🍲 WHAT'S COOKING: Va bene, say customers about Mariola Italian Spicy Chicken Penne

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Mariola Italian is a fairly new kid on the food block, providing some tempting Italian cuisine.

Opening in 2023 at 365 E. Liberty St. in Wooster, the restaurant is part of growing food enterprise by local restaurateur Mike Mariola. The restaurant opens daily at 11 a.m., and closes every day at 10 p.m., except for Sundays when it closes at 9 p.m.

The pizza pies at Mariola Italian are among the more popular items, but spaghetti and meatballs and homemade lasagna also are popular items, according to Rachel Newbury, marketing manager for Mike Mariola Restaurants.

"Our pizza dough is made fresh daily, rested overnight and topped to order with our house-made pizza sauce, mozzarella and provolone," Newbury said.

"Our Pizza Pies have a crisp crust and an inimitable flavor that we think is the best in all of Wayne County," she added. "We hand-roll our meatballs using a blend of Certified Angus Beef and Italian sausage and top them with our house-made marinara and serve over spaghetti."

Another favorite is Spicy Chicken Penne, featuring tossed penne pasta in a house marinara and creamy alfredo, served with grilled chicken breast and crispy marinated hot peppers for a little kick.

Mariola Italian dining experiences start with a complimentary house-made focaccia bread and dipping oil. Additionally, all pasta entrees come with a free garden salad.

Mariola's journey from picking strawberries to Parker Bosley

Mike Mariola was born and raised in Wooster. Growing up with a French mother who loved to cook hearty, homestyle food for her family, he learned the value of creating connection through food at an early age.

His first job was picking strawberries at Moreland Fruit Farm in Wooster, which kicked off his journey in the food industry. He later worked his way up at a variety of Wooster restaurants, starting as a dishwasher and server and eventually landing his first cooking job at The Miami Italian Restaurant, making pizza and pasta.

He took a job as a cook at the Wooster Inn working for then-Inn keeper Andrea Lazare. After recognizing his passion for cooking and desire to further his culinary education, Lazare introduced Mariola to Chef Parker Bosley, known as the "godfather of the Cleveland local food movement."Bosley owned a cooking school and was in the process of reopening Parker's Restaurant and Bistro Bar in Cleveland.

That led Mariola to his first culinary internship, which took him to Paris, France, where he worked under Chef Christian Constant at Le Violon d’Ingres. He spent the first week there washing dishes until he earned a spot on the line.

Mike Mariola Restaurants began in 2002, and now operates several in Ohio including The City Square Steakhouse in Wooster and The Rail, which has four locations. Mariola Italian opened in Wooster in 2023.

To check out last week's What's Cooking, Green Leaf restaurant, visit The-Daily-Record.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: 🍲 WHAT'S COOKING: Mariola Italian menu brings taste of Italy to Wooster