They Grow 'em Big in Marietta

Following a wonderful ride on the Silver Comet Trail, my friend Jay suggested Marietta Diner - a place rumored to have huge desserts and even huger portions. On Saturday evening around 6 PM there was a considerable crowd milling about outside. It was encouraging to hear that the wait was only 15 minutes for our party of 4. After waiting about 20 minutes we were seated inside the busy, large dining room. Before we sat down we had a chance to admire the three, yes three, cases of desserts near the front of the restaurant. The height of the cakes is amazing and the prices for all of the menu items arevery reasonable considering just about every plate could feed at least two people. I ordered the seafood paella, which came on a HUGE plate filled with rice and shrimp, scallops, mussels, chicken and lobster (two tails!) in a tomato sauce. Although I doubt a Spaniard would call this authentic paella, it was tasty, albeit a bit too salty for my taste. The dish came with a choice of salad and soup as well as bread and spanakopita. I tried the matzoh ball soup, which was delicious with an airy, large matzoh ball floating in chicken soup stock with a few noodles. The Greek salad was also stellar, with a nice vinaigrette dressing, feta cheese and olives. Seriously, you could be full just after eating these pre-entree offerings. The spanakopita was okay - not as good as some I've had a authentic Greek places - but it is a nice touch that they offer it along with some of the main courses. For dessert I had a bite of baklava as well as a bite of coconut cake and I split a slice of red velvet to take home. Honestly the desserts were disappointing to me. The baklava tasted a bit soggy and although the portions of cake were huge, the taste was not overwhelming. I can't say enough about the value, though. It took three meals to finish my dinner and there was still some extra left. This is a good place if you want a real variety of options as they had breakfast served all day, burgers & sandwiches, Greek specialties and all kinds of meats, seafood and pastas. I will have to try it again to taste some additional menu items.

Cake Case #1



Cake Case #2



Cake Case #3



Huge menu!



Delicous matzoh ball soup and Greek salad.



Paella



Kimberly got the gyro platter - looked quite tasty.



Jay and Gloria shared the broiled seafood platter - yum!



From left: red velvet cake, coconut cake, baklava.