Homestyle Italian in Concord

Farfalle Italian Market
26 Concord Crossing, Concord
978-369-2900
Open Monday to Friday 7 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
MasterCard and Visa accepted
Accessible to the handicapped
farfalleitalianmarket.com

"If I close my eyes I can smell it," said Gina Nasson. The aroma of frying meatballs in a saute pan and the sight of her grandmother at the stove is Nasson's first memory of food.

She makes those same meatballs in her Italian market, Farfalle, that debuted in Concord in June. A perky sandwich board near the train tracks announces Farfalle's presence off Sudbury Road in the Concord Crossing complex.

Offering prepared foods and provisions, Nasson, a Concord resident with two young daughters, admits leaning toward Southern Italian dishes, but makes "authentic Italian, simple not too complicated recipes" from all regions, much like what she eats at home.

On weekdays, Farfalle serves breakfast, including grilled breakfast panini and coffee to locals and commuters starting at 7 a.m. Her homemade creations are available for takeout or for a casual lunch in the 10-seat cafe. While her husband, Jeff Nedeau, a cabinetmaker, coordinates the wine tasting, his parents and Nasson's father also pitch in, a la familigia.

Nasson is a veteran of the restaurant business, always knowing she wanted to do something on her own. During a hiatus from her 13-year stint as manager of Stellina, a family-run Italian restaurant in Watertown, Nasson realized she could recreate a version of her great-grandparents' Sicilian market in Boston. It became a reality in January, when Nasson found the former location of For the Birds.

Nasson's mother worked in that Sicilian market as a child, and Nasson had that memory in mind when she named her store Farfalle, Italian for butterflies, her mother's favorite creature. It is also the word for bowtie pasta.

Of course, Farfalle sells pasta and other Italian specialty goods. It also has various homemade pastries, cookies, and desserts along with Iggy's Bread of the World croissants and bread. Nasson's cinnamon rolls ($1.50) have just the right combination of sweet bread and cinnamon, crowned with orange-laced confectioners' sugar icing. The espresso shortbread cookies (95 cents), about the size of a small sand dollar, are drizzled with chocolate and permeated with light butter and espresso flavors, ideal with a latte or cappuccino ($3 each). The pear-almond tart ($4.75) is another favorite, so good you wouldn't know Nasson buys it from a local vendor.

The blackboard by the refrigerated glass display cases outlines the lunch specials, including baked pasta, soup, salad, tea sandwich, and panini. I enjoyed the roasted butternut squash soup ($4) that had an unexpected, delightful twist: a spoonful of finely grated pecorino Romano. The combination of pureed squash, carrots, sweet onion, apple, and fresh ginger was the perfect foil for the rich whole-milk ewe cheese.

Combine the soup with half a grilled panini ($7.25) - like the one with Genoa salami, roasted tomato, and Provolone cheese - for a satisfying repast. The panini, made with fresh Iggy's ciabatta, was moist and crusty, cheesy and tangy. The staff can make good recommendations if you need help choosing.

An appetizer of a standard antipasto plate ($6) of marinated artichokes and mushrooms, mozzarella with sun-dried tomatoes and basil, and peperonata comes with Iggy's ciabatta. Notch up the starter by adding a small wedge of perfectly ripe Taleggio ($18 a pound), a delicious soft Italian cheese, and a half-bottle of Montirius Gigondas ($13), a gently spicy red wine from the southern Rhone Valley of France.

Her grandmother's heavenly meatballs ($1.25 each) were a point of controversy in my family. We wanted all of these moist, flavorful combinations of finely minced pork, veal, and beef in a tomato sauce. Either the meatballs or chicken Parmesan ($11 a pound) complement the tomato-based vodka cream sauce ($5.75) coating the fusilli ($7 a pound), a spiraled pasta. Nasson carries several kinds of homemade sauce, fresh handmade pastas, and frozen raviolis.

For a Friday night splurge, Nasson is making hot pasta entrees ($12-$16), cooked to order from 4 to 7 p.m. The pasta with figs, goat cheese, and Swiss chard was exquisite. Perhaps pair the pasta with a bottle of wine from the tastings on Thursdays and Fridays (5 to 7 p.m.) and Saturdays (4 to 6 p.m.). Or taste one of a handful of extra virgin olive oils, including one that is available as a refill ($16 for 375 milliliters, refill $14), from Panzano, Italy.

Cooking, baking, and acquiring this cornucopia of Italian cuisine wouldn't be possible without help from her family. For Nasson, it's all about family and food. The happiest part of her day is when the lunch rush is over. "Everything is in the case and it all looks beautiful, and I know that I'm a couple hours from being home with my girls and my husband having dinner," said Nasson.

ELISABETH TOWNSEND