by Steven Doyle
In their book “Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual,” Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo describe Sunday Gravy, or Sunday Sauce, as a “huge pot of tomato sauce that’s been used to turn tough, cheap meat into a tender delicious dinner, and that has, in exchange, been made richer and deeper by all the commingled simmering.” It is everything delicious about Italian cookery as we might know it in our lifetime. It is not necessarily about the tomato sauce, but that is delicious. It is about the meat simmering in the pot, and about the pasta. It is a very pleasing journey, to be sure.
Julian Barsotti at Carbones know the Sunday Gravy thing very well. He is also the owner and chef at Nonna just a few miles away. The smallish market on Oak Lawn has a kitchen where they crank out some very special pastas, and a heavenly Sunday Gravy. It is a place to sit casually and sup with friends, enjoy wine and laugh about nothing particular. It is about the Sunday Gravy, though.
Barsotti has the goods for sale either fresh or frozen. You can also enjoy a fairly spectacular meatball at Carbones. You will definitely want to sample the lasagna, it is pretty special. Each week Barsotti offers a special menu Sunday dinner for $40. The dinner service is from 5:30 to 9:00pm and includes an antipasti, pasta, secondi, and desert. Check the website for the changing menu each week.
