Marie's Restaurant  
 (Second Visit)
Wadsworth, Ohio         Date of Visit:  05/20/16          No Known Website
 Click Here for Original Visit

Granted, I didn’t care much for Marie’s on my first trip to the old location, many years ago, but things change and we find our way there every now and again. The majority of the staff seem to be trying pretty hard (it’s like an anthill between the floor staff and the kitchen, black clad critters scurrying everywhere) but the leadership appears to be an issue. I don’t know that I’ve been there in the middle of a busy service (and they DO get busy) and not seen the manager sitting down, eating/drinking and distracting the floor staff from their customers without a gander at the patrons.

Seasoned breadsticks cut from their crust dough and bright red sauce start dinners off well enough. Their salads are pretty standard, but fresh and the serious lumps of bleu cheese in the dressing is a bonus.

The pizza is still solid and the jojos are a must. Crispy breading and the fluffy, steaming tater interior are one of the few deliciously unique Akron area tastes around.

I have also discovered their Italian classics range from fair to pretty darn good with today’s being the cheese-laden lasagna with their sharp and clean red gravy. I haven’t been disappointed with the layered casserole yet and also found nice meatballs, hefty burgers, and other worthwhile options.  I’ve read and heard many complaints about service and sometimes food, which may be warranted (especially with the lack of leadership) but I continue to find myself more fond of the place and adequately served.
 

A Pleasant Start
 

If You Like The Bleu, This Is One Place To Go For It
 

Grown On Me
 

Chicken Fried Taters!!!

Plenty Of Cheese Makes Lasagna Worth It

Marie's Restaurant 
Wadsworth, Ohio        Dates of Visit  08/28/10-09/05/10           No Known Website

Confession, first time I tried Marie’s new location I didn’t care much for it. The pizza seemed flat and unremarkable. I have had opportunity to return a couple of times and I suspect the new location had a bad night on my first journey. It’s been better since. Right in the Wally-world parking lot in Wadsworth, Marie’s is almost always busy. The new building is spacious but around rushes you can still expect a wait. The kitchen is awash in black t-shirt clad employees churning out copious amounts of fare for the dining room, patio, and lots of takeout. We stopped by a couple of times to try a few options. On the patio we split a pie with shroom and pepperoni. A second lunch stop we sat inside and had a couple of sandwiches.

Pepp and Shroom, not bad at all
 

The service on the patio renewed my belief that servers should be busy, they get a lot more done. Ours spent much of the evening sitting at the bar and chatting with her coworkers, oft forgetting they had tables. Inside, although we came very early and the place started slow, our server stayed on top of things throughout. The pizza has much more character than I remembered from my first try. It is a pizza that needs toppings, however. The dough, sauce, and cheese are assisted by a shake of seasoning across the top but it is much better with additional ingredients. The mushroom and pepperoni are more than enough to create a satisfying and pleasing meal.

For lunch we ordered a burger, a meatball sandwich and a side of jojos. if you’re not from the area jojos are thick cut potatoes which are breaded or battered before being fried or baked. The burger came with chips and can be upgraded to fries and slaw as a platter. Steph is a jojo fanatic and ordered jojos instead of adding the fries. They were pillowy soft inside with a crunchy exterior. The burger arrived with a cornucopia of veggies staked to it and a pile of chips. In most places the chips are simply there to keep from serving a plate that is 70% empty. These were really good, salty and crisp, I think I would prefer them to the fries. The burger was excellent! Real beefy flavor and lots of crunchy garden options.
 

The meatball sandwich came on a soft square bun that was created for soaking up sauce. The only downside here is the sandwich had very little sauce inside making for a tidy but dry experience. The meatballs and fries were pretty average. I don’t know if they make their own coleslaw or buy it in but it is really good with a bright sweetness that balances well with the peppery cabbage. First trip we all split a Tiramisu which was perfectly passable and well dressed. All in all my appreciation for Marie’s continues to grow, pretty good for a local pizza joint.

Dry but Tasty Meatball Sammy

Tiramisu