Spreading It on Thick

Mamma Gina in Newport Beach is an authentic Italian restaurant, owned by a Florentine who loves his homeland.

This is no biscotti-cutter trattoria in the chain vein. Giant paintings of Venice, Rome and Florence fill the walls, Italian ceramics hang above arched doorways, Harry’s Bar welcomes patrons to the lounge, and the food is fresh from the farm and sea.

With its rustic wooden beams, whitewashed walls and wrought-iron lamps, Mamma Gina has the romance of a restored farmhouse from the hills of Tuscany. It has so much going for it that facing one of the prettiest scenes on the Newport coast seems almost secondary. The view is fabulous, but so is the decor and food.

Owner Piera Pierottoni’s father was a chef on the Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria, where he learned gourmet treatments of Italian favorites. He stopped working on the liner before it sank in 1956 and opened a restaurant in Florence. In 1984, his son, who grew up learning the trade, opened Mamma Gina in Palm Desert.

The Newport Beach trattoria opened four years ago and has attracted a dressy, stylish crowd.

Sunday brunch is a hearty affair, made up of buffet selections geared to the Italian custom of multiple courses. Created from Florentine and Tuscan recipes, the dishes are served in authentic style, and everything, including breads and desserts, is made on the premises, according to Pierottoni.

Starters include many standard Italian first courses--extremely fresh squid salad, insalada caprese (fresh mozzarella cheese with tomatoes and basil), roasted eggplant, grilled peppers, marinated mushrooms and poached salmon garnished with the little fella’s head and tail.

These beginners are paired with fresh fruit, bagels with a variety of cheeses and mounds of smoked salmon, shrimp and salad greens. This course, always my favorite, could more than make a meal--though the bagels could have been fresher.

Second courses include selections from the pasta and omelet bar: various pastas or eggs with sauces, vegetables, smoked meats and herbs. The options are so numerous you can have your eggs or pasta any way you wish.

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Main courses are leg of lamb, tortellini in a creamy tomato sauce, a tender baked chicken cacciatora, roasted potatoes with onions and a fabulous cioppino (fish stew) of garlicky mussels in a heady broth perfect for dipping Mamma Gina’s excellent bread.

The desserts are also straight out of Northern Italy: a rustic fruit tart, chocolate-covered cream puffs, silky cream caramel or creme bru^lee, bread pudding, toasted almond torte, and, of course, tiramisu, which I never saw on menus in Italy.

Indulge in la dolce vita and try them all with cappuccino.

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Mamma Gina, 251 E. Coast Highway, Newport Beach, (949) 673-9500. Sunday brunch buffet is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. $17.90 for adults (which includes beverages or unlimited champagne) and $8.90 for children.