‘Watts for Dinner’: Joey’s offers generous portions, fresh flavor
This week we revisit a Marco Island restaurant that I first reviewed on June 1, 2018, Joey’s Pizza and Pasta.
Why the revisit? Last time we focused on takeout, namely pizza. This time around, we dined in the restaurant, for the full experience.
Before we get started with this visit’s offerings, let’s look back at what I ordered, and said last time. I carried out a buffalo chicken thin crust pizza and a full Doreen’s salad.
Here’s what I said then (read the full review at marconews.com):
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The salad features thick sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, roasted red peppers, greens, blackened chicken and is served with a balsamic dressing. This salad is as amazing as it sounds and could very well be the best salad on the menu, as I haven’t had them all.
If the salad hadn’t been so full of chicken, I might have longed for more on the pizza; instead I just enjoyed the generous amounts of cheese. I only have one suggestion for this dish, add some blue cheese crumbles into the mix and take this amazing pizza into outer space.
This time around, I picked from the pasta selections. You can choose your pasta and topping. I went with angel hair over meat sauce. The dish came with a house salad and my choice of dressing, along with one of Joey’s famous garlic knots. I picked creamy Italian.
The meat sauce featured big chunks of tomato; conveying the “I-didn’t-come-from-a-can” attitude. The dish was fresh and plentiful. No complaints here. If I had to nitpick, I prefer my sauce on top of pasta; this dish was all mixed together. But it won’t stop me from having it again.
The salad was fresh, with onions, lettuce and tomato. The creamy Italian is much like a Caesar dressing; but the garlic knot was the star, not only of the salad, but the entire meal.
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My partner in dine picked the special of the day, the Mediterranean chicken. When he asked the waitress to describe the dish, she said it was a penne pasta, with blackened chicken and an alfredo sauce. How’s that not pasta alfredo? I thought to myself.
When the dish arrived, it was a deeper color than your typical alfredo sauce; more like that of Hamburger Helper – no insult implied, I love hamburger helper. The chicken seemed more grilled than blackened. Those plot holes aside, it was a solid dish. Whatever it was.
Before his entrée, he sampled the minestrone soup. Bountiful with both beans and pasta, it was a rather large serving; matter of fact, that’s a commonality with Joey’s portions, generous. The soup also came with the garlic knot. I swear, one day I’m going to order a basket of those knots, isolate myself to the corner of a room and eat to my heart’s content. Then spend the next month in the gym.
Service was prompt and attentive. The entrees did arrive before we had finished our starters, but I prefer that to waiting and waiting … and waiting (like at some restaurants).
I can promise you this much, no matter what you order at Joey’s, you won’t leave hungry.
More:Looking for a place to eat on Marco Island?
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If you go
Joey’s Pizza and Pasta
- 257 North Collier Blvd.
- Marco Island
- 239-389-2433
- joeyspizzamarco.com