DINING OUT: From Italy With Love — Dining at Mamma G’s in Henrietta

By Jacob Pucci

 

There’s no mistaking that Mamma G’s Ristorante Italiano used to be a Friendly’s. The kid-friendly ice cream chain suffered its own (not so) happy ending at the 2133 E. Henrietta Road location more than two decades ago. But with its largely unchanged exterior and small dining room that, too, appears to have minor updates over the years, one could generously call Mamma G’s humble, an unassuming spot that’s easy to miss on a busy road.

But the food could not be more different.

Italian food is the specialty, specifically from the Abruzzo region of Italy, a mountainous and coastal region east of Rome from where the owners of this family-run restaurant hail.

The Troiano family moved from the coastal city of Pescara, Italy, to Rochester and in 2015, opened Mamma G’s, named after Gilda, the family matriarch. That regional focus isn’t a gimmick or a one-off, but rather the driving force behind a menu with dishes you’ll likely find nowhere else in the region.

Among those Abruzzese specialties are the pallotte cacio e ouva, or cheese and egg balls ($10 for three.) Originally a way to use up stale bread, these dumplings are made with a simple dough of breadcrumbs, eggs and, from my approximation, as much Pecorino Romano and Parmesan cheeses as can possibly be incorporated. The dough is formed into balls, fried, and then simmered in marinara sauce. The pallotte reminded me of German semmelknödel, but more tender, with a bite of salty, lightly tangy flavor from the cheese.

After lapping up the last of the marinara sauce from the bread dumplings with warm, crusty Italian bread, the pasta arrived. If you’re on a low-carb diet, this might not be the spot for you.

Most of the pasta at Mamma G’s is made in-house, including the spaghetti alla chitarra. Italian for “guitar”, the name comes from the wire cutter that somewhat resembled a stringed instrument used to cut the pasta. Unlike traditional spaghetti that is extruded into long, rounded noodles, chitarra has squared edges, like one might find on fettuccine.

Truthfully, any pasta would taste good when joined with tender scallops and shrimp in a part-garlic and oil, part-marinara sauce that brought the best of both worlds to the dish, a daily special of the evening ($28). The marinara added not only flavor, but body to the sauce, allowing it to better cling to the fresh pasta. If you’ve ever had to slog through a bowl of angel hair pasta swimming in a pool of garlic and oil, then you’ll appreciate this attention to detail even more.

Joining the spaghetti alla chitarra on the list of signature Abruzzese pastas is mugnaia. Translated as “pasta of the miller’s wife,” these thick, hand-pulled noodles are unlike anything you’d find in the supermarket pasta section. The pasta alla mugnaia ($23) pairs the long, lightly chewy noodles with a meaty tomato sauce with ground beef, pork and lamb. It’s simple — just pasta and meat sauce — but that doesn’t do justice to the time and skill needed to make these perfectly imperfect noodles by hand.

Saltimbocca alla Romana ($18) featured thin-sliced pork lion sauteed in a buttery marsala wine sauce, topped with a generous helping of prosciutto. A lean cut, pork loin is quick to overcook, especially when sliced thin. But these cutlets were fork-tender and the sauce was not shy with the wine. Saltimbocca translates to “jump in the mouth,” and between the wine sauce and salty punch from the prosciutto, this dish certainly popped. Veal is traditional for this dish, though pork is a more than worthy substitute.

The saltimbocca came with one side — we chose the homemade spaghetti with marinara sauce. We were served two large, but neat nests of spaghetti dressed in sauce. It would easily be an entrée-sized portion of pasta at other Italian restaurants.

Pastas and entrees are served with either a house salad or a cup of soup. Stracciatella, or Italian egg drop soup, is a classic Italian soup of chicken broth, parmesan cheese and wispy strands of egg. Mamma G’s version is more substantial than most, with a creamy consistency, lots of egg and the addition of what appeared to be escarole. It was substantial, but not overly so. The other soup option of the day, a vegetable soup with two types of beans, admittedly doesn’t sound too exciting. But the soup was surprisingly robust and wonderfully seasoned.

Restaurants would sell far more desserts if the waitstaff brought them on display to each table as they do at Mamma G’s. Think you didn’t save room for dessert? Wait until the tray of house-made cakes, cheesecakes and pastries shows up at your table. I promise some room will open up.

The coconut tiramisu ($8) got a bit of a twist with the addition of shredded coconut, though I would have liked a stronger espresso flavor in the lady fingers. The coffee cream-filled lobster tail, or sfogliatelle ($6), more than made up for it with one of the most potent coffee flavors in a pastry cream that I’ve ever eaten. Packed to the gills with filling both inside and on top, this crustacean-shaped confection is worth every crumb that’ll inevitably fall onto your lap. Diplomat cake ($8) is large enough to feed two, though the sponge cake and diplomat cream, a blend of heavier pastry cream and airy whipped cream, is light enough — and tasty enough – that one might polish off the whole piece without giving it a second thought. The cake was flavored with a layer of apricot filling and topped with sliced almonds.

Mamma G’s is planning to open a second location inside the Pittsford Plaza shopping center. According to WROC, the new restaurant will be larger — around 5,000 square feet — and will have a larger menu, including wood-fired pizzas.

Considering that reservations are strongly encouraged for dinner at a restaurant that still very much looks like a 1990s Friendly’s, it’s safe to say that they’ve outgrown their single location.

Mamma G’s is affordable, with most entrées being around $18-$22, which includes bread and soup or salad. Stop by for lunch and it’s even more affordable. Chicken French over pasta for $17? Homemade pasta with meatballs for $14 that’ll likely be enough for lunch the next day as well? Sign me up.

It takes a lot for an Italian restaurant to stand out in a city like Rochester where there are dozens of red sauce joints competing for your hard-earned pasta dough. Yet with its unique regional focus and commitment to handcrafted pasta, Mamma G’s does exactly that.

 

Mamma G’s Ristorante Italiano

2133 E. Henrietta Road, Rochester, NY, 14623

585-358-0488

Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Lunch served until 3 p.m. Closed Monday.

Reservations: Suggested for dinner.

Website: https://mammags.net

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mammagsristorante