 Dining room manager Amy Brine fills the mint bowl before dinner service. YA MAMMA’S 75 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack 578-9201; yamammas.com
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That’s why we occasionally like to go back and review a restaurant that’s been around for a number of years and make sure it has withstood the test of time. That’s what brought us to Ya Mamma’s in Merrimack on a recent evening.
Chef Michael Ferrazzani’s chef-owned and family operated eatery has received a lot of good press over the years. It was a top pick by numerous local media outlets for many years and was featured on the Food Network’s “The Best of …” show as one of the best Italian restaurants in the country as recently as 2006.
On the surface it would seem that this is a place that continues to earn its reputation. Not surprisingly, Ya Mamma’s is a busy place and I’d recommend reservations on the most popular nights.
The star here is the food, which is as it should be. To start, I ordered the Ya Mamma’s ravioli ($6.95). The ravioli are breaded and deep fried then baked with prosciutto and Provolone cheese.
Breaded cheese-filled dough with cheese and ham on top? Please. That’s heaven as far as I’m concerned. What really put me over the top, however, was that it was on a bed of Chef Michael’s marinara sauce that was full of tomatoey goodness. It’s not too chunky and not too thin, but pretty much just right.
The best part about the sauce is that if you like it, you can buy it by the quart right on the premises: Ya Mamma’s specialty shop offers sauces and Italian groceries, including, most importantly, the restaurant’s homemade desserts.
My dining companion ordered the Lumache Muiscuglio ($11.95), a medley of snails, shrimp and artichoke hearts sautéed in olive oil with garlic. The dish is finished in white wine, lemon and butter and served over garlic toast points.
Something of a garlic aficionado, he said that he found the dish very bland with garlic so light it was hardly noticeable. “A miss, in my opinion,” he told me. What can I say? The man likes his garlic.
On this evening, we had brought our young vegetarian dining companion along. For an entree he chose the fettucine primavera ($14.95), which had a nice medley of vegetables smothered in Alfredo sauce and served over fettucine. It was a huge portion that filled the plate. While he was unable to finish it, he deemed it very good, but messy because there was a lot of Alfredo sauce, (which really wasn’t a complaint) and it was served on smallish plate (which was).
My other dining companion decided on the parechi di Marsala ($24.95), which consists of a medallion of veal and a medallion of chicken, sauteed in olive oil with fresh scallops, jumbo shrimp and Portobello mushrooms flamed in Marsala wine. The dish is topped with diced prosciutto and provolone. His assessment: To die for. The veal was fork tender, as was the chicken, and the scallops melted in the mouth.
“Definitely a ‘would order again’ dish,” he said.
How could I resist ordering the veal a la Michael? After all, it was billed as “Featured on the Food Network.” The dish ($18.95) consisted of a veal medallion stuffed with prosciutto, pepperoncini, roasted red peppers, Provolone and green olives, then rolled and breaded before cooking. It’s topped with what they call sun-dried tomato butter, but is more of a creamy red sauce.
 Pescatore Arrosti contains fresh Prince Edward Island mussels, Canadian sea scollops, shrimp and fresh tuna sauteed in olive oil with baby spinich, roasted red peppers, portabello mushrooms finished with a roasted red pepper butter sauce. (DAVID LANE photos/Union Leader) |
After my appetizer, I could only get about halfway through it before declaring a truce and having the rest bagged to bring home. (It was delicious the next day, by the way.)
We groaned when it came time for dessert, but we asked to see the dessert tray anyway. We are, after all, professionals. As I mentioned before, all the desserts all homemade by Chef Michael, so we expected good things, which is what we got.
Our young dining companion chose the Oreo cannoli ($3.50). I would have expected a cannoli stuffed with a creamy filling laced with crushed Oreos, but what he got was a cannoli shell filled with a nice, dark and creamy chocolate filling to which he gave high marks and then promptly devoured.
My other dining companion opted for the flourless chocolate cake ($5.95), which was topped with a chocolate ganache drizzle. If you like chocolate fudge, this is a wonderful dessert.
I chose the chocolate divine ($5.95), a brownie-like base topped with mousse, fresh whipped cream and crumbled biscotti then enrobed in chocolate. It was, in a word, decadent. I gamely attacked it, but couldn’t get very far before I gave up, too sated to go any farther.
It would really almost be worth it to make three separate trips Ya Mamma’s: One for an appetizer, one for a main course and one for dessert and cappuccino — I’m sure I’d be full and satisfied on all three trips.
We’re happy to report that Ya Mamma’s scored well in the final tally. The food was excellent, the ambiance comfortable and the service was friendly and attentive.
Despite the years that have passed, Ya Mamma’s continues to deserve its fine reputation.
Is there a restaurant you’d like Our Gourmet to review? E-mail gourmet@unionleader.com.
