A heaping helping of news & reviews from DFW’s dining scene.
The place: Mamma Mia Italian Grill & Pizza
The back story: Mamma Mia's new medical district location on the gentrifying Magnolia Avenue strip is a sibling of the East Belknap Street original. The mural on an exterior wall may remind folks who've been around awhile that the building -- it's next to a Fort Worth Police Department station -- housed Jerry Van Dyke's Soda Shoppe and Guest House in the late 1990s.
The food: With seven seafood entrees, 10 house specialties and eight baked pasta/marinara sauce options (not counting the chicken, veal and spaghetti, angel-hair or penne choices with sauce option), tackling the menu may take time.
But you'll have a hot, homemade yeast roll sprinkled with parmesan to chew on while you digest it. They're so filling that chasing a couple of them with a platter of crispy fried calamari appetizer ($7.95) may leave you ready to go straight to dessert. If you do order a chicken or veal entree or a house specialty, note that there's also going to be a choice of salad or soup -- the chicken noodle was well-seasoned and hearty.
Patrons who stick with old standbys such as the marinara-topped veal parmesan ($12.95) may agree that the dish exemplifies the challenge of doing something new with the tried-and-true. The portion size was generous, but the execution doesn't break new ground.
Vegetarians should find something to like with the eggplant florentini ($9.95). Topped with marina sauce, the trio of rolled eggplant slices were stuffed with ricotta and bright-green spinach leaves. The only quibble: Why top the side order of spaghetti with the same sauce as the eggplant? The combo was filling, but the sauce repetition was too much of a good thing.
The tiramisu ($4.55) looked too good to miss -- and it was. The classic dessert confection of lady fingers, whipped egg yolks, sugar and mascarpone cheese disappeared without a trace of the chocolate sauce squiggles that decorated the white plate.
A highlight of the pizza menu was the White Wonder ($9.95-$14.95), topped with Alfredo sauce, garlic, tomatoes and spinach. The thin crust was nice and golden, and the toppings were fresh and flavorful.
Salads are ample; Nick's salad, piled high with fresh mushrooms, black olives, peppers, onions and garlic-olive oil-lemon dressing, was a huge salad and a great deal at $5.95.
The service: Fast and friendly, if inexperienced. The young waitress who served a neighboring couple was at a loss to tell the patron whether the lettuce on a salad option was iceberg or some other variety. But the food came out as ordered, hot and on time.
The setting: The floors are old wood, the walls a warm reddish plaster, and soft overhead light comes from small chandeliers sprinkled across the vintage tin ceiling. There were just a few patrons during our midweek evening visit, but the comfortable booth made the dining room feel cozy, not lonesome.
You should know: They deliver orders over $80 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Lunch specials: $6.95, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday.
The details: Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday. BYOB, with no corkage fee; smoke-free; wheelchair-accessible; major credit cards.
