I never understood the concept of being homesick until I went two months without my grandmother's cooking. I've tried for years to replicate her chutneys, curries and lentil soups but have never gotten anywhere close to the same flavor. I believe this is because my cooking, although made with love, will never compare to the kind of love and passion that goes into a grandma's cooking.
Enoteca Maria is a restaurant in Staten Island where grandmothers from all backgrounds run the kitchen, and I'm pretty sure people of all backgrounds are rejoicing.
According to a New York Times article, each night a grandmother from a different country will make home-cooked meals that are native to the country she is from. Along with the country of the day's cuisine, which will take up half of the menu, the other half of the menu will have authentic Italian food every day.
Which means that you could have authentic lasagna, stir-fry and dumplings all in the same week! My only problem with this is I think they need to add my grandma as one of the cooks.
Meet Grandma Sara
My grandmother, also known as Mrs. Sara, is the toughest person I've met. She's a no-nonsense type of person with a heart of gold and a cooking style of her own. No one has ever been able to leave her house hungry or without food of some kind in a to-go container.
For this reason, I decided to call my grandma and see what she would make if she worked at Enoteca Maria.
What Would Grandma Sara Cook?
I currently don't eat meat, but growing up my favorite Persian dish my grandma made was shrimp curry. After careful deliberation, we both agreed that if she were to cook dinner one night for this restaurant, she would definitely make shrimp curry for the meat and seafood lovers and then black eyed peas or green dal for the vegetarians and vegans.
Grandmas hold a special place in all of our hearts. I was lucky enough to not only get an awesome grandma, but also one who cooks spectacular Persian food all of the time.
For those of you in NY who don't get to see your grandmas as much as you'd like, head to Enoteca Maria for a home-cooked meal and some grandmother love.