The Classiest Lunch: Marco Ristorante Italiano
I think a lot of times restaurants get an unfair perception based on the environment or even their food. Marco happens to be one of those. I’ve always known Marco to have exceptional food, and yet sometimes I just forget to go! This is likely because I’m downtown so often, but I actually live in the Ingleside/Midtown/Forsyth part of Macon. So Marco is literally a 5 minute drive from my house.
Why do I forget about them for lunch? Probably because I tend to think about Marco as a “dress-up dinner evening” spot- which they are. But they have an incredible lunch menu, and I had lunch over there this week and discovered I need to do this more.
What I enjoyed most, aside from the food, is that I could go and have a glass of wine with my lunch and simply…. relax. I wasn’t being hurried out of the door. I didn’t feel the need to rush because the dining room is small and can’t handle a rush of traffic. This is a place to have a lovely, quiet, business lunch or even where I could bring a group of ladies and just enjoy lunch. And then go down the road for a mani/pedi appointment.
The menu is just large enough to offer a wide variety of elegant lunch options, but not so large that I instantly wondered “how can the kitchen specialize in something when they have so much to make?!” (Pro tip: when you go to a restaurant and they have an obscenely large menu, you have to wonder if the kitchen is good at any one thing.)
I had lunch with Cristina and Beth and we were such to each order something different to show y’all- because I’m just considerate like that.
I got the ” Tortino di granachio”: lump crab meat, diced peppers, asparagus, and capers. And it was heaven. And the white wine (I forgot to make note of what it was) was heaven with it. It was absolutely the most perfect way to end my crazy crazy morning.
And then we got tiramisu for dessert- yay. Pure joy on a plate.
Now, the biggest surprise of all- because I knew it was going to be DAMN good- was honestly how affordable it was! My lunch was priced at $10.50 for my entree- only .50 more than when I went to another local spot for a shrimp basket. (Not a slam on the other place- just a comparison.) And my crab cake wasn’t filled with cheap filler either, so I know they didn’t cut back on quality.
All of this to say, you really should get to Marco for lunch. It’s one of the best kept secrets in town for a lunch where you can have incredible food and just enjoy your lunch without being rushed. The staff is there to make sure you have a great time, and they really take that to heart.
Love to all y’all,
Molly
