Last weekend Brother Charlie took the family out to dinner for Papa Tapeworms birthday at an Italian restaurant called Osteria Mamma. Pleasantly nearby the restaurant is located on a corner, one block west of Larchmont on Melrose. The Italian restaurant looks like nothing special from the outside, very inconspicuous, I have driven by it countless times and have never noticed it before.
After having a rather delicious dinner at Osteria Mamma the weekend before Mr. Borscht and I decide to try it out for ourselves.
Osteria Mamma is a small restaurant consisting of two rooms, large blown-up black and white pictures hang on the wall, I assume it is the Osteria Mamma family. The wooden lacquered tables all have a bottle of organic EVOO made by Osteria Mamma- I find quite interesting, a restaurant that also makes its own olive oil.
Complimentary bread and sauce is served while one awaits for their orders to be served. The bread is warm, soft, moist and chewy, the perfect texture for the tomato sauce which I'm positive also has tabasco in it, there is a tangy spiciness to the tomato sauce that I recognize as tabasco. I'm not too big of a fan of the tomato sauce but the bread is great and so I eat the sauce anyway.
And because it has been hot out as of late I decide to partake in a sparkling white wine spritzer that includes Apperol, I asked for a refreshing alcoholic beverage but because Osteria Mamma serves only wine and beer this interesting drink is what I get; sparkling white wine, ice, Apperol and a slice of lemon. The drink indeed is refreshing, bubbly and cooling but the Apperol is mildly bitter and this does not appeal to me.
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| Carpaccio di Filetto, fillet mignon carpaccio with arugula and Grana Padano cheese |
We begin our dinner with a starter of Carpaccio di Filetto. Thinly THINLY sliced beef carpaccio, drizzled with olive oil, lemon juice, sprinkled with salt and white pepper, then topped with a mound of fresh crisp arugula and shaved salty Grana Padano cheese. The carpaccio is fantastic! I tend to like my carpaccio slightly thicker in slice (Osterio Mamma's carpaccio is so thin one can pull it apart quite easily with a fork) but even so the citrus flavors with the white pepper together with the spicy crisp arugula and the saltiness of the shaved cheese is an absolutely wonderful combination that gets your taste buds humming and ready for more appetizing dishes, it is indeed the perfect starter for this restaurant and I highly recommend it if you have no qualms eating raw red meat.
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| Gnocchi ai Porcini, light cream sauce, Porcini mushrooms and all natural free range Jidori Chicken |
Mr. Borscht and I both order the Gnocchi ai Porcini for our main course. The Gnocchi is melt-on-your-mouth (literally)! Buttery and full of Jidori Chicken flavors with mild undertones of Porcini mushroom essence. Should you not like mushrooms this is still a great dish to order as the mushroom flavor is so light within the dish. It is thus far the best gnocchi I've come across and not at all boring as many gnocchi dishes tend to be. There is a kind of loving feeling and tenderness one feels from eating the gnocchi at Osteria Mamma perhaps it is the strong but subtle flavors combined with the buttery and soft gnocchi, a pleasant texture for the palate, resulting in a slow and savoring dining experience; it seems to me the Gnocchi ai Porcini is a romantic food- perfect for a special date.
After dining at Osteria Mamma twice within two weeks and a couple hours of deliberation Mr. Borscht and I have an unspoken understanding that Osteria Mamma is now our favorite Italian spots in Los Angeles.
Total Damage: $84.00 +/-
1 Sparkling white wine spritzer
1 Terroni beer
1 Carpaccio di Filetto
2 Gnocchi ai Porcini
5730 Melrose Ave
LA CA 90038
(323) 284.7060
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