Mary Coyle/Michael Trecaso
 Akron, Ohio           Date of Visit  01/22/11             
http://www.marycoyle.com/

After a wonderfully enormous graduation ceremony we found ourselves in Akron and ready for lunch. Having been to Mr. Zubs in Highland Square we promised ourselves we would try some of the other places along that stretch of road. Today we were in the mood for Italian and ice cream and stopped at Mary Coyle/Michael Trecaso. The Highland Square website I had checked said Mary Coyle’s was in the Michael Trecaso building…just a hint look for the Mary Coyle signs…they are a lot easier to find than the Michael Trecaso sign in the window. Apparently we were having a historic restaurant weekend with visits to Taggarts and now a place that has been serving Akron since 1937. This is in a way three stores in one. There is a small Italian kitchen, a soda fountain and a counter of Ben Heggy’s chocolates all encircling the tables and chairs.
 



 


 
 


The Fountain
 

The fountain is amazing. I don’t know that I have ever seen anything like that in person. You can easily imagine a paper hat capped soda jerk busting out phosphates and egg crèmes for a counter clad in saddle shoes and poodle skirts.

Our server also turned out to be our cook, soda jerk and candy salesperson. I have a feeling during the slower hours she might also be the dish machine the accountant and running on a wheel to produce enough energy to keep the lights on. She was on top of things through our visit with only a couple of other folks in the place. I wonder what would happen if they got slammed in the middle of the day, she might combust. We ordered the small portions of ravioli and lasagna and the wedding soup. A small tossed salad with a bright vinaigrette and bread were included. The bread was fine but it wasn’t anything special. The soup wasn't bad but the pasta nuggets were beyond mush and the bowl could have used a little more bitterness from additional greens.

 
 
Bread was Okay
 

Nice Dressing on the Salad
 

Passable at Best Wedding Soup
 
 

Good Ravis and Sauce
 

The Small Lasagna
 

Butterscotch and Banana Sundae
 
  The pastas for both dishes were spot-on with a nice bit of tooth for texture. I have to say the sauce isn’t bad at all. Actually it’s thick, rich and tomatoey and the meat sauce has loads of tiny meat nuggets. Probably one of the best I have found in Akron. Certainly, lunch was better than I had expected.

We split a butterscotch and banana sundae. The ice cream was nice, thick and rich, tiny crystals, and fair vanilla flavor. The toppings were pretty standard and while good, the whole sundae didn’t capture the magic of something like the Bittner we had the night before. A bag of assorted chocolates and we headed out into the snow satisfied and certain to return. It wasn't the best meal we have had as of late but all three personas in the building delivered a solid performance which made for a nice lunch.


Heggy's Chocolates
 

 
  Ratings  
 
Food

Service


Ambiance

What's Best

What's Worst


Overall
 
  B- B- A B D C  
        Sauce Soup    
 
All Restaurants By Ranking Restaurants By Date These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things Steph's Favorite Things
Home List of Restaurants by City The Ratings What's Rated Random Thoughts