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 Regulars at the bar in Dino’s III. The Dino’s restaurants have been an institution in Lake and Cuyahoga counties since the 1950s. |
WILLOWICK-- If you enter Dino's III in Willowick from the south side of the restaurant, you'll probably think like we did: it's a guy thing. A long bar stretches the length of the narrow room. Several leather banquettes line the opposite wall, leaving a walkway just wide enough to walk through.
We brushed by men sitting on bar stools, bellies up to the bar, and between others seated at the tables. Almost everyone was eating the same dish --Thursday's daily special of stuffed hot peppers and potatoes.
Dino's bar is so men's club-like, in fact, that a list of those participating in a loser's football pool is posted near the bar. Nick the bartender says those in the pool have to pick a loser each week or they're out. He didn't say girls couldn't play, but I didn't see many women's names on it.
The bar is home to a group of the old guard: guys who worked in the area their entire lives and know each other either from working in the same industry or from eating so often at Dino's.
Now mostly retired, they still come to pass the time, eat their favorite daily specials-- chicken parm on Mondays, stuffed cabbage on Tuesdays--and kibitz with each other and with Nick. A younger group of guys also eats at Dino's, getting free advice from their older counterparts.
Not for men only
For those who don't want to lunch in a seemingly all-male enclave, Dino's dining rooms are friendly places too.
Dino's is a family operation. Pat Tibaldi owns the restaurants with five of his eight children. He offers catering at Pine Ridge Country Club in Wickliffe, and both dining and catering at the Willoughby location where there is an attached party center.
Dino's II opened in Collinwood in 1965, closing in 1998. Another Dino's operated for a short time in Euclid. Dino's III in Willowick opened in 1978, while the Willoughby location celebrated its fifth anniversary in October.
Tibaldi says the accent is definitely on Italian food, but over the years they have expanded the selection into a full-service menu. Favorites still rank among the Italian-style dishes.
"I would say our most popular dishes are our chicken piccata and veal, chicken and eggplant parmesan, and of course our pastas," Tibaldi said.
On our first visit, we sat at a table in the bar area. We discovered that it is still possible, even with two appetizers, a bowl of soup and three main entrees, for three people to eat lunch for less than $35.
My two dining companions and I chose from the mostly Italian menu. We picked two appetizers to share-- the bruschetta ($4.50) and eggplant parmesan ($4.25). The bruschetta was served on a roll and topped with a slice of hot Hungarian pepper. We enjoyed it immensely.
A smaller portion of the entrée which is billed as the house special, the eggplant appetizer, was delicious as well. The thinly sliced eggplant was breaded and served with marinara sauce and melted mozzarella cheese.
I had the veal parmesan ($8.25), which is always one of my favorite meals; it was perfect. Cindy had a seafood pasta bake -- penne pasta with a thin, milky sauce, a couple pieces of shrimp and some imitation crab. She said it reminded her of macaroni and cheese. She was the only one at our table not completely satisfied.
Hot, hot, hot
Jerie ordered a cup of Italian wedding soup ($1.75) and the hot stuffed pepper special ($5.50), which she liked despite the heat. Tibaldi says he tries to warn those trying the dish for the first time.
People turn out in droves to eat the hot stuffed peppers every Thursday. Repeat customer Danny Salvini, a Euclid printing salesman, loves the stuffed hot peppers. Why?
"Because they're hot," Salvini said. "They're a tradition. I think the same lady makes them now that used to make them when Dino's was in Collinwood. There's nowhere in Cleveland that makes them like this, other than my mother."
A roasted version of the stuffed peppers is listed as an appetizer ($5.50).
On our next visit I had the wedding soup and the spinach salad special ($4.95); both were good. My mom tried the really creamy fettuccini Alfredo ($6.95), mentioning she thought it was some of the best she'd ever had.
And just a couple days later, on my third visit in less than 10 days, I had a bratwurst and sauerkraut sandwich with fries ($4.75). My companions had soups and salads, remarking on how good the homemade zesty Italian dressing was.
Dessert at last
We finally ordered dessert on this visit. We shared the cannoli and a slice of apple pie. The sweet ricotta cheese-filled cannoli was wonderful. Other selections were spumoni, German chocolate and Ho-Ho cakes, and coconut cream and chocolate pies.
Now I know why Dino's, practically a household name in Lake County, has been around since the original restaurant opened in East Cleveland in the 50s -- it's addictive.
Dino's III is at 1200 E. 305th St., Willowick. Phone: (440) 944-4600.
Laura Freeman reviews restaurants regularly for the Lake County Business Journal. |
