Pizza is everywhere. In big chain restaurants, school cafeterias, and mom and pop shops offering styles from every region. Still, authentic pizza can be hard to find – until now. MammaMia Deli Market has opened an annex to its business: Gino and Gianni’s Pizzeria.
The menu offers traditional and Sicilian style pizza at the counter by the slice, or by 18” pies. They also serve homemade specialties like lasagna, meatballs, and arancini.
MammaMia’s goal is to not only provide imported products and fresh food, but also to deliver an authentic Italian experience. When I attended the grand opening of the pizzeria, they delivered on their promise. From floor to ceiling (literally) there was something to enliven my senses. I noticed a coterie of customers and Mama Mia employees, talking with one another and bonding over the products.
I ordered a whole pie and an arancini. Arancini starts with a hearty ragu sauce encapsulated in a cheesy risotto mixture that is lightly breaded and deep fried. The coating was extremely light and crisp, the rice and the cheese combination was nutty and flavorful, and the ragu sauce added the richness and comfort that can only be found in truly loved homemade food.
While living in San Diego, I have tried a few varieties of “authentic, Italian-style pizza,” but this was the first time I actually believed the claim. The pizza sauce offers a bright and sweet tomato flavor without any hint of bitterness. The crust is made with 00 flour, a highly refined Italian flour, and it was somehow equally crisp and tender. The crust itself was not too tough to eat on its own and the thinness upheld the quality ingredients on top.
Spring Valley resident Krystal Kemery lived in Sicily for three and a half years as a part of her husband’s military service. Since then, has been on the hunt for authentic Italian fare. She said that she had been struggling to find something truly homemade, until she found MammaMia.
Before the pizzeria’s opening, she was a regular customer of the deli market for its pasta and gelato, and she attended the grand opening of the pizzeria with her two kids.
“The flavor is amazing,” she said. “It tastes just like it did (in Italy) 20 years ago.”
