New York - February 14, 2005

Mamma's Girl

Ama Restaurant Opens

A list of the crap we’ve done for Mom:

• Called weekly (okay, daily)


• Kept mini fire extinguisher under kitchen sink


• Carried laminated “in case of emergency, please call” card in wallet


• Stopped dating questionable biker guy (still mad at her for it)

Donatella Arpaia (of David Burke and Donatella fame) has just one-upped us all by creating a new restaurant to honor the food her mom raised her on. Ama, which opens tonight, is a welcome addition to the bleak landscape of Italian food in SoHo.

The small but bustling spot features the cuisine of Puglia, the region in the heel of the boot, where Mamma Arpaia was born. Chef Turibio Girardi prepares local favorites like panzerotti (fried calzone), raviolini in capon broth, and capuntini (homemade pasta with fresh tomato sauce, eggplant, and ricotta). Main courses are heavy on seafood, rabbit, sweetbreads, and pancetta-stuffed quail.

The best dessert is the almond cookies. No surprise there. They’re grandma’s recipe.

And so we add yet another item to the list:

Ama, 48 Macdougal Street, between Houston and Prince Streets (212-358-1707).