Thursday, April 7, 2011

Mamma Melina. Here we go again.

Mamma Melina (You can turn off schmaltzy music, don't worry)
7/10 on the bangin' scale
Near University Village

Mamma Melina interior. Check it out. Their paintings are on the ceiling!

Mamma Melina is a great example of NBNQP*.

Let me qualify that. The bathrooms: Pimp (heated toilet seats! WHAAT?). The service: Pimp (water refilled multiple times... I'm a guzzler). The atmosphere: Pimp (modern. Paintings on the ceiling. Actually, maybe it skirts the boundary of pimp and kitschy.)

The food: NBNQP. It's dece, don't get me wrong. But it doesn't have that extra something. No unexpected flavor to rave about. No Proustian moment, either. Is it wrong that I always hope to find an Italian restaurant that will remind me of my childhood? Possibly. Simple, delicious, cheap... like Italian restaurants in New York. Or, saliva-inducing the moment you think about it, like my grandmother's sauce. Let me know if you've found such a place in Seattle.

Photographs:
Part of the $15 Dine around Seattle (March) Menu- Mozzarella, wrapped in prosciutto, with greens. Nicely presented, flavors that you would expect.

Lasagnette. It was quite a large portion (despite the ette at the end of the lasagn-), and the sauce was pretty good, but the inside was not super flavorful.

Part of the $15 Dine around Seattle (March) Menu - Rigatoni con Panna, Spinaci e Funghi. I mean, it was once again, dece. But not super interesting.
Tiramisu. I always enjoy Tiramisu. So pretty. And good. No complaints here.

Would I recommend it? Prolly. The atmosphere was fun (and the TOILET SEATS!), and the food was pretty good. Just don't expect too much. Like me.


*Not Bad, Not Quite Pimp.

Mamma Melina Ristorante on Urbanspoon