Iama Critic Rating - Marietta Diner - 4 Stars
306 Cobb Parkway South, Marietta, GA
Overall:
Ambiance don't count for squat in Chef Iama Critic's ratings, however when he walks into a place like the Marietta Diner, he is obligated to mention it. The Marietta Diner, especially on the outside, is a slice right out of the 50' and it is awesome. It is a sight to behold at night! Even on the inside it is really nice, just minus all the neon!
And the Marietta is open 24/7 so you can experience fabulous food all night long. Marietta's menu is huge. I am amazed they are prepared to provide all those items day or night! Just for fun I would so like to show up at 4am and order something crazy!
Once you take a look at the menu you are going to notice some prices that are painful. If money is no object to you then you can add a star to the overall rating. If you have a dining out budget and are concern about money, you need to deduct a star from our food item ratings.
The Service - 4 Stars (14%)
I wasn't happy to see a male waiter walk up to my table. But I was greatly relieved to see that this guy "had it". Sure he was busy as could be, because at midnight the Marietta was packed! But he gave us plenty of attention, asked us all about our group and treated us to good service. More important, when he found out we were critics he made sure every dish he put on our table looked great. I didn't have to spend minutes per plate preparing them for photos.
We typically provide 20% or more for 5 star service on the pre-tax portion of the bill, 18% for 4, 15% for 3, 12% for 2 and 0% for 1 star service.
The Food:
$5.25 Sugar Free Cheese Cake - 4 Stars
There are some lying sons of guns at Marietta. There ain't no way this fabulous cheese cake was sugar free! However, if they are telling the truth that makes this cheese cake all the more impressive. One of my guest critics is a diabetic and he didn't have to juice himself with insulin after having this cake. Easily the best sugar free anything I ever put in my mouth.
$6.95 Key Lime Pie - 5 stars
Like every desert we ordered at Marietta this slice of key lime pie was huge. It was magically tart and sweet. I normally hate pie crust but the crust, even the top outer edges was simply marvelous! Not sure what the plate drizzle was, it was a combination of flavors, but it complimented the flavor of the pie perfectly.
$7.45 White Raspberry Cake - 4 stars
Not sure why this awesome cake is more expensive than the key lime pie, because the key lime pie is simply better! But this cake is great for those who like regular cake. The chef went nuts with the raspberry drizzle.... but we like it! Go nuts chef, go nuts!
$11.45 Gyro Platter - 5 Stars
If I was having this gyro in Chicago it would be four stars because there are amazing gyros in Chicago. But Marietta is in the deep south where almost nobody seems to know how to make one. This gyro isn't made from Kronos preprocessed frozen slices! Oh no dear readers, this bad boy is made right on a rotisserie made just for gyros. And then it is hand sliced the moment the meat starts to get crispy on the outside. The meat is thick in the center, with a perfect crispy bark, but retaining all those wonderful juices, yet it tapers to thin on the edges. You simply can't get this from perfectly symmetric, preprocessed and frozen thin sliced Kronos.
The tzatziki sauce was perfect and the gyro came with an extremely nice Greek salad with a wonderful homemade salad dressing. The fries were surprisingly good especially considering they were not spiced.
This may not be the best gyro ever, apparently those are only made in Chicago. To be the best, this gyro would have to come with double the meat for less than $12.00. But I have yet to experience a gyro better than this one anywhere is the south east. So this is officially the best gyro in Atlanta, Ga. And come highly recommended.
Total Bill:
$38.90 for three people including tax, tip and water for everyone.
Final Thoughts:
All we had at Marietta Diner was a few desserts and one single entree. That barely scratches the surface of the menu, so we cannot vouch for every menu items. But everything we saw served at the Marietta seems to display the same level of extraordinary quality. Yes the price is a bit painful, but we think the quality more that makes up for the additional cost. read more