Went to Mario the Baker on 2220 N. University Drive in Sunrise 954.742.3333 with my sister and her family the other day. Long known as having some of the best garlic knots in South Florida, as we passed this place I figured we should give it a try. Many of you might have read my previous review on Mario The Baker in Boca Raton. This is owned by different people, and is considered the flagship location alongside the one in Miami.
The place was almost totally empty outside of us and another table. Maybe this was due to the fact we were on an off hour, or perhaps cause their quality has been slipping. Since I hadn’t eaten here before, I would like to guess it was due to the hours we ate there. Everyone at the table decided upon a pie with meatballs, and some of those supposedly delicious garlic knots (or rolls, who knows what they call them down here from place to place). Our waitress took our order and then pretty much disappeared. Now I understand that there was nobody else to tend to, so it was frivilous to be sitting around doing nothing, but it might have been nice to get a refill and some napkins or something if we needed them. Luckily another waitress who brought out the garlic knots took care of our needs.
In my opinion these garlic knots were not even close to the best in South Florida. So for all of those who have bragged about them for years (Tiffany) you need to have your taste buds examined. I have had plenty of better knots around South Florida. Places like Pizza Time, and Luna’s come to mind immediately. Since this isn’t worstgarlicknots.com, we will not focus on them anymore then we already have.
The pizza came out and looked presentably. What was odd is that Mario The Baker puts their meatballs on top of the pie, and then rebakes the pie with some cheese. Personally, this is not the way I like it. For those who enjoy picking off the toppings as they are eating, this type of pie makes it difficult. Although it is “different”, different doesn’t always make it better. The cheese:sauce ratio was decent, and the taste of both were pretty good. The big issue with Mario The Baker in their Sunrise location is their crust. As you can see by the above photo, this pizza was almost raw, and the crust was un-enjoyable. This pie needed at least another 2+ minutes in the oven. Seeing how the top was pretty melted, I am going to guess that their ovens are not set at the accurate temperature. If they say they are, then they have some serious cold spots in the oven and should focus on rotating the pies. Both the Mario The Baker’s I went to in Boca Raton, and Royal Palm Beach taste much better.
Mario The Baker in Sunrise, gets 4 out of 8 slices.
