Mama's Pizza Kitchen, Lake Ave.

Mama's Pizza Kitchen recently opened in the space formerly occupied by Little D's, on Lake Ave. in Charlotte, and Charlotte Pizzeria before that. It's always seemed particularly risky to me to open a business in a location where several others have tried the same thing and failed, but maybe Mama's will be the one that breaks the pattern.
I stopped in for a slice around lunchtime. There were a few cheese and some pepperoni slices available. The pie from which they had been cut had been unevenly sliced, so that some slices were noticeably bigger than others. I got one of the larger cheese slices.
It had a thin crust, with a golden brown, screen-baked underside. The exterior of the crust was firm but not crisp, and easily foldable. The interior was soft and a little chewy, and the outer edge was formed into a thin, narrow lip with a crunchy texture.
The slice was topped with a thin, uniform layer of well-browned cheese, which had exuded some of its fat, creating a somewhat oily surface. Dried herbs were visible atop the cheese, and added some flavor and aroma.
The sauce, on the other hand, was hardly to be seen. Peeling away the cheese, I could see a bit of sauce here and there, but not much, nor was it very evident on the palate. Flavorwise, this was almost like eating a white pizza, with the crust, cheese and herbs all sharing the spotlight, while the sauce remained very much behind the scenes.
Mama's has quite an extensive menu, with 28 pizza toppings, five specialty pizzas, calzones, wings, a long list of "bomber" sandwiches, wraps, melts, subs, salads and sides. There's a little room to eat in if you choose, but it's mostly a takeout place.