Six Italian grandmothers of St. George, Staten Island have got this whole restaurant business all figured out. By taking turns at the stovetop, each nonna gets to rule the kitchen one day each week, and no one has to work more than a few weekly lunch or dinner shifts. Everyone gets a chance to cook and nobody collapses, exhausted in the gnocchi–it is a win-win arrangement. But really, it’s the lucky residents of St. George who are perhaps the most fortunate, as they get a glimpse into regional home cooking from a different part of Italy nearly every night of the week. As should already be clear, this is not your typical Italian restaurant: this is a place where meals are punctuated by frequent appearances from a well-proportioned older Italian woman who, in halting English, inquires at every table whether everything is “bene.” And the only real response is: Si.

Unbelievably, the grandma rota works splendidly. On the afternoon when we visited most recently, we found Teresa, a no-nonsense nonna from Agrigento in southern Sicily, serving up a regionally appropriate, seafood-focused menu of mussels, octopus, calamari, whole branzino. But that was just Saturday–on a different night, you might just as easily find yourself in a carnivore’s paradise, eating off a menu informed by the restaurant’s resident grandmother from Milan or the one from Campania. Because the cuisine is somewhat of a moving target, telephoning the restaurant or visiting its website is more important than it is elsewhere. Even knowing the regular schedule isn’t any guarantee, as the restaurant’s website announced this week that a new ‘nonna’ from Trentino has signed up, and that Argentina, a chef from the Marche, has returned from an extended visit to Italy to grace the kitchen once more. These grandmas don’t sit still for long.

No matter who is in the kitchen when you go, each meal at Enoteca Maria begins with a generous and complimentary tray of antipasto (pictured top). As with most dishes, its components change daily. We enjoyed soft cubes of spinach, cheese and garlic; roasted red peppers potatoes and onions; tuna with rice and red beans–all served on little square plates accompanied by pieces of springy homemade focaccia.

There are more elaborate antipasto options, including a selection of Italian coppa like prosciutto, sopressata, salami and speck as well as a separate selection of all-Italian cheeses (pictured above, $15), featuring a young and milky gorgonzola, a soft robiola made from cow’s, sheep’s and goat’s milk and wrapped in brandy-soaked cherry leaves, as well as a wonderfully pungent taleggio. But best of all were the condiments: dried dates, spoonfuls of clover honey with walnuts, and an ethereal mostarda–a sweet fruit sauce with a pleasant kick of mustard seed.

Teresa is also well known for her seafood salads. One, an insalata frutti di mare (pictured above right, $15), a cold and acidic mixture of octopus, calamari rings, shrimp, carrots and celery, suffered a bit from underseasoning. However, another, the insalata di baccala, a cod fish salad (pictured on Flickr, $15) was truly exceptional, with a sweet, tart dressing that brought out the flavor of the meaty baccala and carrots. It was simple, immensely satisfying, and unlike any dish we have ever seen served anywhere else in the city.

We found pastas to be uncomplicated and extremely well-prepared. A plate of garganelli (pictured above, $10) featured the distinctive bias-cut pasta (like penne, but with horizontal, instead of vertical ridges) with a sweet tomato sauce so simple that only bits of basil showed through the tomatoes. You can also find canneloni stuffed with meat, green peas and the same rich, slightly sweet sauce.

On Sicilian nights, if you are lucky, you mayfind sfincione, a puffy cheeseless pizza baked in an enormous square (pictured here, $10 for a generous slice). More like a massive block of focaccia topped with a hearty sauce of garlic, onions, tomatoes, black olives and roasted peppers, the sfincione’s dough rises to two to three inches in height and ends up springy, light, and so massive that eating it requires a fork and knife.

Desserts range from simple dishes–fresh fruit, nuts, homemade biscotti with vin santo–to more elaborate creations like the torta nutella ($10) we sampled, made by layering soft ladyfingers with Nutella, sliced almonds and Sambuca-infused whipped cream. A dusting of cocoa powder might put you in mind of a tiramisu, but this fantastic dish showcased anise and hazelnut flavors instead of coffee. This dessert alone made the ferry ride worthwhile.

Of course, for some Gothamites, even the short voyage represents a psychological distance too far, and this is a serious shame, because Enoteca Maria is so terrific and with such an unusual atmosphere that, if planted anywhere in Manhattan, it would be overrun within seconds. Certainly, Enoteca Maria deserves to be better known, but perhaps Upper New York Bay is just the kind of barrier the restaurant needs to keep it from turning into a zombified PR darling or worse: a pre-theater bistro. As for us, we’d build an ark to get to Enoteca Maria–and besides, what’s a little water when grandma’s cooking awaits on the opposite shore?

Enoteca Maria, 27 Hyatt Street, Staten Island, 718-447-2777.