Restaurants in Cayce

Marinoni's Restaurant and Pizzeria's chefs whip up authentic, homemade Italian dishes and pizzas. In addition to wood-firing pies, they insert 8-ounce salmon filets into the brick oven, imbuing each bite with a smoky, robust flavor. They swaddle sausage and beef with pasta to make their signature cannelloni, and coat eggplant slices with breadcrumbs and mozzarella for eggplant parmesan. The restaurant stations its guests in a spacious, dimly lit dining room or outside next to a fountain that speaks nothing but gibberish. Live entertainers amuse crowds every Friday and Saturday, and trivia hosts query patrons on Thursday nights.

Executive chef Fulvio Valsecchi discovered cooking at a young age. The prodigy was born and raised in Lake Como, Italy, and began culinary school in Milan at the ripe age of 16. After immigrating to America in 1969, he opened the incredibly successful Ristorante Divino, a mecca for Northern Italian cuisine that won a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence eight years in a row.

On his way to and from Divino, Fulvio used to pass by a little building on Fort Jackson Boulevard. He began daydreaming about a departure from his upscale Italian roots—something more family-centric and homey. After one too many passes, Fulvio decided to let that idea stretch its legs, buy the building, and open The Diner as a hub for modern southern comfort food.

The 4,000-square-foot restaurant hosts three dining areas and a separate bar stocked with beer and wine, all of which sport a 1950s-diner theme. Vibrant wall paintings by Columbia's own Chicken Man transport diners back in time with images of cherry-red convertibles, revving motorcycles, and forlorn bicyclists. As guests admire the nostalgic decor, chefs busy themselves by assembling ingredients from local markets and crafting European-style rémoulades to accent their southern staples of fried green tomatoes, meatloaf, and Cajun shrimp.

Growing up in her mother's kitchen, Sharon Wright learned to cook what she believed was healthy food. But for years, she struggled with various health problems. After witnessing her father's battle with cancer, Sharon began extensively researching the causes of diseases, and discovered a wealth of information about how one's diet affects one's body. She adopted a macrobiotic diet, but found that most of her health issues persisted, and came to the conclusion that she should commit to a 100% raw diet.

With her new diet, she experienced significant weight loss, an increase in energy and mental clarity, and a newfound bond with garden-dwelling bunnies. To share her vision of "real food" with others, Wright partnered with Scott Middleton and Danny Hutto. The result was Good Life Café. There, she helms a menu of unprocessed plants foods that have not been heated above 115 degrees, creating vibrant dishes with ingredients such as cashew nacho cheese, walnut meat, and zucchini noodles.

It was 1926 at the Kaufman County fair. A large crowd gathered around a small stand, where Adelaida Cuellar stood passing homemade tamales and chili into outstretched hands. The high demand for her recipes continued after the fair grounds were emptied, and soon after, Adelaida opened a small café, Mama’s Kitchen, with the help of her 12 children. In 1940, five of her sons moved the eatery to another location in Dallas, re-christening it El Chico, which means, “the five sons that opened their mother’s restaurant in a new place”. More locations soon followed, with close to one hundred now in operation. And, just like Adelaida, the El Chico team spent some time passing out their specialties from a stand when they fed a crew of local volunteers on an episode of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

At El Chico, Adelaida’s recipes still appear on the menu, from the spicy enchiladas with chili con carne sauce to the mexican apple pie with mexican brandy butter sauce and cinnamon ice cream. El Chico also has its own signature line of dishes called Top Shelf, which includes fajitas and quesadillas.

The color green is most commonly associated with Ireland, but at Senor O’Malley’s, it pulls double duty, spilling over to complete the Mexican flag and unite two very different cultures. Amid classic pub-style decor that includes exposed brick walls, diners come together to feast on not-so-classic pub-style eats, headlined by 14 different varieties of tacos. Traditional burgers, ground and spiced fresh daily, costar on a menu that also features 12 beers on tap and pitchers of margaritas. True to its mixed theme, Senor O’Malley’s draws an eclectic crowd that ranges from students and families to young professionals and retirees. As evenings progress, five flat-screen TVs glow with sports, and music accompanies rounds of suds long after the chefs have closed the kitchen and their Spanish-to-Gaelic dictionaries.