Nonno

It starts with bread. In the 1920s, John Falco’s grandfather Joe Falco opened Falco’s Bakery, the Jersey Shore’s first bread bakery. A generation later, John’s aunt Alfreda “Freda” Aldarelli was running Freda’s Restaurant on Ridge Avenue in Asbury Park — by her own paper’s account, one of the most famous Italian kitchens along the Jersey coast. John went on to run A&J Produce, a regional supplier, before he and his son Nicholas “Nick” Falco opened Nonno’s Ristorante at 401 Main Street in Bradley Beach on November 15, 2014.

Nick trained at the Culinary Institute of America, worked under Michelin-rated chefs, and spent two years cooking in Lyon, France — then came home and let his grandmother’s recipes set the menu anyway. “Most of the recipes are family recipes handed down from generation to generation,” he told the Asbury Park Press the week the doors opened. Fresh pasta — ravioli, cavatelli — was rolled in-house every morning. The signature dish was pasta al nonno: rigatoni with portabella mushrooms, shrimp, and sun-dried tomatoes in a rosemary cream sauce. There was never a liquor license — regulars brought their own bottle and stayed for hours anyway.

Sicilian meatballs with raisins and pine nuts, from his grandmother’s recipe. A San Marzano marinara that took a full day. Artichokes with housemade breadcrumbs, garlic, and parmigiano. Cozze anisette. Tiramisu and a ricotta cheesecake made from scratch.

The restaurant later operated as Nonno’s Italian Bistro, still hosting the neighborhood — private parties, holiday dinners, even a Central Jersey women’s business mixer — before closing for good. The building, the phone number, the Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes menu — all of it is gone now except on paper. That’s what this book keeps.