New Italian restaurant in town?
I saw a sign Italian restaurant and pizzeria coming soon, next to Stella G's. Anyone know if it's going to be a wood burning or more gourmet?
IluvsnowWe certainly have enough italian in the area (Enzo's, Sonny's, Terranova, Franks, Mama's, Taste of Italy, etc.). I wonder how this place will differentiate itself from the rest......
Luca(work) 
Bessie Where Mezza house was? I'm still sad that they closed down. I wonder what happened to them. Such a lovely place. I hope that it's another pizza place on Mamas level and not another chain.
KT I wish that it was going to be an actual Italian restaurant without any pizza. How many horrible pizza places are needed in the area? A place with fresh homemade pastas and cooked to order Italian entrees would be wonderful. I miss Cara Mia.
Calico696 A+ Calico696 - I haven't met an Italian Restaurant nearby that was worth a repeat visit - even though we tried repeats at one--
4catmom 
Metsman Calico, zip it..let's not be negative and give the new place a chance...although... What we need is an Italian restaurant without pizza. We already have so many horrible pizza places. The town needs a place with fresh pasta and other well prepared/ made to order dishes
CraftBeerBob Yes! an Italian deli would be great!
Main St location tho, who knows? Some food establishments have obviously done very well, but so many have come and gone in a short amount of time...
JRT "let's not be negative" and then .." We already have so many horrible pizza places"
got to love HL LOL
Jim L. 
Struggling dad Hahaha, I was thinking the same thing, Jim. Maybe this pizza place won't be horrible? That certainly can't be. Let's reserve judgment until it opens and we can actually try it. I am excited to have a pizza place I can walk to.
Dancicus Fighticus Yes, I agree, I would love to have a really great Italian restaurant in town, and an Italian deli in hackettstown would be awesome!
I'm just glad a building is not empty. I would much rather a business than an empty store front. Hopefully it does well.
Sunshine Neopolitan pizza please. That's how you would distinguish yourself from the plethora of NYC-style pizza joints.
A fine Italian joint would be nice too. Only had Cara Mia once (and wish I had tried them more...oh well.) Something on the level of La Strada would be good.
emaxxman Kind of surprised to read the negative review of Mama's, especially their gluten free food. I was just there with my family last weekend. They were pretty enthusiastic about their non-gluten free food and I was happy with my gluten free food.
Independence Farmer All those hundreds of cars agree with indy farmer and me. We like Mammas. Eggplant pisa pizza rules.
Strangerdanger My wife dearly misses Cara Mia.
Myself, while I didn't find the food or service objectionable in any way- don't like being crammed into small places. I think they could have done well if in a little larger location.
There is an Italian place in Gladstone that we have been to 3-4 times over the years that is good- and the owner goes out of his way to give great service and listen to any requests/concerns. IL Milano (SP?).... they wheel out a big cheese wheel on a cart, and slice off thin slices- I can eat the whole thing. After dinner they bring out a drink cart- shots of interesting bottles of stuff- free of charge..
Josh 
This is a legitimate picture of a menu item at a Hackettstown "Italian" restaurant lol... I do like the pizza and salads there though, I won't be trying the soup though lol.. I couldn't stop laughing at this one. Bless their hearts!
weebiekins Josh -- that's a very Italian hospitality gesture. I remember as a child in the Bronx at an Italian bakery, during holiday season they would have a cart of liquors in the store -- help yourself as you waited for your bread. What memories.
Mama's Vegetable Combo pizza also rules!
I'll have to try the eggplant pisa pizza.
weebiekins - that IS the italian word for escarole (if you're from Sicily) or endive (if you're in Naples). If you google Scarola recipes you will see authentic photos of "scarola e zuppa di fagioli" which, in English is, escarole and bean soup.
Heidi I think its great we have a pizza place coming to main street in Hackettstown.great to be able to walk in and get a slice or two.i believe we are getting more foot traffic in town due to the new eating places and brew pubs opening up.looks like the old town is starting to wake up.
mel I liked Mama's but haven't been for years. Every time we went, the prices went up up up. Too expensive to eat there now! Would be nice to have good food at affordable family prices! We're Hackettstown, not Randolph!
We've tried Mama's gluten free pizza and gluten free classic pasta and both were awful. It's great that they are trying but it was extremely disappointing and expensive. We also never cared for their traditional pizza - but am happy that a family business has thrived this long in Hackettstown and wish them well.
Jules I totally agree with an Italian Deli.. fresh mozz & sopressata on a good Italian bread MMMMmmmmm..
Shady anyone wanting amazing Italian professional catering, call Whisk Me Away
908 619 3309
JJ Moore 
OnTheEdge I haven't been there in probably 3 years- I hope I am not steering you wrong and they are still good.
Il Monello is fantastic - I was last there a couple of months ago & yes they still offer the shaved cheese happy with some salami & spicy zucchini. They have a nice outdoor seating area as well. Desserts are delish - definitely check it out!
Luca - can you give the price range? The online menu doesn't have any prices....Thanks
From what I can remember, the prices were average prices although salad is not included but the fact that you get the free apps makes up for it & the after dinner shot.
I remember getting rigatoni bolognese & it was $17 & another time I got seafood over pasta & it was I think $24. The veal dishes are small so a better value is chicken or the pasta's. They have a ton of specials - I mean A LOT. Since we've been talking about this place, I am thinking of going there tonight - I can try to take menu pics.
goop474 
Old Mill Tavern in Chester is celebrating Columbus Day tomorrow with Italian cuisine by guest Chef Dan Valentino.
Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/oldmilltavern/
gwtwqueenie goop474 : welcome to the forum.....what's your second favorite Italian restaurant?
Does anyone know if Mamas has a new chef? We ate there and it was awful. The plate I got (which I have gotten several times) was so different and tasteless, covered in so much oil, and the portion size was much smaller. We also got deliver (which can be a painful experience because it it drastically overpriced) a few days ago and the same thing happened with a dish I’ve often had. I can’t justify paying such a crazy high price, even once in a while, for the food we got. I actually feel nauseous from the amount of oil I just ate. It didn’t contain cheese (that could have been blamed for excess oil). It was a good run but to be honest, it’s probably better off that we find a new place to order from on delivery nights so we don’t have to pay so much.
Ghp Ghp. My recommendation is to call and speak with Tom at Mamas. He is always very receptive and will discuss and address any of your concerns. You state you are a repeat customer so I would bet you are the type of customer he would want to personally hear feedback from. Lets face it on this public forum you will just get others complaints or praises not the hard facts and results only the owner of the restaurant can give you. In my opinion.
Greg There are lots of cooks at Mamas. I actually think I saw Leo from (the closed) Enzos there ..... unless it's just someone that looks like him.
Maybe give Gabby's a try -- I only have had their pizza which was pretty good. Their prices are more reasonable.
Actually to address your latest experience at Mamas, I was there on Saturday and got 2 slices to go. One of the slices was very small -- almost 1/2 the size of the other one. But worse, they were on 2 plates (one on top of the other)
The plate that the pizza was on was clean, but when I lifted the top plate off the bottom one I was horrified to see it was a used plate. It had grease stains and cheese stuck on it.
This was the first (and hopefully last) time anything like this has happened at Mamas.
I should have called to tell them but I was too busy.
Mama’s is just not good tasting food. Find another place to go. I know it’s hard out here but there are better places.
YeahRight I have to agree with you Greg.....
Our family loves it there .We actually feel the opposite . We went for dinner with friends a few days ago and we were all in agreement that the quality, presentation and atmosphere keeps improving . It is a well run restaurant and even though they are very busy the staff is great. I am sure if you reached out to Tom he would gladly address your concerns . Try reaching out and call them . Also a plus they are great community supporters .
MomoFGirZrule We need a really good restaurant like Mezza or Zaytun's. Enough already with the pizza joints. Bring some variety to our downtown.
Jono Zaytun’s is great.
We like Mamas too; in, out, catering, all good IMO. Problems...not that there’s been many, but all issues resolved easily with a call.
Love the duos.
Most get 5% off with discount card from school and neighborhood events. Get one, knocks the price down a bit.
Mama's is terrible and insulting to Italian food. Pizza is garbage too. For those prices you can go to so many better real Italian restaurants. Toscana for example if you didn't feel like leaving the area.
Don Mamas: If you have a problem with your food all you need do is speak to Tom. He is very responsive and will address your concerns. The staff is excellent. The food is true Italian contrary to what some folks say.
Mrs. Pipes```` We were not fans of Mama's pizza, but went there for dinner a couple of weeks ago and the pasta dishes were delicious. We will definitely go back, just not for the pizza :)
trick I notice that Mama's parking lot is packed every weekend and sometimes beyond! They must be doing something right!
Eddie I don't think it's that Mama's is doing things right. I think it's people have settled for mediocrity and are somewhat resistant to change.
Mamas is so busy there are bound to be mistakes! We have stopped going there, quality control has gone down hill, and when you see all the oil on the pizza it's from cheap mozzarella
Mamas at one time made there own , now its commercial grade! Speak with Tom, he means well but nothing will change!
Robert "I don't think it's that Mama's is doing things right. I think it's people have settled for mediocrity and are somewhat resistant to change."
I agree with this statement 100%.
This past weekend was a friend's birthday and a bunch of us went to dinner. We went to a restaurant in PA that has been there forever and most of our group had been there before. My husband and I had not. The sheer volume of food they served was beyond obscene. The taste was just ok. It seemed everyone was more interested in the quantity of food they got than the quality.
Mama's is packed with the same non-Italians who buy jarred sauce and think a chicken parm is great Italian meal. No thanks
We were lucky to get reservations at Toscana for an early dinner. The food was amazing. My aunt and I each ordered the special salad with delicate greens, porcini mushrooms, blue cheese with the best, light tasting dressing. My grandson and I had Chicken Francaise, it came with broccoli, carrots and mashed potatoes.The chicken was so tender and cooked perfectly.It was all delicious. My aunt had the fresh ravioli and was so pleased. For dessert I had a homemade Limoncillo with mascarpone cheese cake. The lemon flavor was exceptional, fresh and light. It tasted like Spring! My aunt had apple and peach cobbler, accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream.My grandson was too full for dessert. We shared a very special meal together and truly enjoyed Toscana. We met 4 members of this lovely family and they were all gracious and so happy that we enjoyed our meal. My aunt wants to go back for lunch this week, my grandson is now back at home after his parents returned from their vacation in Iceland. I loved having my grandson with us for our special dinner I highly recommend Toscana, and also plan on make reservations.
SusanC Commenting is no longer available.