Dining Out …
with Family at
Written By Larry J. Mickartz
W
Crab Cakes Aioli
Calamari Fritti
Linguini Con Pesto with Prawns
e mixed it up again.
Instead of dining out
with friends we dined
with family this time. One of the
grandkids sparked the grandparent
guilt by remarking that we always take
friends out, what about them?
So on a pleasant fall night we took
our three local grandkids and their
mom, Stephanie, to a local favorite,
Mama Mia’s Restaurant, Mediterranean
Cuisine in Gilroy. The girls had a great
time ordering whatever they wanted!
We did stipulate that we would not
allow the youngest, Lexi, to start with
ice cream.
The fraternal twins, Addison and
Isabella are eleven, and Lexi is eight
years old. They are fairly adventurous
eaters so it was fun watching them
peruse the menu and pick items they
had never had before.
We started with appetizers.
Although the “Antipasti” on the menu
confused them a bit at the start, they
quickly got the hang of it. We opted
for the Crab Cakes Aioli (Pan-seared
crab cakes served with fresh fruit
salsa and red bell pepper aioli sauce)
and the Calamari Fritti (calamari
lightly breaded and fried just right,
served with cocktail and tartar sauce).
These were consumed quickly and
completely. Isabella declared the Crab
Cakes a “10 out of 10.” One of girls
quickly retorted “who cares this is
really good” when asked to describe the
Calamari. J. Chris really enjoyed the
tenderness and found them to be very
light and fresh. A sprinkle of lime was
just the right complement.
Next up were the entrees, Mama
Mia’s has an extensive menu and the
girls were all over it. Little Lexi opted
for the Create Your Own Pasta and
selected from their four sauces, six
pastas and four additions—Alfredo
sauce on Capellini with prawns.
Addison went for the Linguini Con
Pesto (Linguini pasta with a creamy
garlic pesto sauce topped with fresh
tomatoes); while Isabella wanted the
Calabrese (Fettuccini pasta tossed with
homemade spicy Italian sausage, diced
tomatoes, onion and meat sauce).
Stephanie ordered the Mediterranean
Chicken Polenta (Chicken tenders
sautéed with garlic, scallions, artichoke,
red bells, and Kalamata olives in a
cilantro ginger sauce, served over
grilled polenta garnished with fried
leeks). J.Chris was adventurous and
ordered the Lebanese Scampi (large
prawns sautéed with imported olives,
Lebanese Scampi
Mediterranean Chicken Polenta
98
Veal Piccata
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
WINTER 2020
gmhtoday.com