Looking sharp in its high-visibility location at 54th Street and Keystone Avenue, Marco's has a funky, stellar sign and, in the summer, a packed patio of diners. On their plates? Pasta dishes, Italian classics, steaks, maybe a burger or pizza.

Marco's has been around for 22 years and started with a winning formula; the menu has changed little since then. Each day, several specials add variety for the Marco's faithful who step into this casual, traditional restaurant like clockwork.

The Food

Marco's menu of largely Italian dishes finds room for Buffalo wings and chicken fingers, a tenderloin sandwich and pan-fried walleyed pike.

Crab cakes show up, too; for $8.95 you get three crisp spheres and a side of jalapeno hollandaise sauce.

Tuesdays at Marco's are "cheap meat night" -- a nickname coined outside the restaurant but embraced (or capitulated to) within it. Among the specials that evening is a $9.95 six-ounce fillet, served, like all of Marco's dinners, with soup, salad, bread and a side dish. Mine was cooked just right. Grilled onions and sauteed mushrooms are available for a buck more apiece, and worth it.

Another special that same night, spinach- and ricotta-stuffed shells ($13.95), showed off three of Marco's sauces -- a light marinara, a savory Alfredo, and their apparent offspring: a tomato-cream sauce with a light zing about it.

Marco's offers a long list of desserts that, disappointingly, aren't made in-house. We were happy nonetheless with raspberry eclair cake ($4.95), a cheesecake with raspberry sauce and a pastry topping, and the magic cube ($4.95) -- white and dark chocolate mousse covered in chocolate and cube-shaped, of course. I'll let you find out for yourself what the magic part is.

The Service

In a dining room abuzz with activity, our server was unflustered and efficient. She conducted business without hurrying us and gave us smiling but bare-bones service until later in the meal, when she hit us with extra-friendly service as the place started to clear out.

The Atmosphere

The traditional decor is almost hard to make out, given the faint light from the chandeliers. Look hard and you see floral and checkered tablecloths, pea-green wainscoting beneath two gold walls and one red. Mirrors abound, and so does iron filigree. In the bar, a more masculine air is prevalent, and a black leather banquette wraps the room.

The Price

Our tab was $60, including tax and tip. The value of the dishes we chose seemed uneven: $8.95 is a hefty sum for three teeny crab cakes, but $9.95 for a fillet with all the trimmings is hard to argue with.

Next Time

I'll call ahead and save myself a brutal 45-minute wait.

-- By Traci Cumbay / Star Correspondent, 1/26/2007