Skanaus! A Lithuanian Lunch at Park Street's Mama Papa Restaurant

Perhaps the most unfamiliar offering at Mama Papa Lithuania Restaurant and Tea House, the new restaurant at 1241 Park St., is the amber tea.

Amber not because of the color, but because it is made — literally — with bits of amber, the fossilized tree resin that's more often used in jewelry. 

Vaidas Sukys, the ebullient co-owner of Mama Papa, is quick to tell you that Lithuanians don't prize amber tea because of its flavor. (He recommends adding honey to give the tea some taste.) Instead, they believe that the sparkling bits of amber steeped in hot water provide health-giving minerals. 

For more flavor, order the very nice light or dark Lithuanian beer to accompany your meal — as several East Bay Patch editors did when they gathered at Mama Papa recently for a lunchtime meeting.

Beer goes well with the traditional food, all of it prepared by chef 
Danute Sukiene, who is Sukys' mother. (Trivia: In Lithuanian, last names for men, married women and unmarried women have different suffixes.) Watch this video to hear Sukiene talk about Lithuanian cuisine and recommend her personal favorite dish.

The most traditional dish of all may be the hearty cepelinai, or potato dumplings. A pair of the potato-shaped cepelinai, stuffed with minced meat and served with a mushroom sauce, will leave you feeling satisfied for hours. 

Potatoes, evidently a Lithuanian staple, also show up a a major ingredient in the tasty meat-filled potato pancakes.

For a lighter lunch, Mama Papa offers several variations on blyneliai, or crepes, including mouthwatering sweet cheese crepes served with raspberries.

Whatever you order, leave room for dessert. The medutis, or honey cake, is heavenly. A daily special, baltukas, or custard cake, came within a centimeter of rivaling the honey cake. (Unless you're dining alone, you can always order both and share...)

Lithuanian food seems especially well-suited to wintertime dining. It's served in an informal, rustic space with rough-hewn tables and benches, and a huge iron chandelier overhead. 

A wall mural near the kitchen seems almost out of place with its Tuscan colors, but Sukys explains that it depicts a building in Vilnius, Lithuania's capital, constructed of native clay.

Service is pleasant and attentive. Sukys handles front-of-the-house duties and is happy to answer questions about Lithuanian food, history and traditions. (More trivia: Lithuania was the last pagan country in Europe, finally converting to Christianity late in the 14th century.)

Minor quibble: Mama Papa's menu and prices remain the same throughout the day, which makes it a bit expensive for an everyday lunch, although reasonable for dinner.

Skanaus! (Roughly, the Lithuanian equivalent of "Cheers!")

Mama Papa Lithuania Restaurant and Tea House, 1241 Park St., Alameda, (510) 522-4100, mamapapalithuania.com. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Reservations accepted. Menu includes vegetarian and gluten-free options.

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