La Pizzeria - Little Italy's Newest

During this year's Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy, they were handing out coupons for La Pizzeria, which was suppose to be open by Fall 2009; well it has taken a bit longer then that, but it is finally open this week. Located at 2188 Murray Hill Road (the corner of Murray Hill and Cornell) (see map here) across from the Baricelli Inn, they have taken the corner space that used to be a gallery and transformed it into a nice little spot to pick up some reasonably priced good food. Walking inside you will find a nicely set up small space with four tables and a service counter. The old space nicely mixes the old such as the tin ceiling with modern fixtures and a green and red paint scheme to provide a warm inviting feel. The place is obviously set up for mainly takeout and delivery, but eating at the shop is just fine. The menu is based around pizzas, calzones, subs and gellato with some salads, wings and pastas thrown in. The prices are reasonable and while nothing seems terribly innovative or new, if done well this kind of food is very popular. I had a small mushroom pizza and was very pleased. Cut into 6 slices the pizza was excellent with a thin crust that was turned up at the edges to make it seem almost deep dish. The crust was probably the highlight of the pizza, with a good crisp to the bottom and a very pleasant flavor, no flavorless bread here. The sauce was a nicely balanced tomato sauce, with a fresh tomato flavor that complimented the pizza. The cheese mix covered the pizza nicely and had just the right cheesy bite from the provolone mixed with the mozzarella. The overall pizza worked well together, it was cooked just right with all of the elements coming together well. I probably should have waited on the first piece, since I had a bit of a cheese slide, but once everything had set the other pieces were no problem. There is a gellato case up front, but it will be a little while until they have any to serve. La Pizzeria is an interesting idea, but seems to duplicate a lot of what is available in the area; put this up in Beachwood, or Shaker instead of in Little Italy and it would be fairly unique. As it is, this seems well set up to appeal to the neighborhood and to the Case Western Reserve students, but has a lot of direct competition. They seem committed to high quality food at a reasonable price, here's hoping they succeed and thrive.

La Dolce Vita - Little Italy Bistro

I know that it has been a little while since my last post; been back to some favorites (Tom's for Dim Sum, Ritchie Chan's for Chinese) and been doing some cooking at home. But I was down at Case Law School, my Alma mater for a CLE and I figured I would use the gift certificate I had for La Dolce Vita in Little Italy. I was lucky enough to pick up some discounted gift certificates from one of the radio websites a little while back, so I had $25 to spend, which is a good thing, since LDV is very good but a bit expensive. Located at 12112 Mayfield at the intersection of Murray Hill Road, LDV has expanded over the years to occupy several connected storefronts. Walking in the corner store I was quickly greeted a seated, by my choice, at the bar. The decor is a an eclectic mix of Italian, Opera, a mask collection (which really agrees with me) that all comes together into an welcoming combination of relaxed and romantic. The atmosphere is unique and I liked it a lot. The bartender was friendly and helpful, knowledgeable about the menu and the specials. After looking through the menu and the specials (menu can be seen here), I decided on getting the Lentil Soup and the Clams Tarantino. The soup took a while to come out, but when it did it was a nice bowl of lentils, carrots, onions and cherry tomatoes in a nice vegetable broth; a bit underseasoned, but a nice light bowl of soup. The Clams Tarntino was even better; a large portion of fresh pasta was topped with baby clams, thin slices of zucchini and the cherry tomatoes. The pasta was excellent, the clams were beautiful little (about fingernail sized) that were tender and delicious with the zucchini and tomatoes offering a nice contrast; I might say that the dish was a bit underseasoned, but considering how delicate the clams were more seasoning could have overpowered them. Then interesting thing was that while often the first taste is the best, in this case the flavor seemed to build the more I ate, with the last forkful and the sop afterwards being even more satisfying then the start. Accompanying the meal were a couple of fresh baked rolls and butter. With the soup being $5 and the pasta $19, this is certainly not the cheapest place in town, especially considering that salads and other sides are Ala carte, but the food is very good and distinctive, not your everyday Italian, the atmosphere is very good, especially if you are looking for some romance. While I wouldn't be hitting La Dolce Vita on a regular basis, this is certainly a restaurant that I would recommend especially for the right ocassion or if you are in the mood for some very good Italian food and the cost is less important. Finally, I will remind you that if you like the blog, you consider making a donation to Bowl For Kids Sake for Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters; any amount would be welcome and more information is available at this post. Thank you.

Mama Santa's - Heart of Little Italy

Looking back over the past entries it is hard to believe that I haven't reviewed Mama Santa's, one of my late Dad's favorites. Located in the middle of Cleveland's Little Italy, at 12301 Mayfield Road, Mama Santa's has been dishing up very good Sicilian Italian food at incredibly reasonable prices for decades. As the rest of Little Italy has changed, with new restaurants, and even new digs for such old school places as Corbo's and Pristi's, Mama Santa's has remained the same, serving traditional food in a nice dimly lit restaurant. While the restaurant may not be a stunner, it has a certain old time charm. Instead of trying to get a retro feel, Mama Santa's has just kept the same decor through out its long tenure on the Cleveland scene, which is just the way it should be. Walking in today feels like it has since at least the 1970s when I was a kid, almost like going back to your parents house. The nice part about the decor is that it never was very trendy or hip to begin with, so that over time it has aged well. In addition to not changing the decor, the menu has pretty much remained the same for all those years as well. There have been some price increases, but even those have been few. Prices range mostly below $10 and the portions are good without being overly large. If you ask people in Cleveland about Mama Santa's there is almost always an argument about the pizza, some love it, others hate it. I fall on the love side, but understand the other side. The dough is thin, without being so thin that it cannot hold up the cheese, with a good crust around the outside. The sauce is obviously home made and has enough zip to keep things interesting, the cheese is a nice layer, and while it tends to end up a bit greasy, I personally like my pizza that way. Toppings are limited, to the classics: sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, green peppers and anchovies. The one thing I will agree with most is that Mama Santa's does have a tendency to overook the pizza. Overall this is one of the most authentic and tasty pizzas you will find in the area. I especially like to pick one up if I am heading home from downtown at the right time. At $7.50 for a large it is a great deal and a welcome relief from bland middle of the road chain pizzas. The rest of the menu is fairly simple, with sandwiches, pastas (both regular and home made) and some veal and chicken entrees. My father loved the Veal Scallopini, nice sized pieces of Veal in a tomato sauce with onions and peppers. The pasta sauces are good traditional sauces, with real herbs and seasonings slow cooked into the kind of goodness that cannot be rushed. The food is served simply and tastes good, what more could you ask for. A couple of things to keep in mind; Mama Santa's is closed on Sundays and since they are at E.123rd and Mayfield, it is very difficult to find parking most nights. Despite that going there is a trip worth making, you will not find fancy decor or modern food trends, but you will get really good food, cooked well at very affordable prices. Mama Santa's is an especially good place to get a meal for East siders headed to or from Downtown.