Ohio Club at Nonna Maria’s Ristorante & Pizzeria
Karen Lanning
Sixteen members of the Ohio Club enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Nonna Maria’s Ristorante & Pizzeria on May 23. A warm shout-out to Joanne Oliver who did most of the leg work setting up the event. The owners of the restaurant, Frank and Angelina Palazzolo, were attentive hosts and made the evening relaxing as well as entertaining. Frank gave an interesting overview of how his family emigrated from Sicily and the origins of their tantalizing recipes. They chose the spot in Oracle for their restaurant because it reminded them of the mountain views in Sicily. The vast expanse of dark in the desert at night was reminiscent of the endless sea of dark ocean surrounding Sicily. Frank is also a talented artist and shared several of the stories behind the fun paintings adorning the walls of the restaurant.
Nonna Maria’s is closed to the public on Mondays but will accommodate private groups over 15 for a unique “Make your own Pizza” night. Each individual, or couple, gets their own medium size pizza dough with bowls of toppings to add as they choose. While the individual pizzas are baking, a pizza buffet is set up that includes salad, a variety of sliced pizzas, and dessert—all very good (and very filling!). The individual pizzas everyone has made are boxed up to take home for dinner another night—a great two-for-one deal!
The Ohio Club, not even a year old, will be having quarterly get-togethers. The club already has 40 members and will continue to grow as more Midwesterners move to the beauty and warmth of southern Arizona.