Review: Maggiano's Little Italy
Entertainment
| August 10, 2007
| Tim
Last night, my girlfriend and I visited Maggiano's, for the first time in a long time. We had an extremely favorable impression last time, but it soon became clear they'd been drastically cutting corners since then.
For one, instead of giving you a basket full of breads (of differing varieties, and had all been quite delicious) they instead gave us some kind of small, fast-rising sour-flavored yellowish loaf, whose bad flavor and greasy texture was blunted somewhat by the olive oil they supplied for dipping. Bad or cheap bread is not a signal of good things to come.
We shared a half order of baked zitti and lobster ravioli.
The zitti was, well, just noodles (mostaccioli-sized) with a bit of meat, cheese, and sauce near the middle. (Lots of bare noodles at the edge -- probably another cost-cutting measure.) The noodles were fine -- nothing I couldn't make myself in a few moments. The meat or sausage had chewy bits in it, probably a sign they were using a cheap grade of meat.
The lobster ravioli wasn't bad, but wasn't amazing either. I could be wrong, but the lobster didn't seem amazingly fresh (I guess I should have expected that), and in general left the impression of a mass-produced food which had been frozen for a while, and then boiled and served. I guess I'd expected semi-fresh and handmade for nearly fifteen dollars.
The meal was slow to arrive, but the waiter was nice, and gave us a free dessert to make up for the inconvenience. We choose a $7 slice of chocolate cake, something we'd never order otherwise. Unlike the rest of the meal, it was absolutely heavenly.
Maggiano's Little Italy is owned by the same people who own Macaroni Grill, Chili's, and "South of the Border" -- all restaurants with which I've frequently had questionable dining experiences. I didn't think they'd gut Maggiano's too, but apparently the same philosophy prevails in each.
Right down the street from me is a very large construction area where very soon a brand new 880,000 sq-foot. "outdoor mall" shopping complex is being built. All along the front of this complex are areas for resturants and just recently one of the half finished buildings suddenly had a Macaroni Grill sign out front. I became very excited because I'm a big lover of Italian food and the one time I've been there in the past I remember it being a very nice resturant with good food. Reading this makes me a bit worried however. We have several "Italian" resturants in my area but only three could really count as true Italian style in my mind. One has very disappointing food but pretty good service, another has good food but at high prices and very poor service my last two times there, and the third has good food, good service, but is unfortunatly a bit out of the way so I don't get down there much. The new Macaroni Grill is going to be very close to me so I really hope your experiences there do not translate to all of their resturants, its my last hope for an all around pleasent Italian resturant with a good location.
By the way, I have no idea where you live, but you may want to check if your area has a Buca Di Bepo anywhere within a reasonable distance from you. I didn't count it on my list because its actually a good thirty minute or more drive from where I live, but I've been there twice and it is by far the best experience I've ever had at an Italian resturant. The food is great, its Americanized Italian food but they still seem to hold on to tradition, the food is served "family style" which means it only comes in large portions (enough for two people or four people depending on the size of your party) but its VERY good and the service is quick and very friendly. The one I visit even has a table IN the kitchen, which is very cool because any time a server walks by said table they stop for a few seconds to show you the dish and tell you a bit about it. And if its your first visit the first thing they do is take on a tour of the resturant, through the kitchen and into their many various themed rooms. For instance, the bar area is full of pictures, large and small, of famous Italian actresses; and their "party" room is a large circular area in the middle of the resturant with a large circular table surrounded by pictures and other items of interest related to the Pope. They call it, appropriately enough, The Pope Room.
Anyway, as far as I know its a very small chain so you may not have one in your area, but its worth checking out if you want a nice Italian dining experience for not a lot of money.
I'd like to second the commendation of Buca Di Bepos. It's not cheap, but it is truly excellent Italian food, maybe the best I've eaten. As the above poster noted, it would be good to get a gathering of about eight or nine friends and order several large plates of a few dishes to share. You could get individual servings at the place up in Phoenix near where I used to live, but the experience isn't the same.
The prices where I am didn't seem unreasonable. Certainly cheaper than Carraba's and some of the locally owned places in my area when you consider the amount of food that comes with an order. I think some of the large portions (serves 4+) are around $26 or $27. Truthfully they'd probably feed more like 5 or 6 normal people. Its a LOT of food.
And I almost forgot, their garlic bread is absolutely divine. Its like a piece of heaven came down and possessed some dough. Its a very hearty, crusty bread which is filled with large pieces of roasted garlic and topped with Italian cheeses (cheese optional). I've never had better garlic bread, and I consider myself somewhat of an expert.
On examining their website it seems they're a slightly larger chain that I originally thought, though probably no where near as prevelant as Macaroni Grill and those like it.
Disclaimer: I'm probably a bit spoiled by too much time in St. Louis, where you can get huge portions of family-made Italian food, made fresh right there, for under $10.
The new Macaroni Grill is going to be very close to me so I really hope your experiences there do not translate to all of their resturants...
For your sake, me too. But let me tell you about my experiences: I often eat there at lunch. At times, the food comes cold (even soups) which tells me that it's made long in advance and simply heated up on demand.
It's not awful, mind you, but it's just disconcerting to realize, so frequently, I'm paying premium prices for reheated food.
I usually order the Tuscan lunch, which also strikes me as a bit tired when it arrives.
By the way, I have no idea where you live, but you may want to check if your area has a Buca Di Bepo anywhere within a reasonable distance from you.
I'm in Denver, and thanks for the recommendation! And yes, it turns out there are a few of them here; I'll have to visit. Thank you!
I'd like to second the commendation of Buca Di Bepos. It's not cheap, but it is truly excellent Italian food, maybe the best I've eaten.
I don't care about price. Much. I only care about value. I live and eat pretty frugally most the time, but when I go out, I don't want to get the impression I'm paying premium prices for glorified frozen foods. I like actual cooking.
And I almost forgot, their garlic bread is absolutely divine...
GREAT! Thank you, anonymous person. Perhaps it's just a trick, but good bread sets a lot of my expectations and perceptions as to how things are going. If you can't bother to keep the bread fresh, it probably doesn't say much for the rest of your food. If you find some el-cheapo pseudo-bread substance to serve (as Maggiano's has) it means you're probably trying to save every last nickel elsewhere too.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
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Right down the street from me is a very large construction area where very soon a brand new 880,000 sq-foot. "outdoor mall" shopping complex is being built. All along the front of this complex are areas for resturants and just recently one of the half finished buildings suddenly had a Macaroni Grill sign out front. I became very excited because I'm a big lover of Italian food and the one time I've been there in the past I remember it being a very nice resturant with good food. Reading this makes me a bit worried however. We have several "Italian" resturants in my area but only three could really count as true Italian style in my mind. One has very disappointing food but pretty good service, another has good food but at high prices and very poor service my last two times there, and the third has good food, good service, but is unfortunatly a bit out of the way so I don't get down there much. The new Macaroni Grill is going to be very close to me so I really hope your experiences there do not translate to all of their resturants, its my last hope for an all around pleasent Italian resturant with a good location.
Posted by: on August 10, 2007 04:40 PM