Thursday, April 8, 2010

Why I love Trattoria Anita so much!



It is not surprising that I love food. I always have. Much of my love for food comes from being raised in a family where my Sicilian-American grandmother specialized in typical old-country dishes. My non-Italian side of the family was also known for making good old-fashioned comfort food. And of course, my mom makes some dishes that I cannot live without: cheesecake and chicken croquettes being two of my favorites.
However, it was always my Grandma Melita's Italian food that brought with it a strong emotional attachment and has left me with memories that I am sure will stay with me forever.

So, what does this have to do with Trattoria Anita? Everything. Here in Florence I have found a place that feels like home. In this restaurant the food is cooked and served with love, much in the same way that my grandmother prepared her own food. The highest compliment that I can give Trattoria Anita is this: the food there reminds me of my grandmother's.

When I eat there, I am transported back to a time in my life when everything was easy and my biggest dilemma in a day was usually trying to avoid the Super-Soaker that one or the other of my cousins had brought with them to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Yes, the food at Trattoria Anita is so close to what I ate as a child that I am eternally grateful for this place!

My grandmother has been gone now for 5 years. I think of her often, but I might think of her food even more, especially now while living in Italy. Every so often, a smell will waft down the street or I will taste something that just brings those memories flooding back and I have to take a moment and think of her. She was always so concerned that we all ate well. She would actually count the number of meatballs that we ate, to make sure we had eaten enough, according to her standards!

Growing up, Sundays were always so boring. This I remember distinctly. First, we had to go to church and second we had to do homework. The only thing that ever made a Sunday afternoon bearable were those special ones when we went to my Italian grandparents' house to eat ziti with Grandma's sauce and meatballs. On occasion we might even have been lucky enough to have bracciole.

Today, at Trattoria Anita, it was the meatballs that sent me into sensory overload. They were so close to my grandmother's that I wanted to run into the kitchen and see if by some miracle, she was in there making them. What makes Trattoria Anita doubly-special for me is not just the quality of the food, but the quality and the personalities of the people that work there.

Nicola, Gianni, and Maurizio truly embody the spirit of Italy and Italian tradition that was so much of my own grandmother's personality and cooking! They always tell me that the trattoria is "casa mia" (my house). Honestly, they don't know how true that statement is for me, because when I'm there, I feel surrounded by the same love that I felt from my grandmother growing up!



RIP: Annie Melita - April 2, 2005

2 comments:

  1. This is really nice, Honey. Glad you have a "place" to go that you are so comfortable at. Have a great day! Love, Mom

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  2. Thanks mommy!!! Glad you are reading it!

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