Mama D’s Italian Kitchen (Review #2) - Newport Beach
Plain and simple there is no better service in Newport Beach than at Mama D’s Italian Kitchen. Ever since that fateful day when the Spaghetti Factory was packed and we discovered Mama D’s, it has been on the top of our list as the best restaurant in all of Orange County. After gleefully reading that Kat from the Orange County Register’s food blog Gluttonista went there for her birthday after a recommendation from me, I knew we needed to go there soon as well. Unfortunately we hadn’t made our way there for quite some time, but I’m glad we took the time to go there last night!
Everything was just as great as I remember it. The bread was absolutely mouthwatering, especially with the olive oil garlic mix that they serve it with, I could dip every piece of bread I eat for the rest of my life into that delicious mixture. We ordered a Caesar Salad ($7.99) that is made with homemade dressing, which they lightly toss with romaine, croutons and fresh parm. Mrs. DanGarion went with her normal order of their pillow perfect ravioli in marinara sauce ($10.99), which includes 6 large homemade raviolis sitting atop a slightly sweet marinara sauce. I usually order something with their pink sauce, but I went more traditional today by ordering spaghetti with meat sauce ($10.99) along with one of their humongous 3 inch meatballs ($2.99)! The meat sauce is much like the marinara but with just enough meat to make me happy. The meatball was moist throughout and had a very mild taste. To top it all off they give you free cookies to finish your meal.
It was a perfect meal to wrap up what was a very busy week, and I’m glad that we were able to go there. It’s always a pleasure revisiting one of your favorite restaurants when you feel as though you have been cheating on them! Service was exceptional as always as our waiter Ruben dedicatedly visited our table a number of times and made sure everything was good throughout our meal.
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- Mama D's Caesar Salad
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- Mama D's Bread and Oil
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- Mama D's Bread
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- Mama D's Ravioli
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- Mama D's Spaghetti
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- Mama D's Meatball
Rating: 
Mama D’s Italy Kitchen
3012 Newport Blvd
Newport Beach, CA 92663
(949) 675-6262
Arnone’s Little Italy - Orange
Go check out my review of Arnone’s Little Italy in Orange at Orange County Food Blogs.
Rating: 
Arnone’s Little Italy - MySpace Page
2143 N Tustin St
Orange, CA 92865
(714) 974-7411
Maggiano’s Little Italy - Costa Mesa
My wife Kelly had been singing the praises for Maggiano’s since we first met, but unfortunately it took us just over 2 years for her to finally take me there!
We went on Saturday night, and arrived at 7:00 PM, the place was packed, fortunately for us we had a reservation at 7:45 and there was a seat open in the bar. We took a seat in the bar area and relaxed while we drank some tasty beverages (mine was a Blue Moon Hefe, her’s was a Coke). At just about 7:45 our pager went off and we were quickly seating in the middle of a huge open room that was full of couples, families, and parties chowing down on Italian food. We looked over the menu and my eyes immediately saw the appetizer of the night, Parmesan Garlic Bread, that I didn’t know at the time, was served with some of the best marinara sauce I’ve ever tasted. The bread was perfect except for the fact that we ordered a full order that was way more then the two of us could finish and still eat the rest of our meal, so we packed the rest up to eat the next day. We followed the delicious bread with a half order Caesar Salad that was big enough for 4 people to enjoy. Then came our main dish… I was a little on the fence after looking through the menu, I had my mind set on two items that sounded good, one was a normal menu item, called Rigatoni D, which was described on the menu as; Rigatoni pasta, herb roasted boneless chicken, mushrooms and onions, tossed in a light Marsala cream sauce. And the second offering I was thinking about was on the specials menu, it was a Penne Pasta with Chicken and Shrimp, along with a light asiago cheese sauce and caramelized onions. I went with the later and. Kellly went with the Chicken Parmesan, which is always a good choice as long as they make it fresh. My meal was great, the bowl came to the table piping hot with the perfect look of baked pasta on the tips of Penne. I took a bite and enjoyed the mix of flavors of large stringy chicken pieces and medium sized shrimp. Unfortunately I was already pretty full from the bread and salad, so I only ate about 1/4 of my main entree, because I didn’t want to be stuffed. Kelly’s chicken consisted of 3 chicken breast halves that were lightly breaded and just slightly dark, probably from the mixture of frying the chicken and then baking it with provolone cheese and marinara sauce. The menu said her’s was supposed to come with parmesan chips, so either Kelly was holding out or she didn’t get them, but it was more food then any human could eat in one sitting anyway, so it wasn’t an issue. Along with our main dishes Kelly also ordered us some Garlic Mashed potatoes that we took a couple bits of, but weren’t able to make a dent in due to already being stuffed! So you may ask, what did you do with all this food after you were done? We’ll we did what any smart 20-30 something couple would do with it, we have them box it up and ate it for dinner the next night; which made for a fabulous Sunday dinner that recooked up well in the oven.
Now for a couple observations, our waiter was subpar, I was more impressed with the busboy, since he kept checking on our plates and table to make sure things were cleared or we needed our food packaged up; I’m not deducting points for the service, because overall it was good. The place gives Buca and Macaroni Grill, and probably comes out ahead in the long run, except for how busy they tend to be when you want to go just on a spur of a moment.
I highly suggest Maggiano’s if you are looking for a good, from scratch cooked Italian meal, but just be ready to make a reservation.
Rating:
Maggiano’s Little Italy
3333 Bristol St
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 546-9550
Dominic’s Ristorante Italiano - Cypress
Dominic’s is one of the best Italian places I’ve ever ate at. I’ve tried about 6 or 7 different dishes and so far the Chicken Pizzaolia is the best I’ve had, while the Cheese Raviloi was just ok. The family that runs this place are great, all the staff make you feel at home. Their breadsticks are to die for.
Rating:
Dominic’s Ristorante Italiano
9921 Walker St
Cypress, CA 90630
(714) 821-8080
Mama D’s Italy Kitchen - Newport Beach
The service at Mama D’s is exceptional. Luke (our waiter) made sure we were taken care of every second of our visit. From bread, to refills, to a free taste of their ravioli, and even some free cookies to take with us after our meal. I’ve never been treated as well as they treated us at Mama D’s. The food was good and everything was fresh. My fiancee had the Baked Ziti, and I have the Baked Stuffed Eggplant. Everything was good tasting. The bread was very tasty and they serve it along with a garlic, olive oil mixture..
If you are looking for good food and the most pleasant experience possible when going out to dinner, this is it!
Update 12/2006.
This place is still just as great and as amazing as it was when we first went there. Their service is a cut above and their food is delicious.
Update 01/13/07
We were here for my birthday with a group of 12. Service was exceptional as always. Food was delicious and when our meal was over they sang me happy birthday and gave me a card signed by the entire wait and cook staff that was personalized to me, and including a free appetizer on our next visit. They treat you like you are family and just like family I’m going to keep visiting them!
Rating:
Mama D’s Italy Kitchen
3012 Newport Blvd
Newport Beach, CA 92663
(949) 675-6262
Sal’s Bit of Italy - Anaheim
I really liked their deep dish pizza but it wasn’t quite as good as B.J.s. My wife ordered their thin crust pizza and it wasn’t really that great, so they are getting 3 stars for inconsistent food. Service was great they took good care of us. I’d like to go back and try other food to make a better decision.
Rating:
Sal’s Bit of Italy
918 S Magnolia Ave
Anaheim, CA 92825
(714) 826-3590
Perry’s Pizza - Garden Grove
Perry’s cooks some of the crappiest pizza on the planet. Maybe I just ate too much of it because it was where we always went for pizza parties when I was playing sports as a kid, or maybe it’s because our company always used to order the stuff, but their normal square pizza is so doughy and blah. I actually think it’s because I have taste.
The normal thin pizza is just ok, which is why I am giving them 1 star. Also their hoagies are good, but this is a pizza place you they are getting rated on their main item.
You may remember Perry’s Pizza from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, they get 1 star for Pheobe Cates in that movie too, since she worked there.
Rating:
Perry’s Pizza & Italian Restaurant
6937 Chapman Ave
Garden Grove, CA 92845
(714) 898-7670
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