EAST SIDE MARIO'S
Restaurant Review
Reviewed: 9/24/98

If you want horrid service this is the place for you. East Side Mario's, untrue to its name is located on the West side of town as well as the East. The atmosphere is deisgned to be fun and entertaining. When you walk inside you seemed to have been transported into a New York Italian neighborhood, OUTSIDE! It even has a fresh vegetable market and a replica Brooklyn Bridge. The menu is extensive. From a Sicilian Sausage & Pepper Skillet to a Bronx "Goomba" Burger for lunch up to Pasta, Chicken or Ribs for dinner. Mama's Baked Ziti is bubbly hot and covered with pomodori sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, provolone and parmesian cheeses. If you would like a little lighter dish, order the Linguine Chicken Picatta. They even have a Bambino menu for the kids.

I dined at East Side Mario's several times because I just could not believe a restaurant with this great decor and good food could have non-exsistant service. But unfortunately, whether you go for lunch or dinner, mid week or weekend, the wait staff do not provide service. You can wait for hours for a meal to be delivered to your table. In fact, on one occassion, it took over 1 « hours to have my lunch delivered. After discussing this with an unsympathetic manager the meal was reluctantly comped. It's obvious that management isn't concerned about the guests so the staff follows suit. Anyway, if you've got hours to kill and waiting doesn't frustrate you...check out East Side Mario's.

Prices are inexpensive. And a nice bar across from the dining room offers some of Mario's drink favorites.