Marino’s Italian Cafe – Austintown, Ohio

Marino's Fried Cheese

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.

Marino's Restaurant Rolls

The rolls were good though. I suspect they were home-made, they were warm, fresh, and tasted good, especially with melted butter.

Marino's Salad

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.

Marino's Restaurant Fish Dinner

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.
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Omaha Porterhouse Steak

Fellow Grassy Knoll Institute scientist Jungle Jim, (Arnold) offers his own Blue Plate Special critique of an Omaha Porterhouse steak ordered from room service.

Since I am a practicing Catholic ; } and my lovely wife reminded me that we were in Lent now and could not have meat tomorrow I indulged myself. Since I am on the road traveling in Omaha Nebraska AND my hotel offers room service, I ordered a 16 oz porterhouse supplied by Omaha Steaks (but of course). I really wanted to see what a $40.00 steak tasted like and since I am using the company charge card I ordered it. I also ordered a cup or Nebraska Corn Chowder. The meal arrived in my room VERY hot. The chowder was to say the least to die for. Plaintiff Number 2′s (ex-wife number two) father who was from this area always used to talk about this concoction. He was right. Think of creamed corn; add some cre’me and chunks of potatoes. Excellent!

The steak followed. It was cooked to perfection, med well with a slight tinge of pink in the center. The presentation was colorful. When I looked through the utensils, I didn’t see a steak knife. I was going to call down to have one delivered bit decided to go it with just a butter knife. I didn’t even need that. It was fork tender. It was accompanied by mashed sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli. The total bill with tip was $50.00. I rate this 4.5 out of 5 shots. While in Omaha Nebraska I recommend this steak which is served at Rain, the restaurant inside the Embassy Suites on South 10th street.

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