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Mama’s Cucina Italiana: Mama Mia That’s a Fantastic Restaurant

An Italian chef, freshly made pasta and the best ingredients is a recipe for a memorable dining experience

Published on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 | 5:25 pm
 

 

Chef Luciano cuts fresh fettuccini

Italian restaurants. They’re everywhere. But great Italian restaurants, that’s another story. Add to that a great Italian restaurant that makes their own pasta and ravioli daily and you’ve got a rare gem.

Enter Mama’s Cucina Italiana in the Pala Casino Resort Hotel. Off the 15 on the way to San Diego, this restaurant is definitely worth a dinner reservation. Chef Luciano Cibelli has made Mama’s a haven of fresh Italian goodness set in the tree-covered hills of the Temecula wine country.

When I say Chef Luciano’s kitchen makes its own pasta, I mean they actually handmake every variety of pasta the restaurant serves! Not just a stray noodle or two, but from soup to nuts; ribbon-like fettuccini, ultra-thin angel hair, spaghetti and ravioli. Yes, real honest to goodness freshly made ravioli. Every day, Chef Luciano creates a house special. On our visit it was filled with roasted vegetables and fresh ricotta cheese.

 

Chef Luciano looks on as Guest Development Manager, Michael Jordan savors his masterpiece

After watching chef put together the ravioli with golf ball-sized filling, we licked our lips as he cooked us up a batch with a fresh marinara sauce and slice of provolone cheese; bellissimo! There’s nothing better than fresh; fresh tomatoes, garlic, cheese and pasta. All the flavors shine through in an amazing amalgam of honest taste.

My companion and I returned later for dinner (after tasting the preview, how could I not return for the main event?). Chef Luciano began our culinary adventure with the Calamari e Zucchini Fritti, a mixture of calamari, zucchini, eggplant, dates and thinly sliced lemon. He explained that his idea was to “cut the lemon very thin and fry with the calamari, dates, zucchini and eggplant and when you eat you get a freshness, you don’t need to squeeze lemon on it.”

The end result was lightly breaded, tender and delicious and when combined with the accompanying fresh tomato sauce it was mouthwatering. The addition of the dates was an interesting touch.  Chef Luciano noted “when you deep fry (the dates) then the texture changes – you’ve got to try.”

 

Fresh ravioli stuffed with cheese and grilled vegetables

Next on our culinary adventure was a plate of Caprese – and not just any Caprese but fresh tomatoes and basil accompanied by Chef’s family recipe mozzarella cheese. The cheese is a “family recipe it’s very old. I would call it an upgrade of mozzarella,” Chef said. (It certainly was one of the best cheeses I’ve tasted.)

The main course for my companion was Bistecca, which is a 16oz Prime grilled rib-eye steak served over arugula with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. The grilled prime beef with a touch of smoke married with the peppery arugula and exploded on the taste buds.

I was treated to the ribbons of fettuccini made earlier that day coated with an authentic Alfredo sauce with chunks of chicken. Creamy, buttery and with just a hint of nutmeg; food doesn’t get better than this.

For dessert we enjoyed an assortment: profiteroles, cream puffs filled with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with hot fudge, tiramisu made with lady fingers and real honest-to-goodness mascarpone cheese that was light as a feather and tasted of espresso, marsala wine and chocolate. The crowning glory was the authentic Italian cheese cake made with ricotta cheese and orange zest; a delightful end to a wonderful meal.

Prices at Mama’s Cucina Italiana are moderate and what you see is what you get, they charge no sales tax! They are opened for dinner Sunday – Thursday, 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 5:00 – 11:00 p.m. They located inside the Pala Casino Spa Resort Hotel, 11154 Highway 76 in Pala, California. For reservations and more information call (760) 510-5100 or log onto .

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