Sundae desert at Mama Zarella's in Powell, Ohio.
It was a quiet Monday night, when Gretchen wanted to take me out for dinner for my birthday. Italian sounded good to me, but not being interested in a chain restaurant we headed out in search of adventure.
As we recently mentioned, that’s something that Delaware is still lacking, but will soon be remedied when The Warehouse comes to town. After finding several restaurants closed on a winter Monday night, we found ourselves sitting in Powell in front of the closed Hickory House. Tired, frustrated, and hungry we decided to attend Mama Zarella’s — for no other reason than we were tired of looking.
We entered with not pre-conceived notions, but the restaurant quickly made us comfortable and has put itself on our menu as another restaurant to visit again.
The restaurant has a basic decor, nothing that’s too fancy, just like a good old-fashioned Italian restaurant. The co-owners on Monday night served as our cook and server on Monday night and did a wonderful job keeping our drinks filled in a busy dining room.
Mama Zarella's in Powell Ohio
We began our dinner with the cheesebread and sauce ($4) and it was a treat. The marinara sauce was very unique and had chunks of tomatoes still in it.
Gretchen ordered the cheese-stuffed manicotti ($11) and upgraded her salad to a deluxe (additonal $2). Her salad was very fresh and she shared her tomatoes with me, so both of us were happy. The manicotti was freshly made and she only offered me one bite — so we know she really liked it.
I ordered the lasagna ($14) and went with the house salad. I found the blend of hamburger and sausage to be excellent. My only complaint was that the cheese on the lasagna was slightly burned, but everything else was excellent.
Being my birthday, Gretchen and I split the brownie sundae ($5) for desert. It was very good and we both swear that it had homemade ice cream in it. I found the desert menu to be slightly lacking for a place that brags about is superior deserts.
Mama Zarella is open for dinner beginning at 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday. The restaurant is located in the shopping center at Grace Avenue and Liberty Road on the north-side of downtown Powell. The physical address is 240 North Liberty Street.
Just don’t ask for Mama Zarella, the restaurant’s name was inspired by mozzarella cheese (ma…ma-zarella).
