Download February 2011 - Bite Magazine

BiteFeb2011:Layout 1 27/1/11 18:29 Page 13Review: Mamma’s TraditionalAmerican Pizza and PanzerottiAn American pie lieSometimes, we review places that turnout to be disappointing. During a recentvisit, unfortunately Mamma’s in theGrassmarket was ‘that place.’ I always give fairconsideration as to whether or not it wasactually a bad meal, or if it just didn’t live upto expectationsIn the first week of the New Year, my weesister Mim and I decided we’d had enough of‘meat and veg’ dinners, and headed out forsome pizza. The bright restaurant had a goodbuzz and a cracking retro soundtrack. Mimordered a beer, a glass of rosé for me, andstarters arrived soon after the drinks.Firstly the baked mushrooms, served withgarlic butter and garlic bread. The texture ofthe button mushies was soggy and suggestedthey’d ‘done time’ inside a steamer rather thanan oven. Tasty enough, but the texture wastotally off-putting. The feta salad with olivesand pine nuts was marginally better, butsimilarly mediocre thanks to the partneringredients of iceberg lettuce and cateringolives. The cheese-vs-leaves ratio was alsototally wrong. If the basic ingredients and amore careful hand were involved, it couldhave been fine, but reality was an over-saltyfeta fest.I still had high hopes for a crispy thin-crustdelight, but they were dashed when thepizzas arrived at the table. They weredecidedly blonde, and it was clear that onehad spent longer in the oven than the other.We chose our own ingredients, Mim’s withartichokes, olives and anchovies, and minewith a classic combo of pepperoni andpeppers. I can’t fault the generous amount oftoppings, but they were barely heatedthrough, and the dough was bland and soggyunder the cheese.Disheartened by it all, the only answer wasdessert –a crowd-pleaser comprising wellbakedbrownie, lots of flaked almonds andsweet Di Rollo’s chocolate ice cream. With itsoptimistic cherry on top, this really was thebest thing we’d had all night.I’ve eaten to-die-for pizzas in San Franciscoand New York, and it looks like I’ll be forkingout another airfare for decent American-stylepizza. In the meantime, thankfully, there areplenty of places in Edinburgh with a goodwood-fired margherita just waiting for me!The Bill: £49.10 including 2 drinks pp (L. Arfa)Mamma's Traditional AmericanPizza and Panzerotti– 30 Grassmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2JU– 0131 225 6464– www.mammas.co.ukOpening hoursSun–Thu 12pm-11pm, Fri and Sat 12pm-12am13