Skip to main contentChef/owner Lisa Schroeder's Mama Mia dishes up a comfort-food throwback to the days when Italian meant red sauce, and plenty of it. Swagged burgundy drapes, gold paint and small chandeliers make a suitable jewel-box setting for an old-country greatest hits menu. Skip the forgettable house salad and the completely flavorless Caesar and go for a starter like calamari or the spinach-stuffed portabella, a sort of mushroom Rockefeller. The semi-spicy marinara on the penne all'arrabiata is agreeable and familiar, and even carbonara, that coronary in a bowl, achieves a certain lightness. The Rat Pack would sneer at the kiddie-martini list (cantaloupe, tangerine, cucumber); try an Italian soda or the housemade lemonade instead, or check out the wine list (light on the Willamettes, heavy on the Italians). The young servers are adequate. (KA)
WWeek 2015