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| - Last night in Mesa before heading home, looking for some really good Italian take-out without a lot of driving. Yelp said Roma Cafe would fit the bill, and you were absolutely correct.
Marco greeted me at the door, said I'd probably be more comfortable waiting for my order at the bar (he was right!) and poured me a very nice Chianti whil\e I waited. He was busy as the only greeter/waiter, but still made time for a very friendly chat.
There was no problem filling my special request (hot pepper flakes on the side: "It's all made-to-order so that will be easy" . Ordered putanesca from their extensive (15? 20? More?) list of pasta entreesa, along with calamari fritti for my wife. The wait was probably less than 15 minutes, and very agreeable.
Once back at the resort, both the pasta. and the calamari were still hot; I've had better squid but theirs was nicely seasoned and plentiful. The putanesca was excellent, full of fat juicy capers and lots of green olives. There was enough to share, and even a little bit left over. I also loved the side salad, which was a very authentic caesar.
I look forward to visiting Mesa again, so we can visit and enjoy the ambiance in person!
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