Mama Roberto's - Mentor Italian Good Food - Updated

Update - I was out to Mama Robertos last night and had the Linguini with white clam sauce; very nice with al dente linguini smoothered with a ton of chopped clams in a light white wine sauce with garlic and some roasted red peppers. The amazing thing was the size. I couldn't even get through half of the portion served. Truly amazing. Also had the house salad and it is good and crisp and used as a shredded cheese delivery device. The house Italian was nice and a bit sweet. Another good meal and I have the second half of it waiting in the fridge at home. ________________________________________________ A little confession, part of the inspiration for this blog is Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network. I have to say that while it doesn't fit any of those categories, Mama Roberto's in Mentor fits the general theme of the show; big portions of freshly prepared food. Based on recommendations from friends I have been meaning to get to Mentor to try Mama Roberto's. Located at one end of a small commercial strip at 8658 Mentor Avenue this is a nice newer restaurant. Inside the decor feels light with an Italian feel from the green, red and white predominate colors. The kitchen is in one of the back corners and the overall feel is nice, clean and casual. You start out with an outstanding bread basket that Guy would refer to as 'Money'. A couple of large slices of thick cut Italian bread were joined by fresh made garlic rolls. The bread was all perfect; cruchy crust with a soft inside. A great way to start the meal. I ordered the Eggplant Parimgana sandwich with the side of pasta. For around $6 I got two huge slices of garlic bread around thick cut slices of wonderfully baked eggplant topped with a chunky sweet marianara and melted cheese. The eggplant was especially good, since it was not breaded or fried. Fork tender and not at all bitter, this is how eggplant should be cooked. The portion was very large and with a nice bowl of spaghetti topped with the same marinara sauce, more then filling. Lets talk about the sauce for a minute, rather then the usual marinara, Moma Roberto's makes a sauce that is chunks of sweet tomatos with littel extra seasoning or cooking. The flavor is bright and bold, but you are not going to get the usual herbal flavors, so don't expect a lot of seasoning here. Watching the other tables in the restaurant I was amazed at the size of the portions being served. The servings were more then enough to make two meals, and that seems to be the approach of most of the customers as almost every table left with a sizable to go bag. About the only negative comment I could come up with here was the music playing in the background which seemed to be early 50s popular songs, but even that changed to 60s rock during my visit. Mama Roberto's is certainly popular and with good reason. This is a nice casual Italian restaurant serving huge portions of very good freshly made food. The food is not complex, but it is wholesome and flavorful. Give this a try, if for no other reason then to enjoy the bread.

Bar Cento - Ohio City Hot Spot

So I headed out to Bar Cento on Friday. Located on W25th Street, right across from the West Side Market in Ohio City, this is one of Cleveland's hot spots. The decor is nice, casual but relatively simple, with the restaurant fairly dark and the table set with a bottle of water, a bag of bread, some little plates and a small bucket with the silverware and some paper towels. The menu is also casual and relatively simple but very good Italian. We started with a Margherita pizza that was excellent. A very thin and crisp square crust is topped with fresh tomatos, fresh mozzeralla and basil leaves. The combination of flavors was bright and nicely balanced. We then shared an order of the pomme frites. A big order of twice fried potatoes was served with 3 different mayonnaises and ketchup. The fries were crisp, although I would have like a slightly smaller cut on the potato. The mayonnaise dipping sauces were good, although it started to become hard to tell one from the other. Finally I had an order of the Mussels. A nice portion of good sized mussels came out in an very zippy broth with a couple of long crutton like breads for soaking. The mussels were very good and well balanced, surprisingly once the mussels were gone, the broth was a bit overpowering to be sopped up with the bread. Overall a very good meal at a really fun place. I would strongly recommend the pizza and everything else was good. There is a happy hour with reduced prices on selected items from 5-7 on weekdays.

Melt - Update

Well Melt has added the space next door and they did fabulous job of making it look like it has been there all along. The space provides a couple of extra tables, which will be used when the patio is closed and a lot more space to allow people to wait for tables to become available. Nice job. I also wanted to mention that Melt has a brunch menu available all day on Sunday and while not extensive, the egg dishes, french toast and waffles sound great and look to be really well prepared. On my last couple of trips here, I have added the soup of the day to my feasting. Certainly didn't need it since the sandwiches are enough to fill up even me, but they sounded so good I had to give them a try. And I was very happy with the soups. The soups are served in one of Melt's many variety mugs and they tasted home made. Thick and rich, without being overpowering and seasoned very well, this is what soup should be like. Finally, I wanted to give a big shout out to the staff at Melt. Everytime I have been there they have been friendly, knowlegable about the food and drink selection and seemingly having a good time despite being busy. It might be working in a place that puts out consistently outstanding food, it might be that the management does a very good job of hiring and training or it just might be a lucky happenstance. In an case we all complain enough about bad service, so lets try to recognize and more importantly reward good service. Remember to throw a little something extra in the tip when you think the server deserves it.

Madsen Donuts - Yummy

After having one of the best meals in a long time at Piero's (see the previous entry) I needed something sweet so I headed down and across the street to Madsen Donuts at 5428 Lake Road. The sign says that it has been there since 1938 and I believe them. This is genuine scratch donuts made the old fashion way. The shop is small and you can watch the donuts in various stages of being made so you know these are fresh. A small glass counter has the donuts; you may be disappointed in the variety, I counted 8 different kinds, but you will not be disappointed in the flavor. I had the creme stick and the cinnamon stick and they were delicious. Flavorful and fresh with rich real flavors and good texture. If you watch Alton Brown's Feasting on Asphalt on the Food Network, this is the kind of place he would love. So if you need a sugar fix and are in the Geneva area, head to the strip and grab some donuts, you will not be dissapointed.