Three Texas Farms. Everything Else From Italy.
Anthony's philosophy on ingredients is straightforward: some things have to come from Italy because there's no local equivalent (San Marzano tomatoes, 00 flour, Parmigiano-Reggiano, prosciutto di Parma), and everything else should come from as close to Austin as possible. Right now, "as close as possible" means three farms in Central Texas that Anthony has been working with since we opened.
These aren't relationships he maintains for marketing purposes. He visits the farms. He knows the people. When something goes wrong at one of the farms — a dry summer that kills the tomato crop, a disease that runs through the pork herd — Anthony changes the menu rather than sourcing from somewhere else. The farm comes first. See the secondi menu or read about how these ingredients show up in our weekly specials.
Johnson's Backyard Garden — Austin, TX
JBG is a certified organic farm that operates about 10 miles east of downtown Austin, with additional growing sites throughout Central Texas. They supply Nonna's Kitchen with seasonal vegetables: heirloom tomatoes in summer, zucchini and zucchini blossoms in spring and early summer, lettuces and greens year-round. JBG has been farming this land since 2006. Anthony has been ordering from them since 2018.
Dos Lunas Cheese Farm — Cameron, TX
Dos Lunas is an artisan cheese operation about 100 miles northeast of Austin in Milam County. They make sheep and goat cheeses that appear on Nonna's Kitchen's antipasti plates and seasonal specials. Their aged sheep's milk cheese is a reasonable local substitute for Pecorino Romano in some applications. Anthony uses both — imported Pecorino for dishes that need the real thing, Dos Lunas for the plates where the local cheese is actually better.
Heritage Pork — Elgin, TX
We work with a small heritage pork operation in Elgin, about 30 miles east of Austin, that raises Berkshire and Duroc crosses on pasture. The pork appears in our weekly specials (lardo, guanciale, fresh sausage), and occasionally in rotating pasta dishes. Heritage breeds raised outdoors have a fat profile that's genuinely different from commodity pork. You can taste it.
What We Still Import from Italy
San Marzano DOP tomatoes, 00 flour (Caputo brand, same as the major Neapolitan pizzerias), Parmigiano-Reggiano aged 24+ months, Pecorino Romano, prosciutto di Parma, and anchovies. These ingredients have no direct local equivalent. Substituting them would change the dishes in ways that would make Nonna Rosa unhappy.
When Farm Supply Changes the Menu
If the Elgin farm has a great batch of something unexpected — duck eggs, lard, a cut Anthony hasn't worked with before — it shows up in the Thursday specials. If JBG's tomatoes are exceptional one week, Anthony may feature them more prominently in the bruschetta or the antipasto. The farms inform the menu. That's the whole point.
Taste the difference that sourcing makes.
1847 E 6th Street, Austin TX • Tue–Sun from 5PM