Classic Italian Dining | Pizza • Pasta • Wine
When I moved from North Caldwell, New Jersey, to Dubuque 25 years ago, Mario’s was the first restaurant I visited. After a wonderful dinner that was just like the Italian food I grew up on; Mario came to the table and in his big, booming voice said, “How was’a your’a dinner?” I jokingly answered, “mezzo e mezzo,” which means “half and half” in Italian and is a way of saying good but maybe not so much. Mario looked at me for a few seconds and then said, “Ahh, go back’a East!”
Walking into Mario’s Italian Restaurant is like stepping into one of those Valentine’s Day Postcards from years gone by. Nostalgia and romance sit side-by-side in this expansive space. Although the horseshoe shaped bar is the first thing you see, it’s clear that the central focus of the restaurant is authentic Italian dining. The oversized booths arranged back-to-back, each with its own tiny shaded lamp and the richly paneled walls haven’t changed much over the years, and that’s how long-time patrons want it to stay.
Tonio Mario Bertolini offers his hand. It’s big, about the size of the famous panzerotti his Dubuque restaurant serves up. His hand swallows your hand. He shakes, he grins and you’re welcomed to Mario’s Italian Restaurant.
Bertolini, his words a fast, accented blur, is a-glad to see you. And no, he jokes, waving the big coffee mug he’s always carrying around, he’s not staying out of trouble. That’s no fun.
“And how’s the wild man?” he asks a visitor whose idea of a wild time is a cappuccino after dinner.