What I experienced at Michael A's was the most awkward and infuriating experience I think I've ever had in a restaurant.
The lady that sat us immediately asked us if we were using a coupon which I had no knowledge of. This is where I think the brunt of her stand-offishness and passive aggressiveness came from. My girlfriend and I are both young and she must have thought it wasn't worth her time to serve us. Our only explanation is kids are going in with a coupon and not tipping well. Who knows? I tip well and am very pleasant at restaurants.
I ordered a coke and it was only refilled once. She must have thought I had enough soda because she ignored the empty glass and instead chose to refill my tiny water glass one time. If she's worried about my health she should probably make sure my ounce of water is replenished more than once during the whole meal.
I ordered the spaghetti and meatball and received just spaghetti and sauce. She slammed the plates down and ran away not refilling our empty glasses of water which we put at the edge of the table for her to see. When she finally came back to give us our bill (didn't give us a chance to inquire about dessert) I told her I didn't receive a meatball. She said I should have told her... when?
She acted REALLY passive aggressive to my girlfriend for some unknown reason. When she asked for a box for the rest of her fettuccine alfredo she kind of tossed it at her while in full stride to another table. It fell right into her food. It was at this moment that I almost strangled someone for the first time in my life. The mental image you're creating from my description is completely accurate. I'm not trying to exaggerate it to get my point across. While quickly walking by she tossed a Styrofoam box at her food letting it fall into it. She didn't say a word or even look at us. It was the rudest thing someone's ever done to me.
Seriously, the entire meal was awkward and there was for the most part 2 tables occupied the entire time. If you want people to patronize your over-priced Italian restaurant you should hire pleasant waitresses. Don't go here if you value good service and not feeling like you're a huge burden.