Celebrating Our Late September Patrons at Amunì

Maria SS. della Misericordia
from Fontanarosa, Avellino

Members and friends of the Fratelli della Santa Fede (Brothers of the Holy Faith), or Sanfedisti for short, returned to Amunì Ristorante in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Thursday evening to celebrate some of our September patrons. Our dinner for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary earlier in the month was so enjoyable we jumped at the opportunity to go back.

As much as we would like to celebrate every patronal Feast Day as a group, it’s just not possible. The end of September has way too many for us to do individually, so we decided to have one celebratory dinner for them all on September 24th, the Feast of the Madonna della Misericordia (Our Lady of Mercy, or Ransom).

We chose the 24th for a couple of reasons. First, it was the most central date starting from the Feasts of San Gennaro and Our Lady of La Salette, which we celebrated on September 19th in Little Italy, New York; and second, it didn’t fall on an Ember Day, allowing us to eat and drink our hearts content without any dietary restrictions.

Table shrine with reliquary prayer cards of Sant'Agata and San Pio; holy cards of San Matteo and Sant'Amato di Nusco; pocket statuette of the Bambino Gesu di Praga; a green scapular; a framed picture of Santi Cosma & Damiano; metal plague with bas-relief of Padre Pio; stone relics from the Apparition Grotto at the Santuario di San Michele Arcangelo in Gargano, Puglia; and, courtesy of our friend Tony, a lucky St. Joseph fava been.

Unofficially, any other day further back in the month would have been too close to the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel and considering the devotion our group has for the Prince of the Heavenly Host, I can’t imagine us not having another get-together (even a modest one) after the Mass on September 29th.

Caponata con crostini

Warmly welcomed by chef and owner Vincent Dardanello, our party was promptly seated in the cozy backyard dining area, sequestered away from the unpleasant din and unwanted intrusions that often comes with outdoor dining, especially these days. 

Carciofi fritti

Putting our fate in Chef Dardanello’s hands, we let the maestro choose the menu and he didn’t disappoint. All served family style, he treated us to a spectacular multi-course repast starting with affettati e formaggio, caponata con crostini, and carciofi fritti, fried artichoke hearts tossed with caciocavallo cheese and parsley. These culinary delights were soon followed with a sweet sausage and onion roll and classic arancini, rice balls with chop meat and peas.

Sausage and onion roll

For our primi, we were presented with two phenomenal pasta dishes, rigatoni all’Amatriciana and pasta al forno, baked anellini with ground beef, peas, mozzarella and caciocavallo cheese. Unable to decide which dish to try, we naturally tasted both. Far from settling the matter, since both dishes were extraordinary, we all helped ourselves to a hearty second serving of each. 

Arancini

After all that, the pièce de résistance was definitely chef Dardanello’s perfectly cooked old-school braciola di maiale al forno. Served with a choice of three different types of salads, the baked breaded pork chops were juicy, delicious and a most welcome blast from the past. Like so many of his dishes, this was joyfully reminiscent of the traditional fare many of us grew up with. 

Pasta al forno

Needless to say, the meal came to a close with dessert and caffé. Our collective sweet tooth was sated with an amazing limoncello mascarpone cake, handmade seven layer cookies, and sugar-dusted cannoli with crushed pistachios. Capped off with some espresso and homemade limoncello, we happily walked off our meal (not to mention all the Nero d'Avila we imbibed) with a long leisurely stroll to the Verrazzano Bridge and back.

Rigatoni all’Amatriciana

The saints honored were Santa Candida & Sant’Eustachio (Sept. 20); San Matteo (Sept. 21); San Maurizio (Sept.22); San Pio da Pietrelcina (Sept. 23); Madonna della Misericordia (Sept. 24); San Firmino di Amiens & the Bambino Gesù di Praga (Sept. 25); Santi Cipriano & Giustina  (Sept. 26); Santi Cosma & Damiano (Sept. 27); San Venceslao, Duca di Boemia (Sept. 28); San Michele Arcangelo (Sept. 29); and Sant’Amato di Nusco & San Girolamo (Sept. 30).

~ Giovanni di Napoli, September 25, the Feasts of San Firmino di Amiens & the Infant of Prague

Amunì ★★★★★

Una Vera Esperienza Siciliana

7217 3rd Avenue

Brooklyn, New York 11209

718-833-7833 | vincent@amunibrooklyn.com

Insalata Verde with arugala, pistachios, shaved caciocavallo and lemon dressing

Insalata di finocchio with fennel, oranges, arugala and lemon dressing

Cucumber and tomato salad with ricotta salata

Braciola di maiale al forno

Limoncello mascarpone cake

Homemade cannoli with crushed pistachios

Homemade seven layer cookies

The Fratelli della Santa Fede with Chef Dardanello (second from right)
Photos by New York Scugnizzo