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Richmond's Mamma Zu restaurant offers great Italian food, but don't expect a solicitous staff.

By BRIAN BAER
The Free Lance-Star

Date published: 5/17/2001

The sweet smell of garlic wafted onto the sidewalk outside Mamma Zu restaurant one recent Wednesday evening.

A line of about 10 hungry patrons was waiting there, a half-hour before the restaurant opened its doors.

Mamma Zu is that tucked-away secret eatery that always has at least a 20-minute wait.

The secret is out in the Richmond area, and it's one worth driving an hour to discover.

Mamma Zu is just east of Virginia Commonwealth University in the city's historic Oregon Hill neighborhood.

The Italian menu offers something for both vegetarians and carnivores; those with experimental tastes and those who go for the old standbys; and those with cash and those on a budget.

Wear jeans or put on your zoot suit--at Mamma Zu, no one will care.

It's all about the food.

And it's good food.

We started with roasted red peppers and the asparagus. (Appetizers at Mamma Zu range in price from $4 to $20.)

Several thick slabs of oil-drenched peppers were served, surrounded by large chunks of goat cheese. In this case, extra garlic didn't add much to the dish. And it looked a lot better than it tasted.

Too much oil left the peppers with a rather bland taste, and the cheese didn't do much to enhance it.

The asparagus was much better. Served piping hot, the thick, well-seasoned asparagus was enough to serve as one--or even two--diner's main meal.

The dark-green delicacies were drenched in butter and olive oil and were coated with a creamy parmesan sauce that gave them an extra kick--it was like eating dessert first.

We opted against beer or wine (both are $3 per glass, bottles of wine range from $12 to $60). Instead, we sipped Cokes from cute, old-fashioned bottles.

For an entrée, I ordered the shrimp with pasta. Main dishes are priced from about $8 to $17, and mine was at the top end.

I was a little disappointed to see only four shrimp with the dish. But the first bite of the pasta, soaked in warm butter and garlic chunks, made me feel like a king.

The large, fresh shrimp exploded with flavor and proved a hit with other diners at my table.

Just as good was the eggplant parmesan.

Date published: 5/17/2001