Thursday, June 03, 2004
A taste of Italy in Salem
Larry Bly
Larry Bly runs an ad agency and does freelance writing in the Roanoke area.
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Despite ownership changes, Mamma Maria remains pretty much what it's always been, offering up an extensive menu of true Italian delights. I've eaten at Mamma Maria's over the years, and what you get is good Italian food, spiced just right and plenty of it.
The menu reads like a dictionary of Italian foods. You'd have to visit 100 times to try it all. Appetizers alone run 14 items and include: antipasto, bruschetta al granchio, bruschetta Napoletana, clams casino, fried calamari, garlic bread, mozzarella caprese, mussels marinara, portobello mushrooms -- and with some nods to Southwest Virginia -- fries, buffalo wings, garlic knots, mozzarella sticks and soup of the day. Warning: when you order anything with garlic, get ready to taste it. These guys don't mess around in the garlic department. I adore garlic and cannot get enough of it, but just beware.
Salads are extensive as well: chefs, Caesar, house, garden, Greek, Mediterranean chicken salad, chicken Adriatica Caesar, Mediterranean shrimp and shrimp Adriatica Caesar. The salads are fresh, flavorful and substantial.
I always have problems deciding between a white sauce, such as alfredo or a cream sauce, or a tomato sauce. My doctor says I should stay away from tomato sauces, but there are just too darned many Italian dishes that I'd have to eliminate, so I eat them anyway. Mamma's fettuccini alfredo is some of the best in the Roanoke valley, featuring pasta in a creamy parmesan cream sauce with fresh basil. Fresh ingredients are very important to Italian cooking.
Of course, no ethnic foods would claim otherwise: WE USE ONLY STALE INGREDIENTS. Who'd go for that? But fresh basil and garlic and pesto separates a Mamma Maria's from the franchise guys. The number of sauces found here is astounding: parmesan cream, creamy beef sauce, tomato sauce, pesto basil sauce, cheese sauce, vodka sauce, sweet red sauce with capers, you name it.
If you're in the mood for a cheap but filling entree, go for the spaghetti puttanesca for only $8.99. This is an Italian dish for the poor. But it's one of my favorites: spaghetti served in a sweet red sauce with capers, raisins and black olives. Sound strange? Not at all, it's delightful and filling.
Other pasta favorites of mine include pasta al funghi (mushrooms sautéed and served in a white wine sauce with prosciutto ham and onions). Or try the penne primavera, served with fresh vegetables in a creamy parmesan sauce. Pasta entrees are always reasonably priced here in the $7.49 to $8.99 range.
Baked pastas include ravioli (I've tried it ... not my favorite Italian dish, but good), manicotti (excellent), stuffed shells (filling but yummy) meat lasagna, plus baked ziti, eggplant parmigiana and eggplant Sorrentino.
Mamma Maria's lists 10 chicken dishes, and they run from the usual, such as chicken cacciatore to the more exotic: chicken Chesapeake (with mushrooms, green peas, crabmeat, served over fettuccini).
Most Italian menus boast at least a few veal dishes. Mamma Maria's has plenty: Marsala, piccata, Chesapeake, fiorentina, portobollo, Sorrentino, Bella vista.
Seafood entrees also go on forever (how does the kitchen keep up with all these dishes anyway?): calamari luciana, capelin adriatica, linguine alla vongole, mussels marinara, seafood della Mamma (clams, crabmeat, jumbo shrimp, mussels, scallops, squid in a light marinara sauce) and others. Seafood entrees are quite reasonably priced from $12.49-$17.
There are a ton of sandwiches, subs and hoagies. I've been so busy eating the entrees I can never make myself just do sandwiches, so I'm not making recommendations on which would be best here.
Finally, what respectable Italian restaurant would not offer a passel of pizzas, and I've tried quite a few. Pizzas made to order are impeccably done, but recently at least two kinds of pizza on the buffet, pepperoni and sausage, were a bit chewy and the dough, while brown on the bottom was not done. Aside from that small problem, they do a nice job and offer a nice variety. Turnovers include calzones and strombolis.
If you like Italian food, I cannot imagine what's not to like about Mamma Maria's.
Mamma Maria's
2025 West Main Street
Salem, Va.
389-2848
