Nino's Italian Restaurant

Unbelievable, I ordered spaghetti with Italian sausage. It came with a house salad which was very good, but was piled high on a too small plate that was unable to hold the contents, and a good loaf of hot Italian bread. Unfortunately that was the highlight of the meal. When the main course arrived there were 2 links of heavily burnt sausage on top of a pile of spaghetti and was covered with way too much sauce (maybe to try to hide the fact the sausage was burnt black). The sausage was so burnt you could smell the bunt meat through the sauce. When I told the waitress the sausage was burnt she did offer to get me another order of sausage that was not burnt but by this time I had already started my meal and had no intentions of waiting for additional sausage to arrive after I was finished. I told her not to worry about it. Instead of taking the $2 added for the sausage off my bill she brought me a "to go" container with 2 pieces of unburnt sausage along with the bill. Bottom line is this: The sausage was burnt completely black and there was no question it was ruined. It should never been served to a paying customer period. Especially not to one that is paying $14 for a plate of spaghetti w/ 2 sausages, and no matter how much sauce you put over it, it doesn't hide the fact it is burnt. I will never eat there again.

This little restaurant is in a strip shopping center just down from a Dollar General.  When I pulled into the parking lot, the place looked sort of dumpy from outside & I wasn't sure if I should go in or try to find another place to eat.  However, two locals had recommended it, so I decided to give it a try. I walked in and was seated immediately.  

The waitress was eager to take my order, but I couldn't decide what I was in the mood for.  After perusing the menu, I decided I wasn't in the mood for a heavy Italian dish.  Thankfully, they had a grilled chicken breast on the menu that came with a salad and 2 sides.  

The salad was not good - the lettuce & tomato weren't very appetizing and then they piled on some sort of white shredded cheese (kraft mozzerella I would guess).  They also put 2 slices of peperoni on top (yikes - not good for a non-pork eater like me!).  The salad dressing was some sort of Italian - but it was a bit on the thick side and I couldn't decide if I liked the flavor.  The bread tasted like a plain commercial loaf of "Italian" bread that was not warmed or toasted. This was not looking promising.

But, thankfully, my entree saved the day and was much better than expected based on my first impression.  The chicken breast had been marinated and was grilled just right.  I ordered a baked potato and broccoli for my sides. The potato was good and the broccoli wasn't too overcooked (It WAS a little more cooked than I typically like but at least it wasn't brown or falling apart so I was happy).

Fine dining this is not, but if you are looking for a solid, hearty meal served up by friendly and eager employees, then you can't go wrong at Nino's.   I would eat here again based on my overall experience and maybe next time, I'll give one of their pizzas a try.