Although Italians originally invented pasta as a fastener to keep Sicily from floating away, they abandoned it for less-delicious moorings after locals on both sides kept snacking their way toward separation. Tether your taste buds to today's Groupon: for $9, you get $20 worth of Italian Fare and Drinks at East Side Mario's, located on Argentia Road in Mississauga.
Talented taste topographers at East Side Mario's map out an expressway to the belly with a menu of classic Italian pastas, pizzas, and seafood. Entrees such as the linguine chicken amatriciana ($15.99), a seasoned chicken breast bedecked with peppers, garlic, bacon and roasted mushrooms, and the firecracker shrimp penne ($16.99), spicy sauteed shrimp nuzzled up against fresh green chilies and snow peas, refuel exhausted bodies after escaping capture by bounty-seeking librarians. Celebrate the circumference with a vast selection of Sicilian–style hand-pressed pizzas baked in a stone oven. The vegetarian pizza ($9.99–$14.99) caresses the palate, like a gilded feather duster, with caramelized onions, green peppers, and mushrooms.
East Side Mario's
Using authentic Italian and regional recipes, East Side Mario's chefs craft extensive menus filled with pastas, meat dishes, and kid-friendly food. Pizza kneaders hand-press and cattle-brand Sicilian-style thin-crust pizzas piled with toppings such as pepperoni, goat cheese, and caramelized onions before loading them into stone ovens to brown and crisp. Tortellini and ravioli pastas feature savoury fillings of braised beef or four-cheese blends, and the oven-baked lasagna boasts as many as 16 layers of noodles and bolognese-glazed sausage. The eatery also carries kid-friendly options in its Mini Mario's Meals, such as a kid-size chicken parmigiana and breaded triangles of mac ’n' cheese.
East Side Mario's staff fosters a family-friendly atmosphere, and its kitchens use fresh ingredients to concoct their edible Italian sonatas. Depending on the location, diners snuggle up to ample plates at cushioned booths or bistro tables arranged across tiled or hardwood floors surrounded by wood accents and framed vintage photos of approving Tuscan grandmothers.
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