2008 Woodie Awards
Italian-style restaurant offers many food choices
By Kristen Baselj
Rocket Dining Critic
Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: Focus
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An area tradition for more than 60 years, Rudy's prepares their pasta dishes in slow-cooked sauce made daily from the Rudy's family recipe to ensure the "old world flavor."
Pasta entrées include dishes like Gnocchi Il Forno, Spaghetti Aglio, tortellini, manicotti, Sun Dried Tomato Bruschetta Chicken and grilled salmon alfredo to name just a few.
FOOD & BEVERAGE
My guests and I began our meal with the new Pretzel Chicken appetizer.
The soft pretzel-battered chicken was definitely an unusual change to the average chicken tender, and I would suggest giving it a try or substituting it for a child's meal.
One of my guests decided to go with the Monday-night special of all-you-can-eat 25-cent wings.
I was utterly shocked when I saw their minuscule size. Some of the wings were literally the size of my pinky finger and did not have a lot of meat on them at all.
I decided to try the daily special, three-cheese Italian ravioli. The very large, tri-colored ravioli was without a doubt enjoyable in both appearance and taste. These red, green and white ravioli were stuffed with a combination of ricotta, mascarpone and fine herb cheeses.
This mixture of cheeses gave them a sweet taste to go along with the strong garlic oil and grated Parmesan cheese. They were also topped with a blend of vegetables that added even more color to the meal.
Rudy's also has a full-stocked bar with about 25 domestic and 12 import-bottled beers available, as well as a selection of Smirnoff and Seagram's Malternatives.
PRICE
I think that the prices were very reasonable and very much in line with the portion size and quality of food that you get-excluding the wings.
Prices for appetizers fell between $3.99 and $7.50. Salads, burgers, deluxe sandwiches, and Rudy's flatwiches didn't exceed $7.50. Pasta entrees were between $7.99 and $10.99 while steak, ribs, seafood and Rudy's combos were priced between $7.99 and $16.99.
ENVIRONMENT
It is a good place to take the family, go on a relaxing date or catch up with friends. It has a pretty laid-back environment and is not the kind of place that you would have to dress up to go to.
The bar area is entirely separated from the dining room and had a totally different feel. Along with two large TVs, animal busts and backwoods decorations adorn the walls in the bar.
The newly redecorated dining area has an old-world motif full of plants, vines and pictures of bottles of wine. The decorations and lighting make it feel very welcoming and cozy.
But don't expect a lot of privacy here, as all of the booths are back-to-back with short backrests and the tables are rather close together.
There is a separate small banquet room that is available for rent. However, I would only recommend this for more casual events.
SERVICE
The meal came rather quick, but I expected that because there weren't many people in the restaurant eating. The service was very run-of-the-mill, with nothing dreadful or excellent to speak of.
It seemed like the waitresses had been working there for a long time, and I overheard that one bartender has been there for more than 10 years. I take something like this as a good sign, because they can recommend the best dishes and know the ins and outs of the restaurant, as did our waitress.
Rudy's Restaurant
1641 Mercer-Grove City Rd
Mercer, PA 16137
(724)748-3065
or (724)748-3068
Kristen Baselj is a senior communication major and a regular contributor to The Rocket.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Cathy
posted 10/25/07 @ 2:52 PM EST
My family rented the banquet room for a surprise party. We only had 30-40 people, including 8 children under the age of six. It was spacious enough and the environment was nice. (Continued…)
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