I have no idea why it took so long for me to get to Mama Carolla's. I've heard good things, smelled good things, and thought about it dozens of times, but last Saturday it finally came to be. This will not be the last time that Mama and I make a night of it. First, I love the building. It's all stucco, ivy, and cast iron. The inside is lovely with exposed wooden beams and wooden floors. There is a large patio on the outside, but my husband and I sat inside.
My husband and I arrived around 7:30pm on a Saturday and were seated immediately. You get bread and olive oil on your table. I always think bread and olive oil makes appetizers arbitrary. Besides, is there anything better in this world than fresh bread dipped into olive oil seasoned with salt and pepper? I have to be careful not to eat the entire loaf and ruin my appetite for dinner. To drink we ordered a bottle of wine: Principessa Gavia Gavi. The Gavi grape is super fragrant, full of flowers and fruits and the flavor is fruity and crisp. It's a really nice alternative to pinot grigio. My husband ordered the chicken rigatoni and I ordered the pasta carbonara. I got a bowl of the soup de jour- Italian wedding soup, and my husband ordered the Caesar salad.
The bread was good-a crusty white bread. I guess I would have liked a bread with a twist-maybe a nice rustic wheat or rosemary or something- a little better, but it was darn good. My soup was savory and comforting but the real star of the first course was the Caesar salad. Oh. My. God. So creamy, decedent, perfect. It might have been the best Caesar salad I have ever gotten a few bites of. Brian was hovering over his salad like our dog Honey with her bone. Grrrrrrr, snarl! I'm lucky I didn't get a fork in the back of my hand as I reached across the table to snag a bit while he was checking out our waitress. No wonder women are evolutionarily superior. I'm sure back when we were developing our brains some woman got a couple extra bites of the protein because the guy was checking out the brow ridges of the neanderthal next door.
Then the main courses came out. You know it's good when both of us take a bite, close our eyes, and moan. My carbonara was super thick, creamy, and decedent. It's an egg-cream sauce made with prosciutto, peas, and mushrooms. Basically it's a savory custard. I'm salivating right now as I write, it was so good. Brian's pasta was big thick rigatoni with lightly battered chicken chunks in a thin spicy white wine prosciutto sauce. He was in heaven. I was in heaven. The wine went very well with both of our meals as well. You'd think we planned it instead of just ordering whatever wine sounded good on the menu. There was very little talking during the meal, just chewing and sighing. I took half of my pasta home, but my husband finished his. I'm looking forward to tomorrow when my coworkers ask what I have for lunch. "Oh, just a little pasta carbonara from Mama Carolla's...". HA! IN YOUR FACE!
The waitress asked The Big Question, "Did you save room for dessert?". No, but we want some anyway. We split the tiramisu, and I felt like it was everything tiramisu is supposed to be. There is the creamy mascarpone cheese, and the bite of the alcohol soaked lady-fingers. From beginning to end, this was a wonderful meal. The prices are pretty reasonable. This isn't a cheap night out, but the prices are only a buck or two more than Olive Garden, but comparing the difference in taste and overall experience is like comparing Dollywood to the Steppenwolf theatre. The wine was only $27 for the bottle, which is pretty darn reasonable for a bottle you would pay $14.00 for in a store.
This is a super versatile restaurant. This would be a fantastic romantic dinner for two, but the food is accesible enough to take the in-laws when they are in town. Who doesn't love pasta? I mean, really.
Check out Mama's, you'll be so glad you did. It's located at 1031 E. 54th Street (it's between Keystone and College).
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