My family (including a 3 ½ year old) recently went to the new Marzano on College Avenue. We had reservations and arrived early Friday evening. The waitress was friendly and helpful, immediately finding crayons and paper for the little guy and offered to sweeten his lemonade when he puckered in protest. While the restaurant looks inviting with its rustic brick walls and pizza oven at the rear, we shivered throughout the evening … either because the temperature was set too low or maybe because we were next to a curtained entrance to the rest rooms and back offices.
We ordered a margherita pizza for the table, as well as fried peppers and a bruschetta trio. The pizza was mediocre at best, the peppers ($8) were good, but would have been a free appetizer at restaurants we frequented back east. The bruschetta was good. And, I’m sorry; bread sticks don’t do it for me. Give me good, crusty, airy sweet Italian bread. They do, after all, have a wood burning oven here.
A note on drinks, specifically the Sicilian Punch at $10, which promised punch, wine, and wiskey …. hmmm, we got the punch and a teaspoon of wine, but not much else. My daughter had their pork shank special, which was a little fatty, heavily sauced, and far too salty, but she did like the butter beans. My wife tried the chicken arrabbiata and I had the seafood stew. Their sauces were remarkably similar. Both were VERY hot, deep red, and again, a little too heavily salted for my tastes. The chicken was tender, but the heat overwhelmed the taste as it did in my seafood stew. The cod and mussels enriched the fish dish, but calamari (one of my favorites) was largely absent. Total bill around $145 for 4 ½ persons. Save your money, go to Pizzaiola.