Good Food at Johnny Carino's Michigan- and No Wait!

Johnny Carino's popped up in Westland, MI a few years ago. After 2 visits I have had two somewhat different experiences and feel the need to share. Perhaps they will see this review and fix the slight issues I had. I've seen it referred to as Carino's sometimes so look for that as well when you are searching for it in your neighborhood.

I passed JC's on the way home one day and thought it looked like a nice Italian restaurant. A few weeks after it popped up, the newspaper had a very negative review of it. It ripped it apart. The place had only been open for about 2 weeks and this critic was complaining about the decor and the service, but not really about the food. I don't listen to critics, so I decided to check it out. The first occasion my husband (then boyfriend) and I went on a whim. The second occasion was for our anniversary. It left such a good impression on us the first time that we decided to check it out for our special day. I was slightly disappointed the second time (Read on) but I've since been multiple times and I have to say it's still worth going.

Choices, Choices, Choices
On my first visit I saw I had a lot of choices. Italian restaurants usually are good for vegetarian's because of all the cheese and pasta mixes. I swear that I got Manicotti (which was awesome) but on my second visit it appeared the menu had changed! I couldn't find the Manicotti, nor much else for me. All in all I saw 3 things that I could choose between:

Baked Cheese Tortellini - but this was in meat sauce. If I wanted it, I'd have to make a special request and I'm just not that type of person. Maybe next time.
Cheese Ravioli - This is what I got in Marinara sauce. It was really good and I even had my leftovers for lunch. You can get it in any sauce.
Salmon - I wanted to try this but I always really want Pasta, so I passed.

There were a few other choices, but not as many as I would expect from an Italian restaurant.

My husband and family had a whole lot more options than I did on all occasions. I'm sure I could have "edited" any of these menu items for vegetarians, but I just don't like to "edit" things.