Mama Luna's

I did a search and found no discussion of Mama Luna's but forgive me if there has been in the past and I somehow missed it. My husband and I were casual fans of Manzo's for the pizza and pasta and old school Italian feel not to mention the empty romantic atmosphere. Now that it is gone I ahve been searching for a nearby replacement (there are some others we go to). His aunt lives in Elmwood Park and we drive down Fullerton quite a bit and I was wondering if anyone has ever been to Mama Luna and what their thoughts of it are. From the outside it has that Manzo feel: old school Italian and maybe deserted atmosphere on the inside.

Mama Luna
5109 W Fullerton
Chicago, IL 60639
773-889-3020

Happy to say that husband and I finally got around to trying Mama Luna's this afternoon for lunch and it seemed like quite the old school Italian, empty, been there forever atmosphere we are looking for. Nice decor on the inside with retro booths, tables and chairs but somewhat of an updated look so it was not as completely outdated as Manzo's. Menu was full of typical Sicilian/Italian-American items and plenty of red sauce options. The menu very much reminded me of Manzo's. It had all kinds of pastas, pizzas, veal and they even do paninis. Appetizers included calimari, oysters, clams and a variety of other choices. Since Mr KajmacJohnson and I were in the mood for pizza that is what we stuck with. I took a few quick photos, though these may not be that great. We had a cheese, sausage and black olives pie with a nice crispy thin crust, although not too crispy and not cracker crust.

Our pizza right after it was served to the table nice and hot. While it was nothing ground breaking or earth shattering, it was certainly better than a lot of other pizzas we have had from some of the meh places around town and definately much better than some disappointing subpar pizza by the slice options <cough> (Crap ass Cochiaro's just a few blocks east of here) <cough> When we left my husband remarked that this was no Freddie's (31st and Union in Bridgeport but admittedly this is not the same style of pizza we get from Freddie's). I likened it more to Villa Nova, same thin crust style. Mama Luna, while not as tasty and addictive as Villa Nova, still serves up a pretty decent quality pizza if you're in the area.



My plate.



The parmesan cheese served in a nice little contraption. I wanted to take it home with me.


They gave us bread to start off with which was quite addictive with the olive oil and the parmesan. The olive oil came in this cute little bottle.


When we walked in there were two older women at the front of the restaurant. One of them ended up being our waitress while the other looked to be the owner and greeted us and took our payment and whatnot. Both very nice ladies and treated us well even though we were not regulars and had never been there before. They do carry out in the back of the restaurant in a separate section you walk through. Interesting little place. I am actually dying to go back and try some of the pasta and appetizers. My husband and I are suckers for red sauce old school Italian and always have a place in our hearts for little places like these that are still chugging along.

If you're in the Elmwood Park area and want old school Italian, try Abruzzo's in Melrose Park. Also, Anthony B's in MP has a nice thin crust pizza available for delivery or carry out.

Abruzzo's Italian Restaurant & Lounge
1509 W. Division St.
Melrose Park, IL 60160
(708)343-2255.

Anthony B's Pizza and Pasta
1504 North 19th Avenue
Melrose Park, IL 60160
(708) 343-3322

Thanks so much, Cogito! I will keep those in mind. Always looking for new places to visit.

To follow up on Cogito's comments, I hit Abruzzo's in Melrose Park for the second time last Sunday night, after dining there a few months ago upon a recommendation in the 'Old School Italian' thread.

Had a drink at the curved, burnished wood bar while waiting for my daughter to show, and was soaking in the history from the former 70-year-old Division Street Tap. She arrived & we retired to one of the adjacent half-moon naugahyde booths. Hot Italian bread, grilled calamari, sausage/peppers, escarole meatball soup, zuppa de pesce, and pork braciole later, we were bringing the rest of the goodies home, totally satiated & happy after great food and good conversation. As I stated before, not the tops in Chicago but certainly better than most, and at very reasonable prices.

It's amazing how you just can't find this kind of place anymore. I dig it & will be back.