Restaurant Review Series
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Restaurant Review Series |
Date: February 22/2003
Place: East Side Marios
Meal: Dinner
Reviewers: Laura & Sylvia
Sylvia :
Well, here I am again, the second
time in a week, eating at East Side Mario's and loving it!! The food is
always really good; unfortunately, the service leaves something to be
desired. I don't know if it's because it is always so busy, but the server
never seems to be in a big hurry to get to the table for the first time.
You are sat down with the menu and left alone, usually for about 10
minutes. Those 10 minutes are verrrrrry long when you get there with an
empty stomach and a thirst on. Once the appetizers arrive though,
everything about the service seems to get better and better.
One thing I always enjoy about East Side Mario's is the atmosphere. It's
loud and fun! You can't help but smile when you hear the staff singing a
unique happy birthday song to some lucky patron, who of course, always gets
some sort of freebie or coupon. They keep you coming back. Who wouldn't
use a free lunch coupon?
The
food was excellent, as usual. Come to think of it, I don't think I have
ever heard anything bad about the food there. It's fresh, it's hot, and
always has tons of flavour! I also like the fact that the menu has lots
more than just pasta and pizza on it.
We started with a Caesar salad, which was really tasty. Then I had the
Baked Garlic Shrimp and it was phenomenal. Even Laura liked it, and she's
not big on seafood, so that tells you something right there. My main dish
was the Linguini Chicken Tetrazzini which was really full of flavour. The
garlic bread loaf that was served with our meal was so fresh and tasty, wow;
my mouth is watering just thinking about it again! Overall East Side
Mario's deserves at least an 8 in my books. It's definitely become a family
favourite.
Laura:
Sylvia & I
went to East Side Mario's on Saturday Night as a big snow storm was just
starting to hit town. The weather was brutal. We had to run a couple errands
enroute and both figured for sure the place would have an echo because who
could be nuts enough to venture out in that mess. Well, we spoke to soon
cause the place was full. I couldn't believe it. I have only been there a
few times so I can't say I am too familiar with the atmosphere, but this
surprised me. Family's laughing and people visiting; it was a friendly
atmosphere. Very warm after walking in from the cold. We were met by someone
at the door immediately who took our name and led us to the bar but like
Sylvia says we waited and waited and didn't actually get our drinks until we
got our seats. On one hand it was only 10 or 15 minutes, but it felt
like too long. If we noticed it, then it was too long.
Once we were seated and got our drinks it turned into a great evening. The server was very friendly and efficient. We both had a ceasar salad to start which was very fresh. We ordered the appetizers right away when we got the drinks because we were eating late and we were both starving as usual. It is amazing we are not both overweight. Probably because once a month we go out and gorge, then starve the rest, lol. For an appetizer I chose the Manhattan Pick up Sticks which are pieces of seasoned deep fried chicken with dipping sauce. Although very tasty, I found it somewhat dry. Actually, it was pretty good until Sylvia got me to taste her shrimp appetizer and I usually don't like seafood (notice the past reviews!) but that was delicious and just melted in my mouth. So after the juiciness the shrimp provided the chicken tasted dry.
Oh, and we were drinking house size Ceasars and they were very good although a little pricey at $7+ even with 2 full shots. For my main course I had a great meal. I had the fresh spit rotisserie chicken with chicken sauce on the side and french fries. If I would have closed my eyes as I was eating I would have swore I was at Swiss Chalet it was so juicy. Naturally because I had previously pigged out I was way too full and brought half the chicken home which made an awesome sandwich later in the night. It was a good meal and I would definitely give it an 8 on the scale of 1-10.
Previous Reviews
Waves Chill n' Grill ~ January 12/2004
Ollie's Bar & Grill ~ Oct 03/2003
East Side Mario's ~ Feb 22/2003
Scroggie's Grillhouse & Bar ~ Nov 14/2002
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