue, it was certainly a place we enjoyed going to on occasion. It its disappointing that this reincarnation is not to our taste.

From the Armchair,

A Critique