May 19, 2024
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Mystery Diner in Shorewood: Mark’s on 59 serves big flavor from small venue

Carryout wait times are short, too

By MYSTERY DINER
The Mark’s on 59 website says the venue, which opened in 2000, is family-owned and offers affordable casual indoor dining, carryout, catering and accommodation for private parties.

Opened in 2000, Mark’s on 59 notes the family-owned restaurant offers affordable casual indoor dining, carryout, catering and accommodation for private parties. (Shaw Local News Network)

What a neat little place.

The kitchen at Mark’s on 59 in Shorewood is about the size of a couch, but the staff really whip up some impressive food.

The Mark’s on 59 website said: “Call in your order and we will have it ready for you!” And boy, did they. We recently placed an order for the family, and were told to pick it up in 15 minutes. That wasn’t even enough time to cross town.

And yet, the hot food was still hot even after we brought it home and finally served it to our hungry crew.

We started with an order of chicken tenders for $6.99. They were piping hot, crunchy and seasoned well.

Pictured are chicken tenders from Mark's on 59 in Shorewood. They arrived piping hot, crunchy, and seasoned well.

Chicken tenders arrived piping hot, crunchy and seasoned well. (Shaw Local News Network)

The mozzarella sticks for $5.29 were terrific, too. Again, they were hot, crispy, well-seasoned and very cheesy.

Pictured are mozzarella sticks from Mark's on 59 in Shorewood. They arrived hot, crispy, well-seasoned and very cheesy.

Mozzarella sticks were hot, crispy, well-seasoned and very cheesy. (Shaw Local News Network)

The same quality was true for the onion rings and the fries.

Pictured are fries from Mark's on 59 in Shorewood. They arrived hot with a nice crisp on the outside and fluffy tenderness on the inside.

Arriving hot, the fries had a nice crisp on the outside and fluffy tenderness on the inside. (Shaw Local News Network)

Of the three sauces that came with our order (barbecue, honey mustard and marinara), the honey mustard was a favorite. We dipped all four appetizers into it.

Pictured are the three sauces that came with our appetizers at Mark's on 59 in Shorewood: marinara, barbecue and honey mustard.

The three sauces that came with our appetizers were marinara, barbecue and honey mustard. (Shaw Local News Network)

For our mains, we had a grilled chicken sandwich, poor boy, cheeseburger with bacon, and hand-carved turkey sub.

The Mark’s on 59 website said it specializes in authentic Italian beef and sausage, Chicago-style hot dogs and hand-carved sub sandwiches. So I went for “healthy,” and ordered the hand-carved sub.

The sub came with mayo, romaine lettuce, turkey, mustard, Swiss cheese, tomato and red onion. I skipped the cheese for allergy reasons.

The hand-carved turkey sub from Mark's on 59 in Shorewood came with mayo, romaine lettuce, turkey, mustard, Swiss cheese, tomato and red onion. We skipped the cheese and romaine and added our own lettuce.

The hand-carved turkey sub from Mark's on 59 in Shorewood comes with mayo, romaine lettuce, turkey, mustard, Swiss cheese, tomato and red onion. (Shaw Local News Network)

What a great sub sandwich. The bread was fresh, the turkey was tender, the tomato and red onion weren’t soft, and the mayonnaise and mustard didn’t overwhelm the sandwich. I ate half (too full from appetizers) and saved half for the next day.

The 6-ounce grilled chicken sandwich for $7.99 came with lettuce, tomato, red onion, mayonnaise and honey mustard or Italian dressing.

The six-ounce grilled chicken sandwich for $7.99 at Mark's on 59 in Shorewood came with lettuce, tomato, red onion, mayonnaise, and honey mustard or Italian dressing.

The 6-ounce grilled chicken sandwich comes with lettuce, tomato, red onion, mayonnaise and honey mustard or Italian dressing. (Shaw Local News Network)

The chicken was grilled beautifully – just the right amount of char, yet the chicken was still juicy. It was obvious that the staff put the mayonnaise on while the sandwich was hot, because it coated the chicken like a sauce. Delicious!

The poor boy for $10.29 came with grilled onions, and was served on garlic bread. The sandwich overall was great, and the poor boy meat was especially tasty. We definitely would order it again.

The poor boy from Mark's on 59 in Shorewood came with grilled onions and was served on garlic bread.

The poor boy came with grilled onions, and was served on garlic bread. (Shaw Local News Network)

The cheeseburger with bacon was wonderful. This was a 1/3-pound burger with cheese for $7.69 with mustard and ketchup, and topped with bacon for an extra $1.39.

The burger was cooked just right, and arrived with plenty of cheese and bacon.

This 1/3-pound cheeseburger burger from Mark's on 59 in Shorewood was also topped with optional bacon for a small extra cost.

This 1/3-pound cheeseburger also was topped with optional bacon for a small extra cost. (Shaw Local News Network)

The Mark’s on 59 website says the venue, which opened in 2000, is family-owned and offers affordable casual indoor dining, carryout, catering and accommodation for private parties.

• The Mystery Diner is an employee at Shaw Media. The diner’s identity is not revealed to restaurant staff when ordering or picking up the food. If the Mystery Diner cannot recommend the establishment, we will not publish a story.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Mark’s on 59

WHERE: 714 Cottage St. (Route 59), Shorewood

PHONE: 815-744-3043

INFORMATION: markson59.com