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| - I'm grateful we were given a $50 gift card for Maggiano's. Because I'm still kind of ticked off that even with that, we ended up paying an additional $80+ for a meal that was lacking by most standards in quality and service.
First, when walking from the parking lot to the front door, we were assailed by a horrendous sewage smell. Lovely on a hot Phoenix night. I assume not the restaurant's fault, but it set the tone. It went from s**t to s**ttier.
Entered the restaurant and were dead-eyed by two hostesses. Or Zombies. I'm not sure. After a few moments of staring each other down, one asked us if she could help us. (No, we just dropped in to say hi.) So we ask for a table and she says it will be about 10 minutes. Really? With the dining room half empty? Should have turned and left then, but that gift card was burning a hole in DH's pocket. So in less than 10 minutes (about seven), her partner-in-rigor leads us to a table, pushes some menus at us, and vanishes. Thank goodness. (Zombies are carnivores, right?)
Our server appeared pretty quickly. We'd already looked at the menu and wine list and we ordered a plate of Bruschetta to share and a couple of glasses of wine. He returns in a decent amount of time with the wine, but manages to slop about a third of DH's glass on the table. He apologized mightily and swabbed the tabletop with DH's napkin, which he snatched up. Still, at $11 a glass, it would have been nice if he'd offered to top off the glass. It seemed like a long time, but about ten minutes later, the Bruschetta arrived. What can I say---it was okay. It was boring. Nothing memorable about it, except it was pretty juicy. The toast got soggy fast. I make this point because about mid-way, DH said plaintively, "I wish I had a napkin." Our waiter had never replaced the one used to mop up the wine. However, I am a good wife and I let him use a corner of mine to tidy up with.
At the time of the appy delivery, we had ordered our meals. DH and I each ordered a chopped salad and DS and DSGF ordered a caesar's salad. Then DH ordered as his entree the Rigatoni "D" and I ordered the Lobster Carbonera and the kids each got a chicken Marsala.
So we eat our salads, which were...mediocre. The greens weren't particularly fresh, the olives, red onions and pepperoncini barely made a cameo, the dressing was thin and tasteless and was served on the salad when we had specified on the side.
So our server came back and collected the plates---the kids had eaten up, DH did about 75% and I ate about half, because why waste room with a tired salad when I had Lobster Carbonera---oh what images that brought to mind!---coming for dinner! Now each setting is set with two forks, and DH had used one for the bruschetta and one for his salad, so our server carried both away (but still no napkin, although he was like, "oh, yeah!" when we reminded him.) Then we sat...and sat...and sat...and sat...and FINALLY our entrees came out. (Yay!) But no additonal fork or a napkin for DH. We didn't think to tell the food runner so we were sitting there while the food cooled waiting for our server to check back in. Which he did...eventually. And was very apologetic. And whisked off. And finally...FINALLY...my husband has all the necessary dining equipment again.
My Lobster Carbonera was a huge let-down. What kind of images pop into your mind at this description: spaghetti, lobster, smoked bacon, snap peas and garlic cream sauce? How could you screw that up? And yet... Don't get me wrong, the amount of lobster was generous, the color of the snap peas was bright---so how did they manage to wring every bit of flavor out of it so it was one forkful after another of...nothing? DH said said his Rigatoni was "okay", then wouldn't say much more. I think because he was disappointed. He had been so looking forward to a good Italian meal. The kids gobbled up their chicken Marsala, but they are 18 and college students and would eat shoe leather if it were free.
I felt like this was basically a one star meal when our server drifted back to say howdy, collect plates, and suggested dessert. And I was hungry and annoyed and I looked at the dessert menu and thought what the heck. So I ordered the poundcake with the vanilla ice cream and puddle of hot fudge sauce and caramelized bananas. And that's why this review is two stars instead of one. Because that was delicious. I mean, I'll never set foot in Maggiano's again, but I will always remember that dessert fondly and when I get the time, I am going to make it myself, and then I can have all the caramelized bananas I want to slosh around in decadent hot fudge sauce.
So, just to finish the night off, DH stood up and there, on the back of his light khaki shorts, was a huge tomato stain. Evidently there had been something on the seat. So I've washed the shorts twice and it's fading---I am staying optimistic.... Something to remember Maggiano's by...
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