Chef Julian Barsotti: Nonna to feature coastal Italy on the menu this week

 

Nonna chef Ryan Ferguson is about to do his thing with this albacore, triggerfish and golden snapper

Julian Barsotti is a chef’s chef: quiet, focused, precise, creative, brilliant even. At Nonna, his tiny Highland Park restaurant, he serves the kind of Italian food that draw crowds in San Francisco  — at SPQR, for example — or in NYC –at Del Posto. Simple, fresh, flavorful, precise.

“The idea is to treat Italian American food traditions with the the utmost respect.” says Barsotti, “a ‘no shortcuts’ approach to handmade products,” a philosophy reflected in Nonna’s whole animal butchery program, handmade salumi, extruded and handmade pastas, and impeccably fresh fish.

“We also (pay) careful attention to where we source all our ingredients,” continues Barsotti.

Barsotti recently spent time exploring the Abruzzi coast, the Amalfi coast, Venice and Naples. He returned with a yearning to create a series of seafood dinners drawing from that experience.

Tonight and tomorrow night, Barsotti will be featuring those dishes — and other seasonally inspired recipes — at Nonna.

Here’s the special menu. Check it out.