Mario's

When I think of Italian food, I dream about a whole lot of pasta, garlic, olive oil, basil, and bread.  There's not been a whole lot of that outside of the Lee residence that I have enjoyed in Metro Detroit (now Windsor is another story!), but I keep trying to find another spot that will top or at least compare to La Dolce Vita, the frontrunner in my book (and blog).  Most recently we have tried the new local spot, Zazio's, which has promise.  And in the past, we have made attempts at Andiamo, D'Amato's, and  even out to Compari's in Plymouth, which at the time, was as best as we thought we could get.

Thus, for my 31st birthday, we decided it was about time we checked out Mario's, a fine dining Italian restaurant in the heart of Detroit's theater district.  This place seemed to be a landmark in Detroit and their website describes the restaurant with some bold statements:

This isn’t retro, this is real. We’ve been around since 1948. There aren’t many restaurants with this kind of character. One step inside and you’ll see that Mario’s is a place rich with tradition and we like to keep it that way. 

So it is real, and it's absolutely traditional from the tuxedo-dressed wait staff to the dark, cozy atmosphere one might expect of an Italian restaurant that has been around for 62 years.  As we entered the restaurant, it was as if we were transported back to a much livelier Detroit, but that might have been because we ran into a group of 20 diners (including Mayor Bing!) on their way out the door for Angel's Night. 

For dinner, I opted for the Chicken Parmesan.  As Scottie taught me, it's best to compare Italian restaurants by choosing the same meal, so this has been my choice for the last few Italian dining experiences.  Since we were starving, when the bread arrived, as per usual, we dug right into the loaf.  Little did we know though that since we order a "house specialty" that we would be sitting through approximately a 2.5 hour dinner service that included an antipasto salad, soup, pasta, and then our main course.  It was a good thing we ordered a bottle of wine!

Since I'm not much of an antipasto fan, I wasn't about to waste my appetite on the spread of food; however, I did indulge in a little of the soup.  For the pasta side dish, I didn't like how it came at a separate time from the meal as traditionally I like to eat them together.  While the pasta tasted fresh, the sauce didn't excite me too much.  For the main course, I had to dig awhile through the layers of cheese to find my Chicken, but I suppose most guests appreciate the generous portions of parmesan.  

Anyway, overall, the food, service, and atmosphere were all quite pleasant and I could see why people might choose this as their pre-theater meal (especially since they offer a shuttle to various theaters in the area).  But for us, it just wasn't the Italian that we loved so much in Chicago, NYC, Windsor, or even Little Italy in St. Louis, and La Dolce Vita still ranks the highest on our list.  Mario’s is one of the better efforts in Detroit though, and a place everyone should try, at least once, if only for the experience.