thedrifter
08-15-07, 08:37 AM
August 14, 2007 - 4:49PM
Passion for pizza
For Marino, it's all in the genes
By Corey Friedman
Havelock News
Her passion for pizza and authentic Italian cuisine is hereditary.
“It’s just in my blood, I guess,” says Mary Marino, general manager of the RoadHouse Pizzeria aboard Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. “Everything I do in the kitchen is made with Italian influence.”
The daughter of Morehead City restauranteurs Frank and Mary Marino, she learned to cook while working at her parents’ Rex Ristorante. When the popular eatery closed in 1997, Marino opened her own restaurant to continue the family tradition.
It’s a tradition that started with both her maternal and paternal grandparents, who emigrated from Italy to the United States in the early 1900s.
“They made their way to America with food,” she explained. “I grew up in the restaurant business and always had a passion for it.”
After selling Salu Meria Rex — Italian for “a community store” — in 2003, Marino accepted a job managing Cherry Point’s staff and officers’ club for Marine Corps Community Services. The Clubs at Pelican Point, as the combined facilities were called, closed last year.
When MCCS took over foodservice at the RoadHouse, which was formerly run by Geno’s Pizza, she was a natural choice to oversee the transformation.
“First and foremost, the quality of food has gone up a hundredfold,” Marino said. “We make our pizza dough from scratch. We’re not just a pizzeria, although our pizzas are famous and the Marines really can’t stop eating them.”
The 125-seat restaurant on Cherry Point’s E Street offers a full menu of appetizers, soups and salads, sandwiches, chicken wings, pizza and Italian favorites like lasagna, eggplant parmesan, manicotti and baked cannelloni.
Fresh ingredients are quickly becoming a keystone of the restaurant’s reputation, Marino said.
“When you eat our pizza, you know it’s been made from fresh dough. That’s our signature,” she said. “We strive to use as many fresh ingredients as we can. We try not to use processed foods.”
Sub rolls are baked on site, and marinara and alfredo sauces are prepared in the kitchen instead of arriving canned from a food company.
She said the RoadHouse has grown in popularity since MCCS took the reins, and the word about the restaurant’s Italian dishes is spreading.
“I get compliments and my staff gets compliments all day on the quality of the food and the taste of the food,” she said. “Marines walk out of here every day saying, ‘That’s the best pizza I’ve ever eaten.’”
And it’s not just Marines. The RoadHouse manager explained that the restaurant serves all with base access.
“We’re open to the public as long as they’re authorized to be here on base,” she said. “The word’s out that we’re open to all authorized personnel, so we have more and more civilians coming in.”
The RoadHouse is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday.
The eatery offers a full menu, but pizza lovers enjoy the daily all-you-can-eat pizza, pasta and salad bar buffet, offered to adults for $5.95 and children 3 to 11 for $3.50.
Marino stresses the restaurant’s new and expanded services, including seven-day catering to all Cherry Point facilities through MCCS Catering Services and 5 to 9 p.m. weekday delivery to all air station housing.
She said the RoadHouse has catered events at the Hancock Lodge, station theater, community center and various office events.
“We’re a full-service restaurant and a full-service caterer,” she said. “We can cater for groups of 25 people to 2,000.”
Marino sometimes sports the Carteret Community College emblem on her white chef’s uniform, a show of support for the school’s culinary program where she sometimes serves as a guest instructor.
Pride in the taste of her food extends to pride in presentation, she explained.
“If it tastes good but it doesn’t look good, there’s a problem,” she said. “You want to find a balance between the two, and I think we do that well here. The food tastes good and it’s beautiful. That’s a winning combination as far as I’m concerned.”
As for many chefs, Marino’s greatest joy is the knowledge that diners leave her restaurant sated and satisfied.
“To prepare something and have someone say, ‘That’s really good’ is just a thrill for me,” she said. “If they say they’ve really enjoyed it, I feel like I’ve done my job.”
Ellie
Passion for pizza
For Marino, it's all in the genes
By Corey Friedman
Havelock News
Her passion for pizza and authentic Italian cuisine is hereditary.
“It’s just in my blood, I guess,” says Mary Marino, general manager of the RoadHouse Pizzeria aboard Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. “Everything I do in the kitchen is made with Italian influence.”
The daughter of Morehead City restauranteurs Frank and Mary Marino, she learned to cook while working at her parents’ Rex Ristorante. When the popular eatery closed in 1997, Marino opened her own restaurant to continue the family tradition.
It’s a tradition that started with both her maternal and paternal grandparents, who emigrated from Italy to the United States in the early 1900s.
“They made their way to America with food,” she explained. “I grew up in the restaurant business and always had a passion for it.”
After selling Salu Meria Rex — Italian for “a community store” — in 2003, Marino accepted a job managing Cherry Point’s staff and officers’ club for Marine Corps Community Services. The Clubs at Pelican Point, as the combined facilities were called, closed last year.
When MCCS took over foodservice at the RoadHouse, which was formerly run by Geno’s Pizza, she was a natural choice to oversee the transformation.
“First and foremost, the quality of food has gone up a hundredfold,” Marino said. “We make our pizza dough from scratch. We’re not just a pizzeria, although our pizzas are famous and the Marines really can’t stop eating them.”
The 125-seat restaurant on Cherry Point’s E Street offers a full menu of appetizers, soups and salads, sandwiches, chicken wings, pizza and Italian favorites like lasagna, eggplant parmesan, manicotti and baked cannelloni.
Fresh ingredients are quickly becoming a keystone of the restaurant’s reputation, Marino said.
“When you eat our pizza, you know it’s been made from fresh dough. That’s our signature,” she said. “We strive to use as many fresh ingredients as we can. We try not to use processed foods.”
Sub rolls are baked on site, and marinara and alfredo sauces are prepared in the kitchen instead of arriving canned from a food company.
She said the RoadHouse has grown in popularity since MCCS took the reins, and the word about the restaurant’s Italian dishes is spreading.
“I get compliments and my staff gets compliments all day on the quality of the food and the taste of the food,” she said. “Marines walk out of here every day saying, ‘That’s the best pizza I’ve ever eaten.’”
And it’s not just Marines. The RoadHouse manager explained that the restaurant serves all with base access.
“We’re open to the public as long as they’re authorized to be here on base,” she said. “The word’s out that we’re open to all authorized personnel, so we have more and more civilians coming in.”
The RoadHouse is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday.
The eatery offers a full menu, but pizza lovers enjoy the daily all-you-can-eat pizza, pasta and salad bar buffet, offered to adults for $5.95 and children 3 to 11 for $3.50.
Marino stresses the restaurant’s new and expanded services, including seven-day catering to all Cherry Point facilities through MCCS Catering Services and 5 to 9 p.m. weekday delivery to all air station housing.
She said the RoadHouse has catered events at the Hancock Lodge, station theater, community center and various office events.
“We’re a full-service restaurant and a full-service caterer,” she said. “We can cater for groups of 25 people to 2,000.”
Marino sometimes sports the Carteret Community College emblem on her white chef’s uniform, a show of support for the school’s culinary program where she sometimes serves as a guest instructor.
Pride in the taste of her food extends to pride in presentation, she explained.
“If it tastes good but it doesn’t look good, there’s a problem,” she said. “You want to find a balance between the two, and I think we do that well here. The food tastes good and it’s beautiful. That’s a winning combination as far as I’m concerned.”
As for many chefs, Marino’s greatest joy is the knowledge that diners leave her restaurant sated and satisfied.
“To prepare something and have someone say, ‘That’s really good’ is just a thrill for me,” she said. “If they say they’ve really enjoyed it, I feel like I’ve done my job.”
Ellie