OSTERIA NONNA PINA: A LUNCH TO REMEMBER AND A TIRAMISU I’LL NEVER FORGET
The Cost -$24
The Atmosphere – Located just outside of the city of Padua, Italy in an area called Noventa Padovana, about 20 miles from Venice, you will find Osteria Nonna Pina. The restaurant has two seating areas, one inside by the entrance and another in a large, nicely enclosed patio space. Popular for both lunch and dinner, the restaurant’s diners are comprised mostly of locals enjoying meals with family and friends.
The team at Osteria Nonna Pina prides itself on the use of excellent ingredients as well as its homemade breads and pastas which are all made fresh daily. Given that it is one of the best known and rated restaurants among people living in the Padua area, I made it a priority to carve out time to head there for lunch before taking a long walk around the beautiful town to see its famous villas, many of which were constructed from the 16th to the 18thcenturies.
The Order – Solomillo Iberico and the Angus (Lunch Menu of the Day) and a Tiramisu Dell’Osteria.
The Phenomenal – After opting for the Menu of the Day which came with an appetizer, an entrée, a drink, and coffee, I was not sure that I needed, or wanted dessert. However, the waitress convinced me that I should try Nonna’s homemade tiramisu and so I ordered one. The Tiramisu Dell’Osteria is the best tiramisu I have ever had. A flatter than normal piece of tiramisu cake made up of ladyfingers and copious amounts of cocoa powder was brought to the table alongside a giant bowl of freshly made heavy whipped cream which is dolloped onto the top of the tiramisu until you tell them to stop. The ightness of the tiramisu with the cocoa powder and the heavy whipped cream blew me away. My tip for ordering this dish – don’t ever tell them to stop adding the cream.
The Great – The main course that I ordered was a steak served with fagioli all’uccelletto. Despite being part of a lunch menu, the meat was of a good portion and was a bit charred on the outside while the inside was cooked to about a medium-rare doneness. The meat had great flavor and was served alongside the fagioli all’uccelletto, which translates to “bird style beans,” an ancient Tuscan dish made with cannellini beans in a tomato-based sauce that was quite nice.
The Good – The Solomillo Iberico was the appetizer that I chose as part of the Lunch Menu of the Day. The grilled piece of pork from the Spanish pig known as Pata Negra, or black-footed Iberico pig, was served in a pumpkin sauce with sprouts. The presentation of the dish exceeded my expectations and I enjoyed the combination of the pork and the pumpkin sauce. Overall, it was a solid dish.
The Verdict – If you are in the city of Padua or anywhere nearby, a stop at Osteria Nonna Pina for the Tiramisu Dell’Osteria is a must. And if you feel guilty about the insane amount of cream that you add to the tiramisu, take a long walk around the area afterward and enjoy the beauty of what was once the countryside retreat of many well-known Venetian families.