A Little Help

[guido911]

There was a pizza joint back in the late 90s called mama mia's or something similar. Anyone remember?

[Conan71]

Location?

[guido911]

Location?

It was around 15th & Sheridan, then moved to somewhere I thought north of Lewis and Admiral. Point is, this place had THE BEST spicy meatballs. I demand its recipe right damned now. They were a cross between Buffalo and marinara flavored.

[Conan71]

Sure isn't ringing a bell.

I suspect marinara with crushed red pepper and perhaps some Louisiana brand hot sauce from what you describe.

[Gaspar]

It was around 15th & Sheridan, then moved to somewhere I thought north of Lewis and Admiral. Point is, this place had THE BEST spicy meatballs. I demand its recipe right damned now. They were a cross between Buffalo and marinara flavored.

Add some Frank's Red Hot to the marinara you baste you balls with.  Willing to bet that's it.  I had something very similar at a place called Rizzo's in St. Louis.  Big light meatballs with that tangy heat.  Frankie, the old guy that ran the place said he basted them in a mix of 3/4th the house sauce and 1/4th Frank's.  They also had quite a bit of oregano in the meat.  Fantastic!

[Hoss]

It was around 15th & Sheridan, then moved to somewhere I thought north of Lewis and Admiral. Point is, this place had THE BEST spicy meatballs. I demand its recipe right damned now. They were a cross between Buffalo and marinara flavored.

Found this blurb doing an archive search in the Whirled:

The phone rings at Mamma Mia's constantly on Friday afternoon.
Don't hang up and call back when you think they have forgotten you.
You lose your turn and you are likely to be scolded by one of the
two women who were delivering, taking calls and making pizza on a
recent Friday. Pepperoni, the most popular topping, is a good
choice. Sauce and thin and thick crusts are good.
6522 E. 15th St., 834-8883; carry-out, delivery

This is right across the street from where I work now.

This is where I think it was, based on the address:

http://goo.gl/maps/2e5qP

[Conan71]

Add some Frank's Red Hot to the marinara you baste you balls with.  Willing to bet that's it.  I had something very similar at a place called Rizzo's in St. Louis.  Big light meatballs with that tangy heat.  Frankie, the old guy that ran the place said he basted them in a mix of 3/4th the house sauce and 1/4th Frank's.  They also had quite a bit of oregano in the meat.  Fantastic!

I much prefer basil and fennel when I make meatballs. 

[Teatownclown]

I much prefer basil and fennel when I make meatballs. 

I thought you tea heads liked them dangling....

[guido911]

Add some Frank's Red Hot to the marinara you baste you balls with.  Willing to bet that's it.  I had something very similar at a place called Rizzo's in St. Louis.  Big light meatballs with that tangy heat.  Frankie, the old guy that ran the place said he basted them in a mix of 3/4th the house sauce and 1/4th Frank's.  They also had quite a bit of oregano in the meat.  Fantastic!

I am going to test some recipes. That place cranks up the memory machine for me. I basically lived on that place my first year of law school.

[Ed W]

When I was younger and poorer, I 'stretched' ground beef by mixing it with Pepperidge Farms stuffing mix.  It worked well for burgers, meat loaf, and meat balls.  I browned meatballs in a skillet, then baked them until done before adding them to spaghetti sauce.  It's not going to be hot and spicy, Guido, but it sure tasted good.

[Red Arrow]

When I was younger and poorer, I 'stretched' ground beef by mixing it with Pepperidge Farms stuffing mix.  It worked well for burgers, meat loaf, and meat balls.  I browned meatballs in a skillet, then baked them until done before adding them to spaghetti sauce.  It's not going to be hot and spicy, Guido, but it sure tasted good.

I guess you too are older than Hamburger Helper.

[Conan71]

I guess you too are older than Hamburger Helper.

I don't know about you, but Hamburger Helper is even better when you have some ground beef to go with it.

[Red Arrow]

I don't know about you, but Hamburger Helper is even better when you have some ground beef to go with it.

So that's the trick, adding ground beef.