Mama Dolce's

Fallout 3 locations project

This article is within the scope of the Fallout 3 locations project. This project is dedicated to standardizing Fallout 3 location articles. For participation, please check the project page.

Template:Location

Mama Dolce's marks Mama Dolce's Food Processing Plant on your Pip-Boy's map in Fallout 3. This place can be reached either through the Flooded Metro Station then east through Arlington Cemetery, or through the Arlington/Falls Church Metro in Falls Church.

Mama Dolce's Food Processing Plant is divided into three parts:

Mama Dolce's Processed Food
Mama Dolce's Food Distribution
Mama Dolce's Loading Yard

Between the entry-side Processed Food, and Food Distribution, lies the Loading Yard.

Project Invade Mama Dolce's

A terminal in the Food Distribution section can only be used by looting Mama Dolce's Encryption Key from the body of the Chinese Remnant Captain.The terminal reveals that Mama Dolce's was, in fact, a front for Chinese intelligence and espionage throughout the DC area, and would undoubtedly serve as the base of operations for the other outposts scattered in the surrounding Wasteland. It seems that their front, in the end, came back to bite them, as when the bombs dropped they became the Ghouls you fight in Mama Dolce's.

Notable Loot

Books

Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor is outside just north of the entrance behind some barrels, next to a dead Wastelander, in a boxcar.
Chinese Army: Spec. Ops. Training Manual is next to one of the snipers in the Loading Yard area.
Guns and Bullets is next to the other sniper on the opposite side of the Loading Yard.
Guns and Bullets is in a bathroom stall on the ground floor in the Processed Foods area.
Dean's Electronics is on a shelf in the middle of a stairway in the Processed Food area; it's next to a phone, a toolbox and a broken computer.
Tumblers Today is in the Food Distribution area. Drop down through a hole(s) in the floor to the lower “cave” area to find the book next to two safes and a skeleton.
Two Pre-War Books can be found - one is in the Food Distribution area, on an upper level next to a terminal. The second book can be found on/under a small table in the upper level in the Processed Foods area.

A sniper rifle and large amounts of .308 ammo is on one of the loading yard balconies (perhaps put there to allow the player to snipe enemies in the courtyard itself). Silently attack the Chinese Remnant sniper up there (Chinese Officer's Sword is perfect), then take out the guy on top of a railcar with a missile launcher.

This is also a very helpful place for those looking to stock up on sugar bombs. As many as ten can be found within the factory.

Misc

Nuka-Cola Quantum is on the upper level in the Food Distribution area. It's on a desk next to a terminal.
On the ground floor in the Food Distribution area there is a ramp that leads downwards to two safes which require average and hard Lockpicking Skill respectively.
Good place to pick up Chinese Assault Rifles, Sugar Bombs, and Books, as well as the otherwise hard to find Dirty Chinese Jumpsuit.
Two Stealth Boys can be found in the building. The first is located in the upper levels of the Food Distribution area under the desk which holds the Chinese Commander's computer. The second is in the Processed Foods area through a set of double-doors, located on a table to the right as you enter the room.
A Power Fist is in a locked (Very Easy) footlocker in the Food Distribution area just inside of the door to Arlington Cemetery.
In the Loading Yard, you can jump from a boxcar onto a large open-topped garbage bin. (Run down the side of the top of the boxcar to jump; don't run across the boxcar's end to jump. The downslope of the roof prevents an effective jump.) The bin has 4 metal boxes and a garbage can, but they only have common loot.
Instead of repairing the Chinese Assault Rifles, you can give them to Pronto in Paradise Falls for a 20% discount on a newly expanded inventory. See Economics of Violence for more details.
In one of the two main building contains a Fat Man, but you have to activate 'tcl' in the command console, because the Fat Man is inside the foundation of the building(below the floor you normally walk on).At the same time you can see a some sort radio receiver(same level as the Fat Man)and a connection with one of the radio frequencies you hear when you are outside the Citadel. You can activate it but you can only reply 'See you later'.(Confirmed only for PC).
"Dolce" is Italian for sweet.
At the basement of the Food Distribution area, among the rubble just below the two stories drop from the top floor, there's a sign labeled CAUTION Trip Hazard. A nice little welcome message for those just having arrived from above.

Notes

Ironically, on the Chinese Captain's terminal, the heading reads: Mama Dolce's Processed Foods - An All-American Business.
There is a gas leak in the room you first encounter them in, if you entered in the Arlington side. To set it off, you have to be on the top catwalk shooting towards where you came in. Although on some occasions it can be activated by a companion directly underneath the catwalk.
When exploring the factory there will be boards with Chinese characters carved on them.
In the Loading Yard there is a gate that requires a key to open, but there is no corresponding key in the Mama Dolce's location, possibly because it doesn't lead to anywhere. The other side of the gate was not intended to be accessed, and the alley is unfinished beyond line of sight. The letters seen on the wall through the fence start at the 'E' in "ERIES". Because of the nature of Mama Dolce's, the writing on the wall probably is "Deliveries".
This simple exploration can be achieved (without the use of the console) by stacking 2 barrels on top of one another and use one of the barrels as a "step". However climbing the barrels requires some frantic jumping. These images were taken from Fallout 3 on an Xbox 360. Also note that a button exists on the ground level of the right hand side of the building's back right corner (where guard opens the door). The light on the button turns green or red when activated yet no changes to the area occur. There is also a sewer gate that can be opened and closed, but it doesn't lead to anything. It's above the 2 chests in the "cave" area.

Fast travel is available from Mama Dolce's Loading Yard.
On the encrypted computer it can be noted that the food colorant is the same as the printer ink.
When entering Mama Dolce's at higher levels, it turns into a good source for high-condition Chinese Assault Rifles.
The interior of the building (including the loading yard) is larger then the entire building as viewed from the outside, which contains no area for the loading yard to have been, and is rectangular rather then square (as the building is when viewed through the loading yard).

Bugs

Outside the front entrance to Mama Dolce's, there is a dead (supposedly) wastelander next to a book... Although he appears dead, every several seconds... he blinks! (Confirmed on Xbox 360).
In Food Distribution there are two Very Hard Doors (require 100 Lockpicking to open) that open onto blank walls. These can be accessed by jumping from the top catwalk onto the middle catwalk in the largest room of the food distribution area.
Sometimes when you enter the Loading area and kill one of the ghouls, but didn't like how it turned out and then reload your save, you can't move the targeting reticule around. The only way is to reload an actual save like 001 or 1125 to get it back to normal. (confirmed on Xbox 360)