Mama Mia’s neon sign for pizza and subs gets a nice piece of real estate space on the wall in newly-named Mia’s Village Eats in Spring Lake. It’s an appreciative nod to the past from new owners Brad and Alex Ashcraft, both Spring Lake natives.
It’s a culinary trifecta. Pizza and subs from Mama Mia’s. Fare from the Ashcrafts’ Smoke N Ash’s food truck. And Brad-inspired specialties that take the eatery to a new level.
Elevated pub grub, I call it. With a twist.
I smile as I write this. A pub connotes beer mugs and maybe a few shot glasses, but Mia’s offers no liquor. Just a couple doors to the east, however, is Stan’s Bar. Of course there’s liquor – and a whole lot of camaraderie. Consider it Mia’s annex, because Mia’s delivers to Stan’s. And only to Stan’s.
“It’s the only bar within walking distance,” says Mia’s Tori Tober as she packs up an order and leaves for Stan’s.
There’s also local friendliness and loyalty involved here; Alex worked at Stan’s for more than a decade. Some alliances just go on forever.
The Ashcrafts have led a whirlwind life since 2020. Marriage, a child, the food truck, the diner. It included a year of busy anticipation: buying the business in 2023, closing it for renovations that included kitchen upgrades as well as dining room changes with flooring, tables, and mis-matched chairs evoking a coziness in the space that seats about 40, and finally opening Mia’s early this year.
They’re finding that Alex’s front-of-the-house training blends well with Brad’s culinary expertise. She says she loves to peek out from the kitchen to see “a family-friendly quick eatery.”
Everything on the menu is made from scratch. People continue to rave about the pizza’s thin crust, but Brad has tinkered with a thick sourdough focaccia idea akin to the thick pizza dough they call Bench Bread, producing a heartier pizza option.
The Mac N Cheese is readily available. It’s not like mine at home; with Mia’s so close, it means I won’t be making it at home. I’m already wondering if I could pass it off to my guests as a secret family recipe. That way they wouldn’t expect me to divulge information I don’t have. But I can already hear my daughter: “Secret family recipe?” she’d say. “That would be the Ashcraft family, not ours.”
So much for that plan.
My daughter thinks the Burrito Bowl is worth repeating. It’s Spanish rice, Cuban beans, smoked queso verde, pickled onion and jalapeno, queso fresco, cilantro, chimichurri and chipotle crema.
My son-in-law favors the all-meat pizza because it has meat, meat, and more meat. Pepperoni, ham, sausage and bacon.
And me? Oh, my – those Porky Mac Balls. Smoked mac and cheese with pulled pork, rolled up, breaded and deep fried. Topped with pickled onion, queso fresco, chipotle crema and maple barbeque. May they forever remain on the menu.
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