Mrs Robino's - Northchase

Ok, I remember going to Mrs. Robinos about ten years ago and can’t remember much about it, but I did not go back. Why? Last night my wife and I found ourselves on Union Street and after having a beer next door we decided to go to Mrs. Robino’s for some nice home style Italian cooking. The decor hasn’t been redone since dark, thin paneling became popular in the 60s and much of the other furniture has probably been there since they opened in the 40s, but who cares. I love great home style Italian food and the old family run restaurants usually have great food and great prices even if the decor is lacking somewhat. Anyway, the service was great, no fuss, just get the food on the table. My wife order spaghetti Bolognese with the home made noodles and I ordered one of my favorites—spaghetti with white clam sauce. Bread came first. It was basic Italian, a little dry, not exactly fresh. My salad was simple, crisp, and satisfying. Wow, then these two massive plates of food arrived. Pasta mounded up in a peak with Bolognese sauce a plenty—-and even an unadvertised meatball. My spaghetti with white clam sauce was just an generous in size and the clams were so plentiful there must have been a pound of them. All good so far. I coiled up some pasta and stabbed a few clams with my fork and dug in. Hmm, where is the flavor? It tasted like they forgot the garlic and butter and just steamed the clams in broth. It smelled the same—like a clam bake before anything aromatic and flavorful is added. Not good! I stirred it up and tried again thinking I must have had the unluck of hitting a spot void of seasoning. No better. I salted it and added some pepper. Now it was flavorless with salt and pepper on it. It never got better no matter what I did. I looked over to my wife and checked how she was doing. She said the same thing—-everything was perfect except there was just NO FLAVOR! Come on how hard is it to make a good red sauce? I took a few bites of her dish. I swear, any jar of sauce off the shelf of the grocery store is better. I just couldn’t believe it! And the pasta—-it was gooey, squishy soft with an abundance of ZERO taste. We politely affirmed to the waitress that there was just too much to finish. She said, “Well there’s plenty for lunch tomorrow—and dinner”. We smiled, paid our check and left. I disposed of the two styrofoam containers in the trash can outside. Now I guess I remember why we didn’t come back for 10 years. By the way, I have no axe to grind with anyone. I just can’t imagine how this family owned restaurant can serve such lousy food. I had to write this review. Just had to.