Review: MoMo Italian Kitchen

Do not confuse this Italian-American restaurant with any other Italian-American restaurant with a similar name. This one is the real deal, where the Gattini family has been making and serving refined food since 1986. Food snobs adore it not just because the quality of the ingredients, innovative dishes, and homemade pastas are consistent and satisfying. They love MoMo’s because it is BYOB, and they can pick a bottle from their cellar and pop the cork for a fee of only $3.85. How lovely to sip an expensive super Tuscan paired with ris in cagnon, a traditional wedding dish from Northern Italy made with nutty Carnaroli rice stirred with Grana Padano cheese and topped with tender veal rolls stuffed with herbs and cheese. The kitchen adds just a touch of glistening mushroom cream sauce. Potato gnocchi, with an airy tomato-meat sauce, is lighter than most dumplings in Dallas. You can also make a meal out of bresaola (thinly sliced cured beef) with olive oil and lemon and a plate of Italian cheeses. I could not resist a side order of cream peas with prosciutto and have added the dish to my list of favorites in Dallas. Go early on nice evenings to snag a spot on the patio. And you had better take an extra bottle of wine. There’s a fair chance you’ll have to wait for a table.