I have heard about a quaint little restaurant called Marino's located in Austintown, Ohio. During Lent, we decided to stop in and try it. On a Friday night we were a little stunned that it was not busy. In fact, there were only about 4 tables being used by customers.
Anyway, we were seated right away and I ordered the fish dinner and a fried cheese appetizer. In about five minutes the cheese was brought to our table. There were five small pieces and a small bowl of dipping sauce. The sauce was OK, standard fare. The cheese sticks the same way. Standard, nothing bad, nothing good, just average.
The rolls were good though. I suspect they were home-made, they were warm, fresh, and tasted good, especially with melted butter.
The salad was standard fare. Excuse me for the late snapshot of the salad. I ate more than half when I realized I forgot to snap the picture.
About 20 minutes went by and our fish dinners arrived. I ordered Mac and Cheese as a side dish. As you can see, the fish was thin, and skinny. The breading was adequate but a little soggy. It had a "Fishy" smell to it which to me means it was not as fresh as it could be. The taste was OK. Certainly not what I had expected as several people told me about the place. The Mac and Cheese was cold.
All this for a Friday special of $12 dollars plus coke and tip.
The Grassy Knoll Institute scores 2.25 out of 5 shots and does not recommend Marino's Italian Cafe for dinner.
LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL