At the end of 2013, the owners of Cancun Mexican Restaurant shut down the operation and opened Nonno’s Ristorante Italiano in its place on the highly visible corner of Whitney Way and Odana Road. I like the menu and the decor, and other than a few glitches in service I experienced, I’d say it’s worth dining here.
This being an Italian restaurant, I had to try the spaghetti alle polpette (spaghetti and meatballs, $10), which turned out to be my favorite dish. The noodles were perfectly al dente, the meatballs had a nice, soft texture and the marinara sauce wasn’t overly liquidy like so many bad sauces.
From spaghetti and meatballs I moved onto another classic, pizza. The capricciosa ($10) is topped with mushrooms, black olives, artichoke hearts (too many), prosciutto, anchovies (too few) and oregano. Not surprisingly, the taste leans on the salty side, but nonetheless it’s a well-crafted pie for two to share. Note that the crust is actually closer to hand-tossed instead of thin as written on the menu.
Let’s look at some of the other entrees, of which there are many. I don’t recommend the penne e pollo alla genovese ($10), only because there was barely any chicken in it. On the flip side, I enjoyed the big portions of flaky fish in the tilapia al limone ($12).
I did try one salad, the innamorate ($8), which comes with strawberries, feta and toasted almonds; however, it was the fennel that gave this salad its signature flavor. I also enjoyed the golden brown calamari fritti ($8) with the spicy marinara, which is just marinara and crushed red pepper.
While the dark-toned restaurant has a small bar, it unfortunately under-utilizes it. I could see a strong happy hour being done here, but alas, the bar is an after-thought to the owners. Another area that could use some improvement is staffing; on my visits, I’ve felt it’s been under-staffed. I’ve had good servers, but they’ve been so busy that they’ve failed at simple things, like bringing menus (even upon request) and bringing the check in a timely manner (one time took nine min.).
Nonno’s serves lunch, dinner and carryout every day.
***
See more photos in our Nonno’s Ristorante Italiano Flickr album.
I was disappointed to see La Guanajuatence close, what with its salsa bar and delicious tacos. But just in a matter of weeks, 
Fortunately, items from the Authentic Mexican Dishes section were better prepared. I’m a fan of molcajete, which is a stone grinding bowl filled with pork, steak, chicken, shrimp and chorizo. I would rank Taqueria El Jalapeno’s version ($16.99) second to Cuco’s in Verona, mainly because the large petals of onions clumped together (which weren’t properly sliced) became filler over more meat, and the vast majority of the meat was chorizo; I would have preferred a better balance.
I had to experience for myself 
If you visit KJ’s on the weekend, you also have the option of getting the “weekend special,” which on one particular weekend was the Sri Lankan Authentic Lump Rice ($15.99). It’s yellow rice, chicken, fried onion, a fish ball, plantain, egg plant and a fried-boiled egg baked in banana leaves. Although these items are separated, it’s best to eat them together. For example, the caramelized onion complemented the chicken well, and the chili flakes piled in one corner added a nice kick to the plantain.
