Fort Worth's Version of (Very) Little Italy

Since moving to Fort Worth, hubby and I have heard a lot about a small hole-in-the-wall Italian place.  I had seen it originally when I was apartment shopping, and then people we met brought it up as a place to try.  After some googling, hubby and I realized that it was not open on Saturday, Sunday or Monday.  Any restaurant that could survive without being open on the weekends was definitely worth a try. 

On a Friday night, hubby and I made our way to Nonna Tata (I believe named after the owner's grandmother).  Hubby had insisted on not going out to early, and we finally left the apartment around 7PM.  For anyone who has ever been to Nonna Tata's on a Friday night, they know going that late is a bad idea.  When I say this is a hole-in-the-wall, I mean it.  The restaurant was smaller than our bedroom with no more than 10 tables squeezed into the tight space.  Although it was small, it was filled with energy and smelled delicious.  As we should have guessed, the wait was at least an hour, but we were determined to try it and decided to wait. 

Nonna Tata is a small corner restaurant.  We heard that at one point it was BYOT... bring your own table!

We had heard about a nearby bar, The Usual, and went for a drink while we waited.  The Usual is a nondescript bar that serves up interesting drinks designed by their mixologists.  I think I had a cardigan, which was a version of a daquari with rum and spices.  Hubby got a whiskey cocktail that wasn't quite able to hide the underlying liquor.  As we sat at a table drinking our drinks, we began to notice that people were being served food.  We remembered that a friend of ours had said you could order Nonna Tata's from The Usual.  With food on our minds, we decided to investigate this possibility.

It doesn't look like very much from the outside, but the drinks inside are delicious.

Before we knew it, we had menus in our hands and were contemplating what delicious pasta dishes would accompany our cocktails.  Hubby ordered the special, which was a homemade buckwheat pasta with butternut squash, and I had the pasta carbonera since the gnocchi I was eyeing had been sold out.  We waited for a while before getting our food, not unusual given that servers had to walk a block back and forth to get between the two establishments.  Once the food arrived, it was quite delicious.  Both dishes came with a side salad, which was a nice bonus to our meal.  Hubby's pasta special was the winner of the night with complex flavors and outstanding freshness.  My meal was simple and unimpressive, which I had expected with my selection.  Although I was full at the end of my meal, I was left wanting more and knowing that I would have to return to try the sold out gnocchi and fully experience the restaurant from the inside.

Excuse the horrible pictures.  The lighting was not ideal.

That's right, the bottom of the menu says "Cash, Checks or Euros Only"

My drinks was delicious and made me feel so fancy.

This was my dinner... not quite as good as hubby's.