Description
The place that was here for the last 4 decades closed last year, and a guy who has been in the lingerie and Strip-O-Gram business bought it. From the outside it looked like they just slapped a coat of paint on the place. The tables outside had some filthy plastic covering them; probably just to keep them clean overnight but it was clear that they didn't want you sitting outside for lunch. It's too hot for that now anyway, and I wanted to see the inside.
As I opened the door, I was surprised at the change. They gutted the inside, and if you'd ever been to the old Marino's you know how cluttered it was before. No booths; just an open room. I came early because I didn't want to be the only one here, but at 1:30pm I was the only one here.
The server had his cell on speaker and he was engaged in an all out conversation with someone. Perfect for a restaurant .
This is yet another restaurant trying to score points touting Rino Balzano, the former celebrity chef that hasn't been able to find a home since he left Rino's Tuscan Grill to open Rino's Cucino (in the old Mason Jar location before they moved) in 2008. Rino's lasted about a year, and since then he's been associated with one failed restaurant after another; most recently Santa Lucia on Oakland Park Blvd and The Venetian in Parkland.
Judging from the pictures of the food, I thought there was no chance that Balzano did more than show up for the grand opening, but then I saw him walk through the dining room. Rino was in the kitchen!
I had zero expectations coming in, but now I thought I might have a chance to get something decent. The zero personality server wasn't offering any information; he brought out some water without asking if I wanted a beverage "Do you have Ice Tea"? He nodded. "I'll have an iced tea with lemon, and the eggplant parm"
The tea came out and that was that; the menu stayed on the table for my entire visit. A truck pulled up and 2 pot bellied worker dudes came in and sat down, so I wasn't alone.
Celine Dion, "The Streets of Philadelphia" and a tune from Cirque Du Soleil filled the air.
There's nothing on the menu about soup or bread, and my server didn't offer any words or choices. After 8 minutes he came out with some soup. 'What kind is it", I asked. He didn't know; he had to go back into the kitchen to find out.
I only needed to stick a spoon in it to see it was minestrone. Pretty old looking; didn't look like something a James Beard chef would make. It was bland and boring, like the soup you might get at a place like Quarterdeck.
I was 3 spoonfuls into the soup and the server dude walked out some bread. Not sure why this was coming out in waves. No butter, but there was an olive oil dispenser so I could make a dip. No salt and pepper or oregano on the tables.
The bread was kind of doughy, like they didn't let it rise enough and it needed another 10 minutes in the oven. Definitely not worth the carbs.
The Eggplant came out next. When he put it down in front of me I was surprised at what a mess it was.
Good Grief. Sauce should cling to the pasta; this isn't an touffe. The eggplant was a slimy mess; this is the eggplant you had the first time you had eggplant when you decided that you didn't like eggplant Parmesan. They couldn't even be bothered to chop the parsley correctly; just a couple of green clumps on top.
There are several ways to make eggplant for eggplant parm, and this isn't one of them. Plus there was only one small round of eggplant; the dish was 80% linguine. Pretty disappointing overall.
Conclusion
I was confused by the marketing of this place, which features pictures of other people's food, a claim of an award winning chef, and actual pictures of food on other reviews that looked like total slop. I'd initially identified this place as yet-another "restauranteur" using pictures of other people's food (they even left the copyright notice on the panini; the deep dish pizza picture is from serious eats, and the antipasto is from food.com.). The contrast between the fake pictures and the actual pictures of the food online couldn't be more pronounced. What's ridiculous is that the pictures don't even match the dish descriptions; the antipasto is completely different and they have tomatoes in their scampi but none in the picture they commandeered. I mean if you're going to steal pictures, at least find one that matches your recipe.
I think the problem is that Rino isn't a very good chef. Maybe he's lost it, or maybe food from the 80s isn't appealing anymore. I can't imagine this eggplant ever being appealing. Santa Lucia was underwhelming, and the menu here is pedestrian. The dish I got was poorly executed and should have been served in a bigger bowl; the kind of mistake made by an amateur and not someone with 30 years of experience in restaurants.
The value isn't bad, but I can't see people coming here for this stuff. There's no liquor license registered at this location yet, so there isn't even wine or beer to wash down the slop.
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