Mama Ree’s Italian Family Restaurant

The best word to describe this place is «cozy». I decided to try out Mama’s after reading the reviews on this site. All I can say is that they are all pretty much true. I got the combination plate that came with lasagna, spaghetti and ravioli as a base, then got the sausage and peppers as the fourth choice. The dinner was served in four courses, starting with fresh baked bread (very good), a small bowl of soup (very good), the salad (fairly good) and finally the entrée. As another reviewer mentioned, I don’t think that they drained the spaghetti enough before plating, so the sauce was watered down some. I received a large portion of spaghetti, two ravioli, a sausage and a 2″ x 5″ piece of lasagna. Overall the entrée was good, but it wasn’t spectacular. While there could have been a couple more ravioli, there was enough food to fill me up.
My biggest problem with this place was the parking. All around the building are parking spots, but most of them are reserved for other businesses. Since it was late, and one of the other businesses was closed, I parked in one of their spots.
I would recommend this place for the ambiance alone, and for good food at a reasonable price.

I arrived at Mama Ree’s on a Wednesday evening. I was quickly seated in the front dining room. I was presented with a rolled menu by my friendly male server. He informed that they were out of lasagna because «she (Mama) didn’t like the way it turned out.»
Entrees ranged from 8 to 19 dollars. I choose the homemade manicotti. The menu description read, «Tender crêpe stuffed with a wonderful blend of Italian cheeses. Mama Ree’s favorite by far!» If it was Mama’s favorite, I was going for it.
All of the entrees are served with homemade bread, soup, and salad. The bread was served hot from the oven. Crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. Yummy! The soup of the night was a three bean. While you could tell it was homemade, it was not anything special. The salad was a LaGuiseppe salad. It was finely slice cabbage and carrots marinated with olive oil, spices, and red wine vinegar. This was a simple salad done right.
The manicotti was served with a side of pasta and both were covered with Mama’s homemade tomato and meat sauce. I did not find the sauce to be runny like a previous reviewer had said. The homemade crêpe was stuffed full of cheese. There was no way I was finishing such a generous portion. I had no room for either of the two homemade deserts that were offered.
Mama’s has beer and wine available. The prices are very reasonable. Beers are around 3 dollars and glasses of wine are 5. All bottles, including local wine, are 18 dollars.
Mama’s offers lunch specials throughout the week. Lunch includes pasta and several sandwiches. Prices range from 5 to 8 dollars.

I popped in here last night, after a phenomenal day of riding up from Santa Fe, NM. It’s a cute little family run joint with either Mama or husband Ted in the walk in closet sized kitchen and their kids out front.
Although the minestrone was not for me (way too much oregano) and the salad/​cole slaw thing wasn’t for me either, the homemade spaghetti alfredo with chicken was excellent. Washed down with a few glasses of cab and some fun chatting with the kids, it was a good time. Ask to see Ted’s skull head chef tattoo and if you can get them to tell you how they make their bread then I will buy your meal for you.
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FAMILY RUN JOINTS. THEY DESERVE IT.

We were traveling with an AAA book and found that most places they suggested were good but not exceptional. When we pulled into Cortez and checked into the motel, we noticed a gorilla in a tutu and pink bra dancing across the street. It was advertising Mama Ree’s Italian Restaurant. We stopped by the front desk and asked what they thought of Mama Ree’s versus the AAA suggestion, they said Mama Ree’s hands down.
So we walked past the gorilla and into Mama Ree’s. This cute house looked like Mama had been living there for years. We were greeted by Mama who said that we would probably enjoy a small room off to the side, although it was dark there was not a badly behaving a child. (When the owner steers us away from the main dining room, we take the suggestion).
I had a wonderful mannicotti and the husband a spaghetti dinner. We split a cannoli and sat back with after dinner cocktails and listened to Frank and Dean sing to us from a stereo. It was good food and they deserve and extra star because it is great food in Cortez, CO and because they provide so much entertainment: funny commercials, dancing gorilla, and dancing Gumby.

Anyone who has driven around the United States knows that once you start getting toward the middle, you pick up radio stations from all over the place. While listening to one in the middle of nowhere in NM, we heard a radio spot that had us cracking up. It was some guy singing about a place called Mama Rees, and it was so ridiculous we were wishing we knew where it was so we could go.
Because of a lack of lodging in the 4 Corners area (literally for tens of miles), we ended up having to go into Colorado. After passing Indian Casinos and making it onto non-​Indian soil, we were suddenly surrounded by a sad little town that literally looked as if it were falling apart. Luckily, once we got to downtown Cortez, the place brightened up and was adorable. We got a motel, looked through the local fliers on the nightstand, and were elated when we saw Mama Ree’s menu.
«Cleanest Restaurant in Cortez» greeted us when we pulled up. The tiny little place is decorated adorably, vines, pictures of the Rat pack, and candles on the table. The server was amusing and put us in an intimate spot in the back, next to some friends of his. They goofed off a bit together, but in an almost entertaining way that never interrupted our service. He, along with everyone there, made us feel really welcome.
After getting our food, we wished we’d asked the locals for advice. What had sounded great turned out to be a soupy, pasta mess that wasn’t very «wow» with its flavor. I was uninspired with my order, spaghetti and sausage, while the boyfriend had chicken scallopini. What the regulars next to us had, however, looked delicous. We stared with jealous eyes while we drank our pasta.
We tried to take the leftovers back to the motel, but had to ditch the box halfway because it was leaking all over the place. The server had boxed it for us– a nice gesture– but had put all the juices in too.
If I’m ever back in Cortez, I’ll definitely go back to Mama Ree’s for the ambiance and radio ad alone, even if our food was lacking. It’s just a fun little place.