rev:text
| - Hello, $25 gift card from an old student's mom to one of four "area chain restaurants!" Enter Macaroni Grill.
Doing some holiday shopping at the North Olmstead Mall (horror), we happened upon Macaroni Grill by accident and were psyched that we didn't have to pay to eat lunch. Score!
Everyone was really friendly. And I kinda got the feeling they really meant it, and not just in that "I'm paid to act friendly 'cause I work in a chain restaurant and my greetings are scripted" sort of manner.
I ordered a cup of the "seasonal soup," which was a tomato/basil with cheese tortellini in it. Weird, and kinda tasted like tomato sauce, but still good. I was actually brought a bowl, not a cup, but was only charged for the cup. Score #2!
For my meal I got a chicken caesar salad. I had asked for the dressing on the side, and it came on the salad. No matter; it wasn't drenched in dressing. Whatevs. It would have been too much of a hassle to send it back and wait. The salad was really good and the chicken was chilled, which I really prefer on a salad as opposed to warm strips. My husband got some grilled sausage skewer something-or-other with grilled vegetables. It was gross. He stole some of my chicken. I didn't really care, because the portions were so big and I couldn't finish it anyway.
I was very impressed by the bread, which was a big hunk of rosemary-ciabatta-type thing. The waitress brought us more as soon as the first one was done. And she kept offering us cracked pepper.
Moving on to score #3. The bill. It was only $24.21 including tax! We only had to pay for the tip! Nice work, Macaroni Grill.
NB: They had sooo many bottles of their house Chianti it was almost oppressive. These bottles of wine factored heavily into the decor, taking up most of the shelves around the restaurant, as well as any free table space. It was scary.
|