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Atlantic City Magazine Award
-- 1997 Best Crab Cakes
-- 1998 Best Italian Restaurant at the Shore - “Eating at Mama Mia’s is like eating at home if your mama is a gourmet Italian chef. Homemade pasta specialties along with grilled fish, steaks and poultry arrive at your tables with a decidely Mediterranean accent.
-- 1999 Knife and Fork Award for favorite Cape May County Restaurant
-- 1999 Best of the Shore Award for Italian Restaurant
Press of Atlantic City
-- 1989 “If you were trying to impress a date, a client or a boss, would you take the person to dinner a Mama Mia’s Pizzeria? You should. Despite the name, Mama Mia’s has outstanding food and service and a charming little dining room. The owner, we figured that’s who it was, takes the time out to talk to his customers. He’ll obviously need more time in the future.” -- Ed Hitzel
-- 1993 “Mama Mia’s good spot for special meals...The delicious food at Mama Mia’s was enhanced by the good service.” -- Debra Rosman
-- 1997 - “The food at Mama Mia’s is cooked to order and well worth a wait -- with fresh, high quality ingredients, robust sauces and loving preparation. If you have some time to savor a good Italian dinner -- mangia! -- J.C. Kerr
Zagat Survey
-- 1999 Food 23; Decor 18; Service 22 - Located on Route 9, this strip mall Italian packs ‘em in for ‘large portions’ of ‘varied’ standards that its admirers call the ‘best for miles around’
New Jersey Monthly
-- July 1999 “Obviously, the food here soothes the eyes and the taste buds -- as the room bustles on every visit.” -- Anthony Giglio
Ed Hitzel’s Restaurant Newsletter
-- September 1998 “Chef Massaglia’s food benefits from his energy. His menu is never boring. Joe takes the gutsy step of educating the marketplace, an approach that can be dangerous with people of lesser talents. He tries out unusual combinations of cuisines and ingredients, resulting in textures and flavors that convince people to try other items they might not normally try.” -- Ed Hitzel
Courier Post, Bill Reinhardt
-- November 1998 -- Four Stars Food “The wise (vacationers) stop and begin their Shore excursion at Mama Mia’s. Owner Joseph Massaglia’s pizzeria-ristorante is unlike any strip mall eatery you’ve encountered...You can hear he gleam in Massaglia’s voice when he reveals his restaurant is hitting the decade mark this year. ‘It’s our tenth anniversary,’ he says proudly. And our taste buds get to do the celebrating.”
Vintage, Frank and Mary Jelinek Travel and Dine Column
(also of WWDB Radio “Dining Around”)
-- June 1996 “Mama Mia, what a meal! Joseph does what all good chef’s should do, and that is to allow his kitchen staff to experiment!” Restaurant Hospitality - May 2000
New Jersey Chefs Hold Gala For Scholarships
Joseph Massaglia, owner, Mama Mia’s Ristorante in Seaville, N.J., served as chairman for the 17th Atlantic City magazine restaurant Gala. His and 35 other restaurants participated in this year’s event, held in Atlantic City. Nine hundred guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, signature dishes and desserts from the participating restaurants, as well as dancing and a cigar salon. The evening raised nearly $70,000 in ticket sales and corporate donations for culinary arts scholarships. Philadelphia Magazine - January 2000
DINING OUT 2000 - Conspicuous Consumption
La Grolla owner Giovanni Massaglia calls his little brother, chef Joseph massaglia, “the Out-Of_Towner,” because his restaurant, Mama Mia’s, is downaShore. The Mama Mia’s Massaglia calls himself “the Georges Perrier that nobody knows.” (He’s known Georges since the La Panetiere days, and his mama Bertina and sister Gabriella, of Gabriella Catering, occasionally do catering for Georges.) You want to know him as the chef who’s hosting a 20-course Tuscan?Piedmontese dinner at his Seaville restaurant on Wednesday, January 26th. Cocktails and hours d’oeuvres will be served from 5 to 6 p.m. The 20 dishes include carne cruda (Piedmontese steak tartare); roasted peppers bagna cauda (abouve), a recipe from Massaglia’s Piedmontese hometown; polenta fritta (fried cornmeal cake with wild mushroom sauce); tortelloni al guattro formaggio (four cheese tortelloni with butter sage sauce); calamari Livornese; trecce di salmon a sogliola (braiding of sole and salmon in a light vermouth sauce); plus a dozen or so more that sweep across two key food regions in Italy, The cost is $60 per person, and guests are asked to bring their own wine selections, which Massaglia will be happy to advise you on if you contact him in advance. In the grand Italian tradition of mangia, expect to be feastinf for about four hours. For reservations, contact Mama Mia’s, 2087 South Shore Road, Seaville (609) 624-9322. – T.C. |
