You always hear about hidden gems and hole in the wall places that have amazing food. This is one of those places. It's built from what used to be a house, you walk around the back to check in, the front is for takeout orders. It looks unassuming when you walk in the table cloths are red and white checkerboard and it reminds you of eating at your grandma's or aunt's house for supper.
The menu is simple and not very fussy, there's paper baskets on the table in case you want to share any food, water and wine are served in plastic cups. I couldn't make heads or tails of the place, on the one hand everything is presented in such a casual way and is very unassuming on the other hand I had to make a reservation weeks in advance and the place was indeed booked solid when we arrive. Once the food arrives everything makes sense.
We started with Marriage Salad with meatballs. It was a fresh, vibrant salad with a unique dressing and the meatballs were spectacular. I got linguine with pork and meat sauce, my wife liked the meatballs so much she ordered Spaghetti with meatballs and Palomino sauce. The pasta is all homemade and tastes better than any Italian **restaurant** I have been to in the last decade. When I asked about the pork, our server told us it is cooked over 12 hours in sauce and it honestly tastes every bit like it was but the meat sauce that it came with was even better. The Palomino sauce my wife got with her spaghetti and meatballs was out of this world good. The best way I can describe it is an Italian gravy, it's rich and creamy yet still tastes like tomato but way more savory it is one of the best sauces I've ever had.
The food at Mumma Maria's is exceptional for what you pay. I've been to places that try to be fancy and will charge you an arm and leg for food that is half as good.
