In the mood for comfort food? Leave with a full stomach at new Italian spot in Gautier

If you are in the mood for some serious comfort food, you might want to try Roma Italian Restaurant in Gautier.

There is something about the combination of a rich tomato sauce, pasta and lots of cheese that just does the trick. The Italians just have this category of food locked up, and I think no one does it better, but there are a few Italian American dishes that most Americans love, as do I, and have to be included.

The atmosphere is pleasant, a bit dark, but that does make it cozy and warm. The restaurant has only been open a few months, but it already has a loyal following. Every customer I saw leave seemed well-pleased, and the service I observed was quick and polite, just as it should be.

Owner Nick Plava told me everything is made from scratch, and I had a quick look in the kitchen which confirmed that fact. Two cooks were going for all they were worth to keep up with the lunchtime crowd.

There are different menus for lunch and dinner, which you can view on Facebook, so you will have a heads before you make the drive to Gautier.

The lunch menu (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) has most of the classics you are probably familiar with. Look for lasagna, manicotti, cannelloni and fettuccine Alfredo.

Alfredo, which is named for the Roman chef who invented it in 1914 and is called fettuccine al burro by the Italians, is a rich buttery sauce made simply with butter and Parmesan Reggiano.

You will also find spaghetti with marinara sauce, meat sauce, sausage or meatballs. As you might know, meatballs and spaghetti is an Italian American dish, and as much as I love it, in Italy the two are not served together. Pasta is served as a first course, primo, and meat, or meatballs, would be the second course, il secondo, but what the heck, it is just plan delicious and wildly popular here.

You will also find four chicken and three shrimp dishes on the lunch menu, with chicken or shrimp Alfredo, and shrimp scampi being bestsellers. Shrimp scampi is another Italian American invention, with a similar dish being made in Italy with langoustines, in a butter and garlic sauce. No matter its origins, it is another delicious recipe.

The dinner menu is much more extensive, with some good appetizer choices, fried calamari has been a lifelong favorite of mine. There are also more than a dozen pastas, eight chicken dishes, and seven seafood dishes. The menu also includes four subs, with a meatball sub being my all time favorite.

So, when comfort food is on your mind, with large portions and good prices, check out Roma Italian Restaurant in Gautier.

If you go

Roma Italian Restaurant

Where: 316 Ladnier Road, Gautier

Hours: Tuesday thru Sunday 11 am to 9 pm

Call: 228-471-5032