During a recent trip to Maryland, I was looking for a restaurant close to my hotel. I saw Mamma Lucia Restaurant, a restaurant and pizzeria. I had read mixed reviews on the Internet, but thought I'd give it a try. I knew better than to expect real Italian at a place like this. All I hoped for was good food. My entree was decent, but not worth a return trip. The garlic bread was pathetic. After three weeks of incredible Italian food in Italy two months earlier, this was a poor comparison.
Mamma Lucia's (http://www.mammaluciarestaurants.com/) is a local Washington, D.C.-area chain with eight restaurants. They advertise "down-home cooking."
I had Penne Norcina, penne pasta with sausage in a cream sauce for $14. It was decent, but nothing to tweet home about. The garlic bread that came with it was pathetic. I took two bites and gave up.
They had no wine list, just three reds that the waitress mentioned by type. Only one was an Italian type - chianti, and one was a Malbec - from South America. How hard is it for an Italian restaurant to carry a few Italian reds. They also had a couple of whites. I had a glass of the Chianti for $7. It was ok.
One sign of attention to deal in an Italian restaurant is the use of correct Italian names for its dishes. It's very easy to get this right. Mamma Lucia's menu is full of errors. A couple of examples are:
- "Penne Norcina" instead of "Penne alla Norcina"
- "Pollo alla Florentina" instead of "Pollo alla Fiorentina"
- "Ravioli Romana" instead of "Ravioli alla Romana"
- "Spaghetti Carbonara" instead of "Spaghetti alla Carbonara"
- "Spaghetti al Funghi" instead of "Spaghetti ai Funghi"
- etc., etc., etc.
One curious menu item was the "Pollo Brunello." Pollo is chicken, and the only Brunello I know is the famous red wine type from Montalcino, Italy. The menu describes this dish as being cooked in Marsala wine.
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