It had been a long day of traveling when I finally pulled into Springfield, MO on a chilly evening. Driving over 400 miles that day alone, I had been in freezing rain (always a treat) earlier in the day and high winds later on. Completely burnt out from driving and very hungry, I asked one of the people at the front desk at the hotel I had just checked into what was good in the immediate area. She asked me if I liked Italian and I said, "Sure!" She told me about Nonna's Italian Cafe that was a short drive from the hotel on the city's south side.
I've been traveling to Springfield, MO for a number of years and I remember a couple of really good Italian restaurants in the city in the late 1980's. Unfortunately, both of those places closed a number of years ago. Nonna's is one of the "newer" Italian establishments having first opened in 1996 in downtown Springfield. (And I use the term "downtown" loosely when it comes to Springfield - it is one of the most undefined downtown areas of any mid-sized American cities I'e ever been to.) Mary Faucett, the founder of Nonna's and original "nonna" (Italian for grandmother), also ran another Springfield Italian restaurant - Bambino's - that was started by her son and another partner in Columbia, MO. In 2006, in order to concentrate on a facility upgrade of Bambino's, Faucett sold Nonna's to a group that included Craig and Julia Anderson. The Anderson's and two other partners ran Nonna's for three years before Shawn Kraft bought the business in 2009. I read somewhere that Kraft got the idea to buy the restaurant after watching the animated movie Ratatouille.
Kraft's wife, Allison, was a graduate of the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu culinary academies. However, the Kraft's marriage broke up about the time that Shawn Kraft decided that it was time to get a second location in Springfield because of the small space of the original Nonna's, the lack of nearby parking, and long waits, especially on the weekends. Kraft found a space in south Springfield in the midst of what is known as the "Medical Mile" of health care facilities along S. National Ave. Allison Kraft went to the new Nonna's South, while Kraft continued to work at the original Nonna's. In February of 2013, Peter Tinson - who was the chef at the recently closed Gallery Bistro - teamed up with Allison Kraft to run the kitchen at Nonna's South. Shawn Kraft and Tinson have traveled to Italy a couple times to learn more about the local cuisine and to bring back fresh ideas for both Nonna's locations.
Pictured right - Allison Kraft (picture courtesy of Springfield News-Leader.)
(Just last year, Shawn Kraft, along with former college buddy and local insurance CEO Trevor Crist - also a partner in Nonna's South - bought the iconic Casper's, a burger/chili joint housed in a Quonset hut along Walnut Street in Springfield. It's been years since I was in Casper's as I remember them having a pretty damn good chili dog. I need to go back there at some point.)
It was the Nonna's South location that I ended up at just off S. National and S. Culpepper Circle. (see map) Contrary to the original Nonna's, there's plenty of parking in the lot in front the restaurant, which is located at the end of a small strip mall. Going inside, I was met by a tall young lady in oversized glasses, Ashley. I told her it was just me for dinner and she asked, "What would you be more comfortable in - a booth or a table?" She explained that she knew that dining alone was sometimes an uncomfortable thing and she wanted me to be comfortable. How nice was that? I took her up on sitting in a booth. She asked me if I wanted anything to drink to start off and I ordered a Boulevard Pale Ale to cut the dust from a long day. She cheerfully served me the bottle with a chilled pint glass.
The well-lit dining area featured a number of booths and tables, but it wasn't claustrophobic at all. Earth-toned walls featured a number of pictures including two paintings depicting the front of the original Nonna's and Nonna's South.
Over a partition from the dining room was a small bar area complete with a handful of booths and tables. (Below left) Nonna's features an extensive wine list as well as a number national and regional craft beers.
There's a large room off to the side of the dining room that is used for banquets, receptions, parties, etc. It can hold up to 50 people or so and has the same cozy feel as the dining room.
Nonna's features an extensive menu of seafood and pasta dishes, entrees that include sausage and polenta, beef tenderloin tips, eggplant parmesan, and even down home favorites such as homemade meatloaf. Of course, there's Kraft's version of Ratatouille on the menu. There's also a number of appetizers, soups and salads on the menu.
I didn't really know what I was looking for, but pasta sounded good. The had Northern and Southern Italian pasta dishes on the menu including fettuccine alfredo, tri-color tortellini in a cream sauce, good ol' plain spaghetti. and Veneto ragu with Italian sausage, pancetta, and beef. They also had three different types of lasagna including a deep fried lasagna where the lasagna is encrusted in bread crumbs. I thought about that for a moment before I dismissed deep fried lasagna for my meal that evening.
Another thing that caught my eye was the chicken parmesan. I hardly EVER order chicken when I'm on the road and for some reason it sounded pretty good that night. What cinched it for me was the side of fettuccine alfredo. It would be the best of both worlds of Italian cuisine - a tomato sauce and a cream sauce at the same time. Along with the meal, I got a glass of the Tilla malbec from Argentina. When I ordered up my meal, Ashley said, "That's a good choice. I like our chicken parm."
The presentation of the dish wasn't anything fancy, but it included a good sized chicken breast covered in cheese and marinara sauce. The fettuccine alfredo was served on the same plate - I would have preferred it be on a separate plate so the cream sauce and the marinara don't mix. But it was fine for what it was.
And the chicken parm was actually very good. I think I make a pretty mean chicken parmesan at home, but this was one of the better ones that I've had out. The marinara sauce had a hearty sweet tomato taste with a LOT of garlic mixed in, the chicken breast was lightly breaded and was easy to cut with a knife or fork. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the chicken parm was.
The fettuccine alfredo was also fine - the richness of the taste of the chicken parm sort of trumped the overall taste of the fettuccine. But for a contrast in flavors, the combination of the chicken parmesan and the fettuccine alfredo was a winner.
Ashley did a great job of taking care of me for the evening. She checked on me in a timely fashion before, during and after the dinner was served. Rarely do you find someone who understands and appreciates the sometimes awkwardness of dining alone in a nice place. She made me very comfortable with her outgoing and genuinely friendly demeanor. When she brought back the check after she ran my credit card, she sort of gave me a friendly tap on the upper left arm - something a friend would do to another friend as a sign of thanks - and said, "Hey, seriously, thanks for coming in and dining with us tonight." It was like I'd dined at Nonna's a dozen times before.
Dining alone on the road can be a pretty uneasy proposition at times, but I can not reiterate how comfortable Ashley made me feel during my dining experience at Nonna's South. The food was well above par and I was impressed with both the wine and craft beer selection that Nonna's offered. This is one of those places that I'll remember very well on my future trips to Springfield. (Picture at right courtesy of Springfield News-Leader.)
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