After driving through either the dilapidated town of Frackville or the dilapidated town of Ashland, PA, you either take the Gilberton exit off of the Gold Star Highway (from Frackville) or turn onto Route 54 (from Ashland), and take in the sight of Girardville, PA.
It might not look like much, but there is a diamond in the rough in this town, other than Tony's Lunch (wave to Bernie on the way in if you're coming from Frackville).
If you happen to come on a Monday, you'll find some of the finest Italian dinners around- at half off the already reasonable menu price! Who says there's no such thing as a bargain anymore?
Listen, Marrone's isn't fancy. It's old fashioned. It needs a major, major renovation. The waitresses have plenty of "Coal Region" Attitude. But where else can you get a Chicken Parmesan dinner and a salad, and have your dining partner get a pretty substantial Baked Ziti dish, all for under $20? This is the Coal Region at its finest- good food a cheap prices. Even when it's not heavily discounted, on any other night than a Monday, this is still a pretty good place to check out.
As I said before, the decor doesn't look like much. It needs updating badly- old style wood paneling, smallish booths from decades ago, and too many tables pushed together. Some have complained of odd odors from time to time, but I haven't detected that myself. But honestly, nobody eats at a restaurant in Girardville because it looks nice.
The staff is friendly, and they give you a fair estimation of what it's like to be around someone's kitchen table for a pasta dinner. You might get some attitude, but these people really do care about their customers and there is a lot of care in the food.
The sauce in most of their dishes is a semi-sweet sauce. It's not as sugary as, say, the pizza sauce at Centiole's, but there definitely is a sweetness there. If you are a hardcore marinara aficianado, maybe this isn't for you, but there's not a sauce around like it and it is perfect when matched with grated parmesian cheese. My wife is definitely NOT a fan of sweet tomato sauce, but she does like Marrone's, so it must not be too sweet. The same sauce is also on their pizza, which is underrated and should be in the conversation of "best pizza in the coal region". As is the tradition around these parts, the pizza comes with hot sauce, which makes for an awesome sweet-yet-spicy combination.
I tend to get some kind of dish that features sausage at Marrone's, because I think that the sausage goes best with the sauce. It's another "sweet and spicy" thing.
Sadly, Girardville is like every other coal town in Schuylkill County. Things used to be better, times were tough, times are still tough, and times in the future will probably be tough. Still, Marrone's is a diamond in the rough in these "hard times".
If you do go on a Monday, they open around 5 PM, and you should expect a line of people waiting outside for the half price specials. Some will have come as far as an hour away.
If you want a good Italian dinner that is different from the norm, Marrone's is definitely a good choice.
Marrone's Cafe
31 West Main Street Girardville, PA 17935
I got word Marrone's is closing on New Years Day , I was planning to make a trip up there, my wife is sick but if she got better I go this summer , but the Café will be closed .I did Jimmys Refrigeration work for him (RCM Refrigeration) , he gave me good hope too , as a very good friend and a advisor , I closed my business down and got a job at Disney working at the Contemporary Resort doing refrigeration work & kitchen bakery equipment , now retired, Take Care Jimmy and Family , wish the kids would take it over oh well that is life Good Luck Jimmy from Bob Mekosh Groveland , FL
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