Bites Nearby: Marino's

Enter the American Legion building on Old Central Avenue and you face two doors.

To the left is the American Legion's room, with a pull-tab booth, a big bar and tables. To the right is the dining room, a brighter, more intimate space where at lunchtime (11 a.m.–2 p.m.), Eddie Matthes will help you choose among Italian dishes that harken back to the Marino family roots in the Abruzzo region of Italy, east of Rome.

Lasagna is a good first-time choice. Cheese, not meat or spinach, lies in layers between delicious flat noodles. A tennis ball-sized meatball on the side completes the meal. Portions are perfect: you don't feel overstuffed, unless you gorge on bread to sop up the last bit of red sauce on your platter.

There are excursions to other cuisines, Matthes said, such as the regular Thursday Polka Night when Polish dishes are on special, and occasional experiments with  dishes from other lands, like chow mein.

Marino's is also open for supper in the evenings (5–8 p.m. Monday–Thursday, 5–9 p.m. Friday, except on the third Friday of the month, when the American Legion holds its steak fry). The restaurant also serves breakfast on Saturday mornings from 8 a.m.–2 p.m.