|
Background Named for Mary Natale Farrington,
this restaurant is the result of conversations between Mary and her toddler
grannddaughter, Donna. As Grandma prepared meals in her Clinton kitchen
while babysitting her granddaughter, talk often revolved around Grandma's pasta
sauce which Donna loved.
Speculations about the future also formed part of the
conversations. Grandma and Donna teased each other about opening a
restaurant together someday so everyone else could enjoy this sauce that Donna
and the rest of Mary's family and friends loved so much.
Mary was born in 1916 to Italian immigrants in the
little Italy section of Clinton, a town known for its large Italian population.
Preparing sauces from scratch was routine for this neighborhood and everyone had
her own method .. usually influenced by the original region of Italy where
the ancestral family had lived.
In Mary's case this was Torino (Turin) in the
Piemonte (Piedmont) area of northern Italy. This regional difference seems to be the reason
for the sweeter sauce Mary prepared. This Piedmont region is also known
for being the origin of tiramisu and bagna cauda amond other things.
Tiramisu is occasionally available at Cucina Maria. It may also be ordered
with 48 hours advance notice. Bagna cauda is always available after
4:00pm. |
