Photography by Stephen Buchanan & Tony Lewis, Jr.
There’s a reason why on any given night you’ll find a crowd buzzing around an otherwise nondescript retail space tucked within the Piney Orchard community shopping center—at Momma Roma, the cuisine is consistently delicious. This superlative can’t be overstated and isn’t disingenuous—on yet another visit to this Italian eatery, for this very dining review, my family ordered the house and enjoyed every bite. In fact, midway into our meal, my wife, completely unprovoked, announced to the room, “This is the kind of food I just love!” Many diners would nod in agreement.
For 22 years, Momma Roma has endeared itself to the Odenton community for several reasons. First, the restaurant is hands-on operated by Italian brothers Rino and Bruno, who have followed in their parents’ footsteps of bringing the family’s Naples heritage to the plate with authentic and successful restaurants in the region. Second, many of the classic and creative dishes are family recipes and prepared as such, using fresh and flavorful ingredients—the food is tasty. Third is the family’s philanthropic passion as a major sponsor, supporter, and organizer of the local Wreaths Across America program, which honors deceased military veterans by placing thousands of wreaths on their graves each December holiday season.
The dining room is unpretentious but features artistic nods to Old World charm—black and white photos of Italy adorn one wall, large hand-painted landscape murals on another. The décor feels inviting with mood lighting and amber-tone wood trim, molding, lattice, tables, and chairs balanced against classic subway tiling for the floor. The restaurant’s signature Piccolo Espresso Bar resides near the main entry, brewing and whisking coffee concoctions, and features a display case with tempting eye candy—housemade cookies, confections, and traditional desserts. Getting to and in the restaurant is easy, though you may have to wait for a table on a busy night—the nearby walking trails, pond, and playground offer distraction to while away the time. Our family was seated at a booth nestled against the colorful murals and service was prompt and efficient between our waitress and several runners.
The expansive menu was enjoyable to peruse with swaths of dishes and descriptions from which appetizers, soups, salads, baked entrees, “Gladiator’s Selections,” or selections of veal, seafood, and chicken specialties are chosen. But wait, there’s more! Pizzas, strombolis, calzones, submarine sandwiches, and, of course, a children’s menu. Honestly, if you’re in good company, I recommend ordering a range of dishes and sharing them family-style. And let the drinks flow if that’s the mood you’re in (safely of course). Mamma Roma offers a variety of beers, wines, tea, specialty coffees, and Pepsi products.
To begin our feast, we chose two plates, the Shrimp Barca and Calamari Fritti. The shrimp dish is one we’ve enjoyed on previous visits. It’s basically our go-to starter because the rich, creamy peppercorn cognac sauce that drenches the plump shrimp atop thick slices of Italian toast is addictive. The entire mouthfeel of this dish works. Calamari Fritti is a baseline dish of which you can compare to many competing restaurants’ versions. Mamma hit the right notes here with an herb-seasoned batter for the small slices and slivers of squid that were fried crisp and hit with a dash of salt upon exit from the oil. The coating had a thin-crackle that conveyed a lightness, which elevated this version above many others. And to dip the salty morsels in Mamma’s accompanying homemade marinara sauce was to experience perfect yin and yang—the tart tomato zing countered the fried profile.
Main dishes were trickier to decide upon. So many options. But we settled on several—the Homemade Lasagna, Pollo Zingara, and Seafood Extravaganza. Hearty begins to describe all three of these offerings. The portions were large (large enough to bring home leftover portions) and the protein in each dish was generous—equitable in amount to their pasta base. I found the layered lasagna easy enough to fork through—no knife needed—and safe. This is to say, the dish was simple and decently-constructed—its presentation was classic. I do feel the slice on our plate could have benefitted from more filling—specifically ricotta cheese. Pollo Zingara needed nothing…it was as well-executed a dish as I’ve ever had at Mamma Roma or many other Italian eateries. The blend of grilled chicken breast, artichokes, chunks of roasted pepper, black olives, and capers swirled with linguini pasta and a buttery lemon sauce was devoured. Even the children expressed joy with this dish.
Seafood Extravaganza is like a coastal Italian take on Spanish paella. Instead of a rice base, the cherry tomato broth concoction with clams, mussels, shrimp, scallops, calamari, and blue crab is served atop linguini. The mollusk and crustacean flavors comingled within a lightly-spiced sauce, delivering delicious forkfuls and just enough of the six seafoods to give a taste of each to everyone.
For our sweet finish, I premeditated the choice of tiramisu. Mamma’s recipe (and, goodness, I trust it’s their recipe and made inhouse) is absolutely spectacular. The moist layers of coffee-soaked cake, mascarpone, and cocoa were dreamy. “The kind of dessert I just love,” I said, sort of mimicking my wife. Our table agreed and we left with a return date already in mind.
Mamma Roma 8743 Piney Orchard Parkway, Odenton | 410-695-0247 | mammaromas.com
