Della Nonna
April 5th, 2008 Posted in Pets Guide The Hawthorn length of Glenferrie Road is a bit of a wasteland
for places to eat. Especially when compared with the Malvern end,
where cheap and fine eateries cluster like stars in the Milky
Way.
Maybe Della Nonna will help. This Italian restaurant was opened
in February by a couple of chefs who want to be their own
bosses.
Vincent “Enzo” Ferrari met Luca Dolfini when they were working
at Italy 1 in Camberwell. Dolfini mans the wood-fired oven while
Ferrari looks after the pans, drawing on 20 years of experience
with chefs as varied as Bill Marchetti and Simon Humble.
There are quite a few nods to the former’s menu here: such as
the grissini with reggiano and balsamic, and a crispy boneless
duck; while a number of the risotto bear a striking resemblance to
those at Humble’s Tutto Bene.
The quality of the risotto Ferrari credits to his time with
Humble. The risi e bisi, described in the menu with exactly the
same words as on the Tutto Bene menu, has the right amount of
unctuous ooziness for a risotto and is turned a brilliant green by
fresh peas. Parmesan and shreds of pancetta add a salt kick.
Traditionally, in the Veneto region of Italy, this dish is a bit
soupier, although still thick enough to eat with a fork. But his
version is damn fine and makes the prospect of returning for the
inky calamari risotto, or perhaps a decadent one of young
gorgonzola splashed with fig vincotto, rather enticing.
From Ferrari’s pans also come pastas - pork and veal meatballs
in an intense dark-tomato sauce with organic penne, or perhaps
linguine with hunks of Italian sausage in a brighter tomato sugo -
and main courses such as the duck (which comes served with a baked
pear), or a green olive-crusted veal chop with asparagus and orange
vincotto.
From Dolfini’s white igloo of a wood-fired oven, with its
stove-pipe chimney, come thin, crisp and generously wide discs of
dough. These are smeared artfully with toppings such as classic
tomato and buffalo mozzarella elevated by either fresh basil
leaves, olives and Sicilian white anchovies, or slices of potato
and rosemary.
Della Nonna also pays homage to Ladro, and to the go-go bar in
The Sopranos, by doing a version of Rita Macali’s “bada
bing” pizza topped with home-made pork sausage, oregano and fresh
chilli.
There are assaggini - warmed plump little green and black olives
with almonds; house focaccia topped with halved cherry tomatoes and
basil. These we took with a glass of Jones Road pinot gris from a
short, accessible wine list as we soaked up a likeable, if pretty
standard, modern Italian fit-out of dark timber venetians and
matching furniture, a long red banquette, wooden floors and old
advertising prints on the walls.
There is a courtyard out back, which might be especially
important if my new theory about Hawthorn is true. This is that the
secret of being successful in the suburb is to be discreet.
Look closer at the Good Food Guide and Cheap
Eats and you’ll see that the best places such as Liar Liar,
Hong Kong Seafood Hut, Replete Providore and the Burwood Roadies
like Undertaker, Canvas and Penang Coffee Hut, are all tucked away
off Glenferrie Road.
Maybe it has something to do with all the high fences and long
drives here.
Hmm, just lie down on this couch please, Hawthorn, I think you
might have a few issues to discuss with Tony Soprano’s shrink, Dr
Jennifer Melfi.
