Mama Vesuvio's East

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  Now before you go running over to this place for dinner expecting a 4 star experience let me explain. I have been coming here for years. Well at least trying to. My friends usually tell me no. Then ask what's wrong with me. There's a good chance you will be the youngest person in this place. I think the average age is between 75-85. I would not recommend the entrees at all. I'm still in love though.
  
  In the Summer they have a great outdoor patio with darts, bags and bocce ball. The pizza is solid and the drinks are cheap and strong. What's not to love? I've always had friendly servers and I personally love watching the crowd.
  
  If the weather isn't good they have an indoor bar where karaoke takes place (I believe Friday nights). There are some prime people watching opportunities here. I prefer hanging here with friends sometimes over the usual bar scene. We can order pizza, drink pretty cheap and people watch. If you're in the mood for that and want to try a different scene I say check this place out.

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  Posted on 07.23.13 Melissa B.

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  I come here every year for my birthday and love it! The patio is exceptional; bocce ball and bags, an outside bar on busy nights, and a covered area for rain. The food is sometimes generic, but for a restaurant it's decidedly better than most.

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  Posted on 12.18.12 Mandie P.

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  I recently became involved with an organization that meets monthly at this establishment. I had not been here in years because ... well, frankly the place is dated and needs a face lift. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the food remains authentic Italian good food, even with the drab decor. This is a great candidate for Restaurant Impossible and a Robert Irvine makeover, but the food, especially their pizza, is quite good.

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  Posted on 10.17.12 Fredrick B.

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  Haven't been inside in a while but went tonight with 2 other gal pals and had a great dinner.  First, our waiter, Mark gave great recommendations, told us he was tired but was going to give us great service which he did-he was great. The Miaro family has been at this location for about 25 years.  I have been here in the past for their summer outdoor patio, boccie ball - so much fun.  But tonight indoor - proves the Miaro family can cook their great Sicilian recipes  and that this place should be way more popular in the "non-patio" season than it is!!! Go there girls and check it out you won't be disappointed.  And say hello to Phil the "Manager" who is really the owner's kid in training for ownership-he needs to learn a little bit more about the traditional Italian  hospitality-but he's young-I'm sure he will get it figured out.  :-)

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  Posted on 04.01.12 Bridget G.

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  I would never return here again. I had dinner here tonight because of a company sponsored dinner, otherwise I don't think I ever would have come here on my own.  I ordered a lemonade to drink.  It tasted like they mixed it in the kitchen using a lime-aid mix.  Not good.  Almost everyone at the dinner that ordered tea or lemonade sent it back.  We had  salad with vinegar dressing.  The lettuce was brown.  I ordered lemon chicken with vegetables.  The chicken tasted like the they bought frozen chicken breasts, cooked it in the oven, and poured some sauce over it.  The vegetables were horrible as well.  I could've made a better lemon chicken at home.  I didn't pay for this meal, and I still want my money back

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  Posted on 02.29.12 Janene M.

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  I had a late dinner with three friends at Mama Vesuvio East last night around 10 p.m.  We sat in the dining room where entertainment (an organist) takes place on Saturday nights.  Unfortunately he had just completed his set (he was talking to customers, then left) so we were not able to hear him perform.
  
  Very friendly service; wonderful bread; huge portions; delicious-looking cannoli; excellent after-dinner coffee.  It was pouring rain outside and the waitstaff kindly did not rush us out of the restaurant.
  
  There was kareoke going on somewhere nearby - the bar I suspect - so you may want to avoid sitting there unless you have a good sense of humor judging by some of last night's performers' singing.
  
  I would have loved to have seen the rest of the complex, including a large outside seating area, but the weather did not permit.
  
  I will be back to Mama Vesuvio East in the future, I am sure.

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  Posted on 07.25.10 Judith M.

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  Honestly,  finding real quality Italian on the south side is a task I abandoned a few years ago.
  
  Dated,  that is the best term to describe this place.  If you ever saw the movie Big Night this is the place across the street,  well maybe not anymore.  Due in part to lackluster food and an aging demographic the writing is on the wall unless some serious adjustments are made.
  
  A dish that has been stellar for ages is the Chicken Vesuvio,  a greasy (in a good way) garlicky roasted chicken with roasted potatoes,  very rich and flavorful.  Well normally,  on a recent trip the chicken has been downsized,  it was never huge,  probably 1/2 of a 3 1/2 pound bird,  this latest version was puny.  A chicken that was one meal past consideration of a game hen,  with a drumstick that was slightly larger than my thumb.  The skin had no carmalization to it and the sauce was very cloudy.
  
  Another dish I have enjoyed was one not on the menu,  seafood in garlic and olive oil,  but the most recent version of this dish while featuring an abundant amount of very fresh seafood (except for the weird tiny lobster tail?)  was buried in more garlic than a Transylvania bound Train.  Looked like about 10 cloves of minced garlic,  just vile.
  
  An odd gesture is the free "bread salad",  the epitome in redundancy.  After ordering you get soup or salad with a basket of nice bread,  then they bring you yesterdays leftover bread tossed with their house dressing and a smattering of peppers,  onions and cucumbers.  I am a fan of "panzenella"  but this over dressed,  overly sweet and pasty concoction is abysmal.  If you like gnawing on raw stuffing Thanksgiving eve you may enjoy this.
  
  Another disappointment was the French onion soup,  the broth was cloudy and weak,  topped with a slice of toasted bread and grated low quality mozzarella it was not placed under the broiler.  The cheese was left in its grated cold state to roll down the crouton into the lukewarm broth,  a travesty as far as French onion soup goes.
  
  Playing it safe and cheep I opted for the spaghetti and meatballs,  two beef meet balls on top of spaghetti and red sauce.  I call it red sauce because there are no other defining qualities to the sauce.  The pasta,  slightly overcooked and the balls were over mixed,  dense,  pasty,  salty and looked to be seasoned with either seasoned bread crumbs or dried parsley.  Really crappy version of a staple in red sauce places.
  
  Ice burg lettuce salad was fresh and crisp.
  
  The place seems to have been decorated recently,  but other than the shiny patina you would never guess.  Their is an organ for some type of live music,  a giant Tiffany like faux stained glass center piece in the ceiling,  Roman columns in the walls,  quite bizarre actually.
  
  Service is fine,  the servers seem to have made a career here.

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  Posted on 05.08.10 Bob D.

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  Eh... everything about this restaurant/tavern screamed "old".  Of course, it needs to scream, because most of the patrons couldn't hear it otherwise!  Ok, that was maybe a little mean, but I call 'em like I see 'em.
  
  Here's what I know.  When I got there Saturday evening around 7:30, I was instructed to go to "the Lounge".  I walk in to a dark, smoky bar with a limited selection that, from the look of it, hadn't been updated since the fifties.
  
  When we sat down for dinner (I was there for my friend's birthday), there was an actual lounge singer, with an actual synthesizer, white tux, the whole nine yards.  He didn't sing much, but he did play what I can only categorize as "the old standards" because everyone in the restaurant seemed to know the songs that were playing.
  
  There were about fifteen of us in this party, and I think we were the only ones there under 60.  Seriously.  I am not kidding, exaggerating, being sarcastic, or otherwise exaggerating for effect.  And they were all dressed up, the women were wearing dresses, the men jackets and ties.  In walks in my group, dressed in our "club" clothes, and it was like a bad episode of Sesame Street ("one of these things is not like the other... one of these things does not belong...").  No one told me there was a dress code...!
  
  My friend had previously made a big deal about reservations; by the time we were all gathered and seated, I looked around and figured there would have been enough room had there been forty-five of us.
  
  But, hey- I heard the food was amazing from a friend of mine, so I was looking forward to that.  I ordered the chicken Parmesan.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either, certainly not rave-worthy.  The pasta and "gravy" was better- if I ever go back, I'll stick to that.
  
  The service was what you would expect.  They were nice, courteous, accomodating, but I could tell that my group was not their "target demographic", if you will, so the same propriety and etiquette you would expect with serving primarily senior citizens does not adjust well when dealing with a large group of 25-35 year olds "carbo-loading" before going out drinking and otherwise getting rowdy.
  
  The price was more than reasonable, so I guess its got that going for it, but overall, I think I'd just rate it as "average".  If I was ever looking for a place to take a GILF, though...

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  Posted on 01.15.07 Dan M.

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  Great Italian food, made the old authentic way. ")

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  Posted on 12.30.06 Amy A.

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