The Saturday before Christmas, I graduated with a masters degree which I’ve worked toward for the past 2 1/2 years! My parents came to town and after a relatively quick ceremony, the Husband, my parents, and I headed to one of our favorite Charlotte Italian restaurants: Mama Ricotta’s. We hadn’t been since we celebrated with our friend Diana for her birthday and were looking forward to heading back and sharing the delicious food with my parents!

Using Open Table (opentable.com), I made reservations online (and actually rescheduled a number of times due to graduation times changing with the weather). We were running late, ultimately, gave the restaurant a call and gave them a heads up. They appreciated the call and let us know that being a bit late wasn’t going to be a problem. (Having a reservation on a Saturday night is not required but highly recommended as it gets crowded!)

Once we arrived, there was still a bit of a wait so we hung out in the smallish waiting area while I took pictures of the restaurant

We were seated in the enclosed patio. While it was quite chilly outside, they had plenty of space heaters hanging from the ceiling, warming up the space nicely.

We started with my favorite appetizer at Mama Ricotta’s – the Warm Goat Cheese and Mascarpone Dip. So good! (and everyone agreed)

To drink, I had a glass of White Sangria to celebrate

Around the table, we each had something different off of the menu and I sampled a little of each! Mama Ricotta’s menu is one that offers family style. It lists items as single items (for one person) or family (two to three persons). I would tend to say it feeds a bit more than that though! A single item can easily be shared between two while family could serve more (especially if you order multiple dishes to be shared).

My mom ordered the Rigatoni with Meat Sauce. On my recommendation, she also added fresh ricotta. (Yum!) I enjoyed this as a leftovers for lunch one day

My dad went with the Lobster Ravioli (if I remember correctly – it was a special). Very fresh tasting!

The Husband recommended I get the Pollo Bianco. Apparently, every time we go to Mama Ricotta’s, he orders it and I end up eating more of it than my own dish. I took his advice and did so It included scallopini-style chicken layered with prosciutto and mozzarella in a Chianti wild mushroom sauce with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans.

Last but not least, the Husband branched out (since I ordered the Pollo Bianco) and got the Pollo Romano. This included a sautéed, boneless breast of chicken with a Romano cheese and bread crumb crust, and thin spaghetti and tomato-basil sauce.

This was a great graduation celebration meal! If you haven’t been yet, this is a great location to go with friends and family, for both casual and celebratory events.