The 90-Year-Old Italian Grandma Running an Iconic NYC Restaurant

[cheerful Italian bistro music]

[Scarvella] Enoteca Maria is a place

where we invite grandmothers from all over the world

in to cook their traditional dishes.

So every day, we have a different lady

from a different part of the world.

We always have Italian because that's the way we started,

with Italian grandmothers.

Nonna Maria has been working here

for about 10 years now, and she lights up the place

as soon as she walks in the door.

She's 90 years old, and she runs around like she's 16.

Nonna Maria has been cooking Italian dishes

for longer than I'm alive.

You have hundreds of years

of information coming out her fingertips.

[cheerful Italian bistro music continues]

Hi, how are you?

[Crew] Good. How are you?

Nice to see you, everybody.

I call it my limousine, see?

Hello, hello.

A beautiful day.

[sunny tranquil music]

More than 11 years, I cook over here.

Come to me, okay?

I wanna show my kitchen.

This is my kitchen.

I make everything fresh, okay?

Apron, you see?

Ciao, Maria, ciao.

[Maria] Ciao, bella. Ciao.

So these ladies come in once every four, five weeks.

You have to be at least 50 years old,

and you have to be born in the country that you represent.

We're gonna be busy, busy today.

This a cutter for the zucchini.

I bring everything from my house; I like it.

I cut the zucchini for zucchini Parmesan.

I wanna cut it because we gotta fry.

I gotta tell you the truth,

I have somebody Italian man, they have my paisano.

They bring so much zucchini my house,

so my husband say all the time, Make something.

I say Okay, I wanna make like a lasagna.

I give it to my husband,

he say, Oh, nice. Beautiful.

And my mother-in-law, she live on the second floor,

and my husband say, Ma, ma!

You wanna come down?

And my family crazy, everybody like it,

because it like lasagna, you know,

just with the zucchini better.

Every day, I cook it for every day.

I'm born in Torella dei Lombardi, Provincia di Avellino.

I born in 1934.

Next month is my birthday. Be 90.

I don't feel, I feel good.

1961 I come here, long time.

So my husband did a lot of work in New York in the church,

in Utica, all over the place.

My husband artist.

They paint in the church, they paint the house,

they do lot of painting.

One day, family, they talk for the priest over here,

and they say, My niece in Italia,

they want to come over here, need artist.

So my husband say,

Tell the guy to send me something

in the picture what you like.

I'll make it for him.

When they finish, they put it and send it over here.

The priest, they opened it,

say, Oh my God, my Father, he talk to me.

I like him.

Right away, they sign the papers,

send it to my husband, and they come in New York.

My husband come in three months before me.

After that come in me and my daughter.

My husband missed the daughter more than me. [chuckles]

My husband died 11 years ago.

I like when I came over here, you know, it's better.

I say for the people, I like to cook.

Love to do everything. Keeping busy.

That's why I like over here.

I want a coffee. [upbeat Italian bistro music]

Joe, hello.

[singing in Italian]

[speaking in Italian]

Salud. Salud to Joe.

[Barista] She's happy when she gets her coffee.

My husband say, Maria, your mouth never stop.

I eat and I sing.

So next I want to fry the zucchini.

This a flour. Breadcrumb, yes.

I put it all together.

I put in the flour. Now I put in the egg, okay?

[upbeat Italian bistro music]

You want to taste one?

Okay, enjoy, yeah?

I wanna make a little sauce on top of the zucchini,

I want to show you.

Just a little. This cheese too.

[Director] Thank you. You're welcome.

A little sauce in the bottom, okay?

Like lasagna, you know?

And continue like this, okay?

Parmesan cheese. I use Locatelli too.

This is mozzarella, more salt.

My daughter, she come over here.

Five, six friend, they go to school.

They come to restaurant Enoteca Maria.

After they finish eating, and Joe say Thank you.

You come in my restaurant, you like my restaurant?

Everybody say, Oh yes, beautiful.

One of the girls, she say, I like a flowered zucchini.

And my daughter, she say My mother,

she make a zucchini Parmesan.

And Joe say, Tell your mother come over here.

So I come right away. That's why I come over here.

When my daughter take me. 11 years, I come over here.

I enjoy it. I come three day, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

I make lasagna, make a meatball. See, this is my food.

Like snow, the cheese, look. [upbeat music]

Okay, this is ready.

30 minutes, 358 in the oven, okay?

Now I finish the zucchini, I make stuffed calamari, okay?

I wanna make the marinara sauce over here.

Olive oil, garlic and onion.

For the fish, you need the garlic.

Maria, can you give a line and say...

Yeah, I got a wine over here.

[Director] No, not wine. [crew laughing]

[Maria speaking Italian]

I make this stuffing for the calamari.

Little bread, caper, little wine, okay? Olive oil too.

I'll drink like this.

This is garlic. [speaking Italian]

Some parsley in light, okay?

I make a little cheese.

[Director] You learned from your mom?

No, my grandma and my father too.

My father like to cook, more than my mother.

My grandma say, Maria come inside.

You gotta learn to cook because you gotta married.

Nona, I'm four years old, I got a marry?

Oh I don't wanna marry!

Said, No, when you're big, you gotta marry.

This is tomato sauce, fresh tomato I put inside, okay?

Yeah, I feel great, I feel beautiful because I'm busy.

This is calamari. I put inside.

[speaking Italian] Q-tip, Paola.

[Paola] Q-tip? Yeah.

[Paula] Toothpick.

I'm making nice linguini for this one.

[upbeat Italian bistro music]

Nothing put in the refrigerator for tomorrow.

Everything give it big dish.

The people when finish it, take it home.

That's what the people like over here,

because everything fresh.

They make the marina sauce for cavatelli, yes.

I gotta put the onion inside for the oil.

When I was young, I opened the cafe

at five o'clock in the morning.

Was 14 years old.

When my father died, one morning

the coffee machine explode.

So I was over here, my mother, all the burns over here

the doctor had already fixed

and they take her in the hospital.

So the police, they close the bar and they gimme the keys.

Everybody say, My god, Maria's so small.

She takes care of the bar?

I took care of the bar, and my brother and my sister,

because I'm the first in the family.

I mean the older one, I did everything.

I wash she clothes, everything. This has been my life.

This is the sausage, Italiano aiale, pork.

My daughter, she have two boy and a girl.

My son, they are twins, two girl and one boy.

Six grandchildren, three boy, three girl.

They call me all the time, Nonna, Nonna, I love you.

They're smelling nice or no?

This wine is for put it on the sausage, okay?

They give you flavor, okay?

[Director] You don't measure it?

No, I'll make everything off of my eye.

I put it in tomato sauce over here.

The pasta sauce, they give it more favor.

When I cook in my house, I sing, you know?

[singing in Italian]

This is ready now, you gotta cook it now.

Now I make a cavatelli.

I put some salt inside the flour.

Now I can put a water, fresh cavatelli.

Because they're more easy than going to the store to buy.

I make them at home.

This cavatelli, no egg, almost ready.

You need to walk a little bit, you know?

[upbeat music]

Looking like a macaroni, see look?

I gotta cut it for making the cavatelli, okay?

[Maria speaking Italian]

Two finger, okay? Not too big.

Some people are use to the machine.

I don't like it on the machine.

Better when you make it by hand.

Sometimes I make it and freeze it too.

[Italian bistro music]

Right now is 2:30. So thank you for coming.

I like everybody.

Come back again another time, okay?

Everything's beautiful. [kiss]

Tanto tanto, I love you tanto tanto.

I cook now.

[Italian bistro music]