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. |
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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 |
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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. |
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Ratings | |||||||
Food |
Service |
Ambiance |
What's Best |
What's Worst |
Overall |
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B- | B- | A | B | D | C | ||
Sauce | Soup |