Restaurant review: Authentic Italian meal found at Carsonie’s Stromboli and Pizza Kitchen

You can order a a small “Original” stromboli for $9.95 at Carsonie’s Stromboli and Pizza Kitchen. Credit: Kim Dailey / Lantern reporter

Look no further than Lane Avenue for a casual dining experience that won’t drain your bank account.

Carsonie’s Stromboli and Pizza Kitchen is located in the Lane Avenue Shopping Center, roughly 3 miles from central campus at 1725 Lane Ave., and has been serving Columbus delicious Italian dishes for more than 30 years.

When I paid the restaurant a visit my sister and I chose to sit inside, where the dimly-lit room created a relaxing atmosphere while current hits played over a loud speaker. The walls were covered from floor to ceiling in Ohio State and other sports teams’ memorabilia. This theme was a nice touch and it was interesting to wander through all the history displayed on the walls.

Along with the salt and pepper shakers on the table were Trivial Pursuit cards, which I enjoyed, as it gave patrons a chance to challenge each other and play as they waited for their meals.

When it was time to order, we got garlic cheese bread, a small “original” stromboli, which was made with cheese, pepperoni and sausage, and a small vegetarian stromboli, which was made with cheese, tomatoes, onions, artichokes and olives.

The stromboli comes in three sizes: small, which serves one person at about $10, medium, which serves two to three people at about $17 and large, which serves four to six people at about $20.

With the $2.50 price tag, I thought drinks were too expensive for what you were getting, as the cup size was similar to what you would get at other restaurants.

The garlic cheese bread, served with a side of marinara sauce, was light, fluffy and, thankfully, not completely soaked in the garlic and olive oil. The mozzarella cheese was hot, but didn’t scald my mouth nor fall off the bread.

Since the stromboli is made fresh, the wait time for food takes a little longer than other restaurants, which is explained on Carsonie’s menu. Because of the large group ahead of us, our food took more than 30 minutes to be delivered.

The horseshoe-shaped stromboli was cut into modestly-sized pieces in order to dip in the marinara sauce provided. The Italian bread was crisp, but not hard. The ingredients were baked all the way through and held together well inside the stromboli as we dipped it in the sauce. The only complaint I had was that part of the cheese was burnt on mystromboli; however, this actually did not take away from the taste.

From the delicious food to the friendly staff, Carsonie’s is a great place to relax and have a delicious authentic Italian meal for a great price — if you’re not in a rush, that is.

Grade: A