Nonnas is a Movie Meant to be Paired With Food

Prepare a big bowl of pasta and a bottle of red before feasting on this Netflix gem

Photo by Jeong Park For Netflix

Nonnas, a new movie with a dream team ensemble, premieres on Netflix today.

The movie, based on the true story of Enoteca Maria, a Staten Island restaurant founded by a former New York transit worker named Jody “Joe” Scaravella who, in 2007, opened the restaurant as a tribute to his late mother and nonna (Italian for grandmother), is a relatable charmer with a twist: Instead of hiring a chef, Joe hires a group of real nonnas to create their best-loved dishes.

Co-written by Liz Maccie and directed by her husband, Stephen Chbosky, the movie follows the nonnas as they navigate a commercial kitchen, bicker with each other, start a fire, and eventually triumph.

The premise is interesting, but what elevates it into an instant classic is the all-star cast that features some of the best character actresses to ever grace the silver screen: Susan Sarandon, Brenda Vaccaro, Lorraine Bracco, and Talia Shire are the nonnas with Vince Vaughn, Joe Manganiello, Drea de Matteo, Linda Cardellini, and Campbell Scott rounding out the stellar lineup.

I was invited to a movie screening at Anthony’s Runway 84 — a Fort Lauderdale restaurant that can best be described as “red sauce paradise with Frank Sinatra cool”. The restaurant, lined with murals of famous Italians such as Dean Martin, Sophia Loren, Joe DiMaggio, Frank Sinatra, and Jake La Motta, was an inspired venue for a movie screening, albeit an unorthodox one.

Turns out, it was one of the best experiences of my life and I’m now convinced that every movie should be watched while having dinner with friends.

Nonnas, after all, is a story about how food connects us. And Nonnas’ food — photographed so lovingly — should get headliner billing alongside Vaughn, Sarandon, and all the other actors.

What better way, then, to watch a movie filled with heaping bowls of steaming pasta, closeups of stewing tomatoes, and a flaming sheep’s head than with a plate of spicy rigatoni vodka?

At Runway 84, the movie turned into an interactive “happening” as waiters brought plates of baked clams and chicken parm. My table of four sipped wine, provided graciously by Miami’s most famous Italian athlete, Dan Marino, and his Washington winery, Passing Time — watching as the nonnas cooked and drank along with us.

We weren’t alone in our joy. Several times, the entire dining room toasted the screen and each other at pivotal moments. And, at the end, we all cheered and applauded in a heightened state of emotion fueled by good food, good wine, and good company.

Alexis Garcia, executive producer of Nonnas through Fifth Season, was at the screening, which started with a short Zoom call from actor Vince Vaughn, who described how he talked Garcia into producing the movie.

After the movie, Garcia added a little more color to the movie’s origins. In its very early iteration, Cher was in talks to play Nonna Gia. When the movie went in a different direction, Garcia joined the production. Ultimately, Susan Sarandon was tapped to play the role in the current Indie version of the movie, which was shot on location in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on the Staten Island Ferry, and in locations throughout New York City.

A now-shuttered restaurant called Spiritos was transformed into Enoteca Maria for the filming. Eagled-eyed viewers can spot the original restaurant sign being torn down and landing in a pile of debris after Vaughn’s character, Joe, starts the renovation process. Spirito’s was another beloved red sauce joint that was open for nearly a century before it closed in 2020.

Garcia also provides some inside information on all those delicious food scenes in Nonnas. “Shooting food is an art form unto itself. When you have the actors around the table, you can’t see the food, so you film a lot of food scenes afterward.”

Garcia, a Miami resident, said he had the idea to preview Nonnas at the classic Fort Lauderdale Italian restaurant after showing a trailer to restaurant co-owner Anthony Bruno a few months earlier. He confided, he wasn’t sure it would work so well. Turns out, the evening was a total success. At one point, after seeing the reaction, someone from the restaurant asked me if dinner and a movie should become a monthly event. The answer is a resounding yes!

So, this weekend, I propose that you invite some friends over. Prepare a big bowl of pasta, get a few loaves of good Italian bread, open a couple of bottles of red (extra points if you can score Chianti in the basket bottles), and watch Nonnas on Netflix.

You might eschew movies with popcorn and a Diet Coke forever!