Nonna Cherubina

A charming Italian

by Johnette Rodriguez

2317 West Shore Rd., Warwick, 738-5221
Open Sun, 3:30-9 p.m., Tues, Thurs-Sat, 5:30-10 p.m., Wed, 6-10 p.m.
Major credit cards
No handicapped access

The sign outside Nonna Cherubina's -- "Pizza and More" -- gives no indication of the quiet elegance that awaits you inside, nor of the home-cooked delicacies on the restaurant's menu. Three small dining areas (four or five tables each) have been sculpted out of this West Shore Road bungalow and decorated in soft shades of rose and ivory, with prints of classic Italian portraits and landscapes on the walls. Fresh flowers and linen -- no bistro butcher paper here -- complete the feeling of having stepped into a grandmother's dining room (hence the name).

The Bolognese menu begins with salads and crescentinas, a light fried dough with either prosciutto or pecorino tucked inside. We ordered the pecorino version ($5.50), and the salad with mushrooms and arugula ($5.15), and our host asked about plating both of these between the four of us. We thought that was a grand idea, as was the delicious complimentary minestrone he served us before the tasty and satisfying salads.

Also among the appetizers is spezzatino, a beef and vegetable stew in a tomato and wine sauce. But my eye was immediately drawn to the vegetarian offerings, where there was a spezzatino di seitan. Seitan, made from wheat gluten, has a sliceable, meat-like texture, and is most often found in Chinese dishes. But Luigi Gualtiero, who, with Stefanie Gualtiero, co-owns and does the cooking at Nonna Cherubina, explained that this meat substitute is quite common in Italian cooking, much more so than he has noticed in the states.

Other vegan options are two scaloppines with seitan, one with artichokes, and another with mushrooms; garden burgers in a mushroom sauce; and potato gnocchi with marinara sauce. Five of the seven grilled pizzas are meatless, as are four of the pasta dishes. So, I was torn between the shells with lentils, fresh rosemary, and goat cheese, or one of the scaloppines. Curious about their treatment of seitan, I opted for the one with artichokes ($11.95), and I wasn't disappointed. Served with a side portion of spinach sprinkled with Parmesan, the seitan was generous and hearty. Thin slices of seitan had been simmered with white wine, tomatoes, capers and artichokes. It was quite delicious and very filling.

Our friends each chose a penne dish, one with mushrooms ($13.50), the other with peppers and olives ($12.95). Both had delightful combinations of flavors. The caramelized onions, sweet red peppers, and large green olives on one presented a different taste with each bite. The other had earthy portobellos, but also a slightly pungent aura from the mixture of mascarpone and white truffle oil. We all agreed that it was the winner at the table.

But Bill's boneless chicken breast ($14.35), with porcini, shiitake, and portobello mushrooms in a creamy vodka sauce, was also a keeper. Served with a side of English peas sauteed with onions and pancetta, the chicken was moist and fork-tender.

Nonna Cherubina has a nice wine list of Italian and California choices, with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Vermintino offered by the glass, along with more common reds and whites. Post-dessert, we were served a chilled Lemoncello, a lemon liqueur, which has become so popular in Italy over the last five years, Luigi says, that it's replacing Sambuca as a digestif.

But I've jumped ahead. Desserts ($5.25 each) are not to be missed. From Luigi's list of half a dozen, which included tiramisu and blood orange sorbet that evening, we homed in on a bread pudding with zabaglione sauce and baci di dama ("kisses of the lady" -- quite popular in Venice, we were told). The latter is amaretto cookies dipped in coffee and then layered with mascarpone mousse and a thick, dark chocolate sauce. It was as rich and decadent as it sounds, a great variation on some of the tiramisu flavors.

The bread pudding was stuffed with apples, almonds, raisins and a hint of brandy. The creaminess of the Marsala-tinged sauce was a perfect match for the denseness of the pudding.

We came away from our dinner at Nonna Cherubina with that feeling of genuine specialness you'd like to encounter more often when eating out: pleasant surroundings, careful attention paid to the food's preparation, and friendly and attentive service. What more could we ask? Only that others make the drive to deepest Warwick to discover this culinary haven.