Mamma Luca
Meatballs made with a mother’s love.
“She would fry the meatballs and they never make it to the dinner table because they were gone. So those are nod to mom.”
And pizza created with a 9-year old sour dough “mother”.
“Our nine year old sour dough proofs on these all natural wood dough trays, which is very old school.”
When it comes to cooking, some would call chef Mario Laposta a “mama’s boy”. And he’s using everything his mama taught him at Mamma Luca.
Set in this charming building on State Street in downtown Portsmouth, Mamma Luca is a new spot featuring recipes chef/owner Mario LaPosta has learned throughout his life- whether it was from his mother, his training or his travels.
“Mamma Luca is inspired by the food of my mom, inspired by my wife and the nine year old sourdough starter, which is the mother and then Lucca is my son. We wanted the name to represent a really simple, authentic Italian restaurant that would really resonate with people and Mama Luca had a lot of meaning.”
The building itself was built in 1814, and features a fun bar serving delicious craft cocktails, countertop seating right at their busy pizza oven and a cozy dining room for something more intimate.
“You're sitting in a really beautiful space that's very modern but also very old at the same time. It's like walking into your home, right where we love, we love hospitality. We love service and food and we love giving people amazing dining experiences.”
Since the pizza oven greets you at the entrance, a pie for the table is an absolute must.
And at Mamma Luca, you can go one of two ways.
“Here we have our Pizza Artigianale, which is a Neapolitan inspired pizza and then we have our Pizza Talia, which is our Roman pan pizza that is showcased on our menu in the restaurant and then we also have our takeout area by the slice.”
The Neopolitan style Pizza Artigianale is truly a treat with options like this one topped with hot Italian salame, nonna’s sauce and lots of mozzarella and for a fancy version of a breakfast pizza, try the Casa Mono.
“It's a bacon and egg pizza with thinly sliced guanciale, a sunny side egg that cooks in the wood fired oven, and black truffle vinaigrette. When it hits the table, you want to break that egg, let it pour all over the pizza, and then it's like carbonara. You want to take your pizza and then dip it in the egg yolk that's on the plate. 100% It's just an explosion of flavors.”
And as for the Pizza Taglio, the Meatball and slice is tasty every time- whether you eat in or get it to go.
“We make a broken meatball ragu. Put that on top of a Roman pan pizza. And after it's done baking, we put on stracciatella. You have this incredibly crispy pizza which is able to hold that broken meatball sauce on top and then you have this really cool, delicate stracciatella that just like, brings it all together. It's a fantastic bite.”
Of course one can not live on pizza alone. So you can opt for apps like the perfectly executed focaccia- which can be paired with creamy housemade ricotta for dipping. Or the yummy spring pea suppli.
“Supli is a Roman style arancini and we change the recipe seasonally. And now we have our spring pea suppli, which has Parmesan risotto with fresh peas and some spring garlic. Really amazing.”
Since we’re at a place inspired by mama’s, ordering nonna’s polpette seems almost like a requirement.
“We grind all the meat fresh in house, so it's 100% brisket, a lot of Parmesan cheese and some really good soaked bread. The meatball is very crisp on the outside, but soft on the inside. Is it. You should definitely have the nonna’s polpette.”
And you should also definitely check out Mama Lucca’s pasta dishes. Like the Rigatoni Amatriciana, a classic Roman dish with guanciale, pecorino and tomato sauce or the deliciously complex cappellaci with house made pasta stuffed with braised oxtail and served in a foie gras butter with 12 year old balsamic.
“When you're eating it, it just has this wow factor with the foie gras and the aged balsamic and the braised oxtail, it's just a flavor explosion.”
And for a taste of Northern Italy, try Mamma Lucca’s Heritage Pork Milanese.
“We do traditional Milanese style. We bread the pork chop and cook it in clarified butter, and then we serve it with a seasonal slaw pairs really nicely with the lightly fried Milanese. “
There are many great ways to end your meal at Mama Lucca. From a shareable Italian Cookie Plate loaded up with nostalgic bakery favorites and a creamy decadent tiramisu with housemade lady fingers. But it’s the complimentary olive oil gelato that really hits the spot.
“We think it's a great way to thank the guests for spending a lot of time with us, and it tastes incredible.”
And if you’re looking to drink your dessert, you should hop on the Negroni flight featuring a classic Negroni along with two rotating versions.
“It's a wonderful way to get introduced to the classic and then see what other variations there are.”
And from start to finish, what Mario really wants you to experience at Mamma Luca is the kind of love his mamas continue to give to him.
“I grew up in a family where everything was based around food and feeding people that came to visit you…and going out to restaurants. Even if I'm home on my day off, I'm probably cooking and feeding people. So it's just something I can't seem to shake and I think I'll be doing this for a lot longer.”
