Old-World Italian Dining in the Heart of Canton

Canton City Councilman Shawn Tolan, a restaurant regular, posted on Facebook inviting others to come to the downtown Italian eatery and find out for themselves why the restaurant is so popular. “Mario and Melanie have it going on. The food is amazing, the atmosphere is perfect, and those two are awesome individuals. If you haven’t eaten there yet, do yourself a favor and give them a try. If you have eaten there, well, you know what I mean, “Shawn wrote of the restaurant.

Customers love the extensive menu, reminiscent of what you might find in an upscale New York trattoria. Diners love the romantic, old-world atmosphere in the street-front location of the Babcock Building, where large windows provide a perfect view of the historic downtown. Couples in for an anniversary, friends and family celebrating birthdays, and diners just out looking for a nice meal settle in comfortably around tables set with white tablecloths and linens.

Mamma Onesta means honest mother and is named for the hard-working matriarch of the DeGrassi family, which opened the first restaurant of that name in 2008 in Lockport, Illinois. Ten years later, the suburban Chicago restaurant made a move south and Frank DeGrassi, along with his best friends Mario Buonauro and Melanie Molloy, brought Mamma Onesta’s to the heart of downtown Canton.

The new Italian eatery quickly built a reputation for good food and caring staff. Now owned and operated by Mario and Melanie, the couple serves up traditional Italian cuisine with special touches that make customers come looking for more.

“Everything here is homemade and very traditional. We can’t take you back in time, but we can give you the dining experience you might remember from other places and times,” Mario promises. “Each customer is treated like family.”

The popular signature dish, Chicken Onesta, is a perfect example of what the restaurant turns out to the delight of hungry guests. The dish features chicken cooked to perfection in garlic, white wine, and oil, and served on a bed of homemade pasta completed with spinach, roasted red peppers, and provolone cheese. The dish is also available with veal instead of chicken.

The Tortellini Ashley is another favorite with diners, which offers cheese tortellini with chicken, spinach, and Parmesan cheese in a delightful alfredo and pesto sauce. For those looking for a traditional dish with a twist, Eggplant Rollatini is a tasty combination of breaded eggplant stuffed with ricotta cheese and baked in a tomato sauce with mozzarella cheese.

The extensive menu also includes many Dal Mare entrees, which translates to “from the sea.” Snapper is the signature fish used in tasty renditions such as Snapper Francese, where the fish is dipped in egg wash and sauteed in lemon butter and capers, or Snapper Casino, baked with garlic, bread crumbs, and pancetta. Traditional seafood dishes like Shrimp Scampi and Spaghetti with Clams are also on the menu.

Antipasti such as Fried Calamari, Sausage and Peppers, and Mozzarella Caprese are crowd-pleasers. Even Escargot is offered. Mario and Chef Mark Trombetta use their skills each day to present a Soup of the Day, with tasty choices such as Potato Pancetta, Broccoli Cheese, and Mamma Onesta’s own take on Minestrone served up to happy diners. Chef Mark hails from a Sicilian background and uses his considerable talents to enliven the menu.

Make sure to save room for dessert, especially Mario’s Bread Pudding, an enormously popular option that changes flavors each week. Mario says that some of the renditions include Caramel, Butterfinger, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and seasonal choices such as Cadbury Bunny for Easter.

Wednesday Wine Down and Sangria Sunday are great times to visit and enjoy the delectable white and red Sangria made to order using a special inhouse recipe or a selection from the extensive wine list. The historic building also offers a beautiful marble enhanced bar with all your favorite alcoholic drinks.

The Babcock Building was once the home to Rosenblum’s Store, one of Canton’s favorite shopping spots in the mid-1900s up to the 1980s. After Harry Babcock purchased and renovated the historic downtown building in the 1990s, a number of restaurants and eateries occupied the space, including a soda fountain and ice cream shop, a hot dog eatery, and The Study, a fine dining establishment.

These days, though, it is hard to imagine anything else ever occupying the space, as Mamma Onesta’s has become a fixture to the community. “We are so grateful to the city of Canton, and to all our faithful customers, and our new ones,” Mario beams. “This is a great place, and we are so glad to be a part of it.”

This article was featured in the Historic Canton magazine. Read more.