Louie and Maria's, E. Colonial

I ate at this Italian restaurant on 50 in between UCF and 417 after Thanksgiving vacation. I had a personal pizza for $7 and a side of spaghetti for $4. They were fine. The pizza (never as good when shrunk) seemed to have decent mozzarella and the sauce was just tomato. They coat the bottom with corn meal. The spaghetti was was thin and came with the similar unadulterated tomato sauce. The place is fine. They get points for using quality ingredients and caring enough not to cheat. They lose points for a basic, unambitious menu and grubby location and aged environment. I'm sure they have the business side down and the menu is a result of their experience with their clientele. It just makes the allure small for people like me. I prefer what they are attempting at Peperoncino. This is NY "goomba" Italian in the best sense. The gnocci look great. It's just not what you get in Italy. Which is fine. Just be aware. It's quantity over delicacy. The place seats about 80. It's in some sort of old carousel? building that they added a dining room to. The decorations make it look like something at a theme park. But, the service was good. It felt non-professional in a good way. In a "this is a family run place" kind of way. The portions were huge. They aren't phoning it in. And the prices were reasonable. I think the most expensive thing was $20. I wouldn't seek it out (maybe from UCF), but, it's a good asset to the neighborhood. There really is a Louie and a Maria and they are still in the trenches.