the 941

Oh Mamma Mia!
3.5 stars
2324 Gulf Gate Drive, Sarasota, 706-2347

On my first visit to Oh Mamma Mia!, a new Italian restaurant in the former Beanstalk spot in Gulf Gate, I was confronted by a giant television projection featuring Italian fencing coverage. That’s gotta be a good sign, I thought. I’m usually opposed to televisions in restaurants, but there’s nothing that sets a scene better than watching mainstream news media from another country discussing the latest foil and saber competition.

Oh’s traditional and tasty food completes the scene.

Chef and owner Giuseppe Urbano (pictured above) has created a menu that cuts to the very heart of what mid-range Italian restaurants in the U.S. should be about: classic techniques and recipes at affordable prices. There’s little of the N.Y.-ified dishes like chick parm that you’ll find at family pizzeria restaurants, but Urbano also doesn’t reach for heights of the genre. His food is simply and capably accomplished, with little fuss.

Carbonara — a staple item on many Italian restaurant menus — is usually made in a compromised fashion for American tastes, with a cheesy cream sauce laced with ham or bacon. Here, carbonara is made the old-fashioned way, the hot pasta tossed last minute with raw eggs and cheese, resulting in a gooey, rich and profoundly eggy flavor seasoned with salty pancetta. It’s fantastic.

So is simple salmon, scallops and shrimp lined with charred grill marks and served with a side of pasta dressed in simple marinara. Some of Oh’s pastas, like the fettuccine covered in bolognese, are homemade. The rich tomato and silky beef meld right into the delicate noodles, like a bowl of good old spaghetti and meat sauce that’s much better than you remember.

The tomato soup (fortified with a bit of cream) is more bright than rich, with a subtle burst of basil to accent each bite. Oh’s ravioli are straightforward, but damn tasty, and four-cheese pasta is doused in luscious béchamel with a hint of gorgonzola. There’s both fresh pasta and béchamel in the lasagna, which manages to be light but filling thanks to the downright un-American lack of heavy cheese and buckets of sauce.

Appetizers are even simpler than the entrées: mussels doused in garlic cooked enough to soften harsh flavors, and polenta, fried and topped with peppery mushrooms and parmigiano, a hearty way to start the meal.

Oh is in a shotgun strip mall space with barely room enough for one row of table down the right wall and the open kitchen down the left, and early word of mouth has the tables filling on weekend nights. But with so few seats, Urbano realizes he has the potential to cook for more than just an eat-in audience. He encourages people to stop by for substitute home-cooking by offering 20 percent off on all takeout. The prices are already so reasonable (entrées average in the mid-teens) that the discount turns Oh’s food into cheap eats that taste like high-end fare.

Sit down for a meal, though, and you’ll be able to watch the chefs cook thanks to a mirror showing the prep board, like in a teaching kitchen. You’ll also see that Urbano has a way with customers. When dining with my young son, he approached the table and crouched down to bond with the boy, announcing that he would make him whatever he’d like. He also has a free hand with coupons for anyone he recognizes from previous visits, taking the time to get feedback about their meals. He has the type of personality — and food — that will encourage casual patrons to become devoted regulars.

And, since the tables were packed on a recent Friday night even before prime dining time, I think he’s already made an impact.

Photos by Editorial Intern Christina Ostrye

Bookmark to:

Posted in Food and Drink, Sarasota-Manatee | Leave a comment