Belleria Restaurant - Fried Haddock Dinner

Belleria Italian Bread

Belleria is a very nice and friendly restaurant in Youngstown. They have the standard fare entrees but with their own special touch. Patty and I decided on fried haddock dinners. At Belleria, you seat yourselves and we were lucky enough to find an open booth. The waitress dropped off some menu's and took our drink order. A few minutes later fresh Italian bread was delivered to our table. The bread was fresh, still warm, and very delicious.

A Little Sparse Salad

As I said previously, we were hankering for haddock and the waitress took our order and I added fried cheese sticks for an appetizer. In less than five minutes our salads were at our table. As you can see, it wasn't a big salad, but it was fresh and it did the job.

Cheese Logs

As soon as we finished our salads, our fried cheese with sauce arrived. There were five pieces and a zesty spaghetti sauce. However, notice the smallness in size of the sauce container. It was not enough for all five pieces. The cheese was well breaded and cooked and with the sauce was very good tasting.

Belleria Fried Haddock Dinner

Like clock work our fish dinners were brought to our table as soon as the appetizer was finished. I must say, it was very good service. And friendly. The haddock was a generous portion and breaded nicely. It wasn't as thick as other haddock planks but good nonetheless. It wasn't greasy or smelly but light and flaky. A little lemon and pepper and it was ready to go. The fries were fresh cut and well cooked. A packet of tartar sauce was also present on the plate which I completely ignored.

The price was reasonable, around $10 dollars for the dinner. The cheese sticks were around $4.50 which wasn't bad, except for to less of sauce. Soft drink added and this could all be yours for around $16 dollars not including tip.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 3.75 out of 5 shots and recommends Belleria's Fried Haddock Dinner for dinner.

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Scarsella's Italian Restaurant - Fried Cod Dinner

Scarsella Restaurant Italian Bread

Scarcella’s Restaurant in Youngstown has been a classic Italian Restaurant for decades and is one that we often frequent especially during the Lent season.

Scarcella’s has the feel of an authentic Italian restaurant. The seating is sparse but just enough. We were seated right away and bread and butter were brought right out. The bread was Italian of course and was fresh and tasted good.

Scarsella's Restaurant Youngstown Ohio Salad

A salad comes With every dinner at Scarsella’s. It is standard fare, a little cheese, lettuce, carrots, tomato. It was good.

Youngstown Scarsellas Home Made Fried Cheese

As an appetizer, I ordered Scarsella’s fried cheese with sauce. In the Youngstown area, all fried cheese is compared to the original Antone’s restaurant fried cheese. Scarsella’s fried cheese holds its own as the taste was very good, the portion adequate, and the sauce zesty and plentiful.

Youngstown Scarsellas Fried Fish Dinner

Fried Cod And Shell Dinner To the main course. In less than 15 minutes, our fish dinners were delivered to our table. The order was fried cod with a side of shells and sauce. The breading was well cooked and crunchy, not soggy like many other fish dinners. The cod was fresh and not greasy. The shells well cooked and plentiful with the same zesty sauce from the fried cheese.
The cost without tip was right around $10 dollars which was a fair deal considering the portion size and quality cooking.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 3.5 out of 5 shots and recommends Scarsella’s Italian Restaurant for dinner. Especially during Lent.

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Margherita's Italian Restaurant

Margherita's Italian Restaurant

Patty calls me and tells me of a new restaurant close to town called Margaritaville. Al right! I was down with that. I loved Mararitaville in Las Vegas and Orlando and now there was one close in town. I was ready for some “Cheeseburger In Paradise.” We went as soon as I got home.
We found ourselves in Girard on the main drag and Patty says, there it is, there’s Margaritaville. Damn, I must of heard wrong, (I am 51) for there before me was the Margherita’s Restaurant sign. The place was packed and the parking lot full so it took some ingenuity in parking.

Italian Bread And Butter

Totally bummed that I wouldn’t be having mine with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french fried potato, I settled for a standard classic. A short time later, some Italian Bread was brought to the table. It was fresh and tasted good. Bravo!

Standard Salad

Next came the salad. It was standard fare. It was good, fresh, with plenty of lettuce and enough added items to compliment the dish. So far, so good.

Margherita's Chicken Parm

You guessed it. I ordered the Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti. After all, it was an Italian restaurant, the sauce is usually good and the meals generally very above average.

The portions were good. The chicken juicy and zero fat. The cheese melted and the sauce plenty and zesty. The Penne was well cooked, hot, and with the sauce, was good.

Margherita's Restaurant Inside Dining

My only real complaint was the seating. Not that we were cramped, but we were right next door to the rest room. Not that it’s a bad thing, but usually, you cannot hear what’s going on inside the rest room. At Margherita’s, you know everyone’s business if you know what I mean.

The cost was roughly $10 dollars without tip which is a real good price. The food was good, portions adequate, the service OK, but the placement, not so good.
The Grassy Knoll Institute scores 3 out of 5 shots and recommends Margherita’s Italian Restaurant for dinner. (Just make sure you are not seated by the rest room)

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Antone's Restaurant - Youngstown -Lasagna Dinner

Antones Restaurant Lasagna Dinner

Boardman, Ohio has plenty of restaurant options to choose from. Antone’s Italian Restaurant is tonight’s option. Let me introduce you to one of the top menu choices at Antone’s, the Lasagna dinner.

The hostess seated us right away even though it was semi-crowded. Italian bread and our drinks were brought to our table and our waitress took our main course dinner order.

I went with the Lasagna. I have heard all kinds of good things about the lasagna that I finally had to try it. In about 15 minutes it was delivered to our table.

BTW, a side of Penne pasta came with the lasagna.

The portion was fair, the lasagna and Penne was hot and fresh. The sauce was zesty enough. The lasagna was meaty and cheesy and the noodles thick and well cooked. The Penne was hot with a good taste. I could not eat the entire entrée. With the cost at $9.99 for the meal, it was quite reasonable.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 3.25 out of 5 shots and recommends Antone’s Italian Restaurant Lasagna for dinner.

               

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Belleria Restaurant - Chicken Parmesan Dinner

Belleria Pizza

Belleria Italian Restaurant, located on Market Street in Boardman, Ohio, is much more than a pizza joint. And I found that out on my second visit. As usual, you seat yourselves in this restaurant. A table was open and we owned it.

Belleria Salad

Our waitress was over directly and took our drink order. Diet pop was my call. In a moment, she returned and took our dinner order. I started with the house salad. It was standard fare, it was good, fresh, and adequate.

Belleria Fried Cheese Sticks

As an alternate appetizer, we ordered the fried cheese sticks with marinaro sauce. They were surprisingly good. Well cooked, crunchy, hot, and the sauce was tangy but not to spicy.

Belleria Italian Bread

Of course Italian bread and butter were on the table. It was very good, fresh, and fit the bill.

Belleria Small Pizza

Just because we were at Belleria, I ordered a small 6 inch pizza topped with BBQ chicken. It wasn't as good as i expected. I was hoping the chicken would be cooked more, as well as the pizza. But that wasn't the main order.

Belleria Chicken Parmesan

To the main course, Chicken Parmesan and penne pasta. Again, the sauce was very good, zesty, and thick. The penne was well cooked and tasted good. The chicken was lightly breaded, well cooked, and the portion was adequate. The taste, good.

The costs: Small 6 inch pizza, $3.25

Fried Cheese sticks, $4.25

Chicken Parm, $9.50

$17.00 for the entire meal less tip.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 3.5 out of 5 shots and recommends Belleria Italian Restaurant for dinner.

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Antone’s Restaurant - Deep Dish Pasta Bake

Antone’s Italian Restaurant, located on the corner of Market Street and Western Reserve Road in Boardman, Ohio. On a whim, Patty and I decided to stop here for some of Antone’s famous “Fried Cheese” and sauce.

The restaurant itself was quaint, and small, but it was not crowded so we got right in and seated.

Our waitress brought out our menu’s in a timely fashion and asked for our drink orders. Diet pops for everyone tonight.

Of course I ordered the fried cheese with sauce. It was the reason we pulled in the parking lot. The cost was $5.99 which is a little steep, but it one of the best fried cheese in the business. As you can see, there was plenty of zesty spaghetti sauce, a generous portion of cheese, and it was baked in a golden brown batter. It was delicious.

No visit to an Italian restaurant is complete without the bread. Antone’s offered a lightly seasoned garlic bread. Lightly toasted and warm, the bread was a perfect complement to the meal.

Our waitress took our orders and in less than ten minutes, our fried cheese and main course meals were delivered to our table. I ordered the Deep Dish Pasta Bake special. This was something I haven’t encountered before. It was baked penne smothered in melted provolone cheese in a spaghetti sauce with pieces of breaded chicken. Plus two good-sized meatballs completed the ensemble. The cost was $6.49 which for the portion given was an excellent value. BTW, it tasted delicious.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 4 out of 5 shots and recommends Antone’s Italian Restaurant for dinner.

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Caffe Capri Restaurant – Valentines Day Dinner

Caffe Capri 

Happy St. Valentine's Day!
Patty and I decided to have our St. Valentine's Day dinner at Caffe' Capri in Boardman, (A suburb of Youngstown) Ohio. Luckily we arrived early enough before the crowd set in. We were greeted nicely and seated right away, in a very comfortable and intimate booth. We ordered our drinks, diet Cokes, and they were brought out in a timely manner.

Caffe Capri Fried Cheese And Sauce

I ordered the fried cheese with tomato sauce as my appetizer. As you can see, the appetizer was a generous portion. The taste was excellent, the cheese a good blend, the crust cooked to a golden brown, and the sauce, very thick with a zesty taste.

Caffe Capri Salad

I had one problem with Caffe Capri. The service was slower than what I had expected. Upon further observation, our waitress was busy servicing at least three other tables. She did apologize for the slow service for which we said we understood and everything was just fine.

The salads arrived and they were standard fare as salads went. The lettuce was fresh and crisp, very little carrots, one black olive, one slice of cucumber, one small cherry tomato. It lacked cheese and croutons.

Chicken Parmigiana Caffe Capri Style

The main course was chicken parmigiana with a side of Penne pasta. The portion was very generous, consisting of two large pieces of chicken that was well cooked, juicy, tender, and baked to a golden brown. Melted cheese and a hearty tomato sauce smothered the chicken. It was delicious. The penne pasta and sauce was equally surprising. Classic Italian bread completed the meal.

Pattys Meal

Patty's meal consisted of shrimp cocktail for an appetizer, salad, and haddock francaise in a tangy wine sauce with a side order of spaghetti. Patty said the meal was delicious and that we would be returning to Caffe Capri in the near future for another fine dining experience.

The cost for both meals was $53 dollars excluding tip which was very reasonable with the quality and amount of food received. The service was very good even with the excessive burden on her.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 4 out of 5 shots and recommends Caffe Capri for dinner.

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Belleria Italian Restaurant – Pizza

Belleria Signage

Continuing our tour of restaurants in the Youngstown, Ohio vicinity, we landed at Belleria's Italian Restaurant. I have heard they had good pizza and of course good Italian cuisine. We pulled in and at first thought the place was closed until we saw the neon sign glowing "OPEN"

Belleria Sampler Platter

The hostess was very pleasant and seated us at a table right away. It was not crowded at all, but there were patrons there eating. She took our drink orders and when she returned, we ordered the appetizer platter.

As you can see, everything was battered and deep fried. The platter consisted of onion rings, chicken wings, and chicken tenders plus a collection of sauces for dipping. All were cooked well and tasted good. So far so good.

Belleria Pizza

My main course was a cheese pizza. I know, plenty of other choices but I was rather fancying a slice of pizza at that time. I made sure to make the waitress aware that I did not want green peppers on my pizza.

In about 20 minutes, after the waitress cleared our table of our appetizer, my pizza arrived. Pretty impressive isn't it? Well, as I was cutting a slice, I noticed small green peppers scattered on the pizza. WTF!!! I distinctively ordered the pizza sans the peppers. Knowing that it would take 20-25 minutes to cook another pizza the way I ordered, I decided to buck up and endure. I delicately (As best one can with a knife and fork) picked the peppers off from each slice and pressed on. I only had several slices for the taste of the green peppers was embedded in the god damn pizza.

How did it taste you ask? It sucked! Plain and simple.

Ravioli Dinner

Ahh, but here's the conundrum. My darling wife Patty ordered the ravioli and meatballs. Patty states that her meal was not terrible, and it did not suck, but was rather good. The meatballs were average, the ravioli's were good, and the sauce above average. This throws a curve ball into my ranking for Belleria and if I would recommend them or not.

So I fall back on my ranking format.
How was the service? Since my order was incorrect, I would have to say terrible.
How was the food? Again, with my order being incorrect and the pizza tasting like peppers, it was terrible.
How was the presentation? It was nice, adequate, plenty of room at the table, extra napkins, a pizza knife, plates.
How was the price? The appetizer and pizza and coke was around $15 dollars. Not to steep, not to low.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 2 out of 5 shots and DOES NOT recommends Belleria Italian Restaurant for dinner.

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Carrabba’s Italian Restaurant – Chicken Parmesan

Carrabba's Italian Grill

Youngstown, Ohio and the surrounding area's have many fine restaurants. Unfortunately Carrabba's is not one of them. It's not the worst either. The service was adequate, the seating OK, the cost affordable, but there was nothing outstanding about the place. Nothing that snapped, popped, or sizzled.

House Salad

We were seated quickly and our waiter brought us water and our menu's. A few minutes later, she took our dinner orders. This salad is the standard house salad. A little cheese, a tomato, a cucumber, a few croutons, and some lettuce. The salad tasted good, not great, but good.

Carrabba's Chicken Parmigiana

I ordered chicken parmigiana with a side order of rigatoni pasta. The proportion was generous, the chicken tender enough, the cheese plenty, but the sauce, well, again, it was adequate. Nothing outstanding about the meal including the price. What you see is about $23 dollars before tip.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 2.5 out of 5 shots and barely recommends Carrabba's Italian Restaurant for dinner.

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Piero's Italian Restaurant - Penne' Pasta

Piero's Penne Pasta

Piero's Italian Restaurant is a short walk from the Las Vegas Convention Center. The actual address is 355 Convention Center Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89109. Piero's is "Old School" Las Vegas class where the Rat Pack hung out in their hey day.

Piero's inside decor is very elegant, and almost intimate in seating. The lighting is perfect for dining.

Being at a famous Italian restaurant, of course I ordered their house pasta which was penna in a tangy tomato sauce. As you can see from the photo above, the portion was generous, well cooked, and piping hot. The waiters and servers were very attentive and efficient.

The waiter took our order after informing us of the house specials for the evening and returned with bread and rolls for the table along with our drinks. (Water for me) Roughly 15 minutes later, our dinners arrived at our table.

The pasta was delicious, and although it is hard to see from the photo, the plate was deep and the penna plentiful. The sauce was fantastic, and the penna cooked perfectly.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 4 out of 5 shots and recommends Piero's for dinner when visiting Las Vegas.

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1. 
   

   Gumby said

   November 7, 2008 at 12:24 pm e
   Doesn’t look that good to be honest.
   Reply
2. 
   

   Bitzky said

   November 12, 2008 at 7:21 pm e
   I’d seriously hurt somebody for a plate of this right now O.O
   Reply
3.