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| - Breaking News: Notorious Italian cuisine hater, Archie G., had Italian food for dinner and didn't immediately want to vomit afterwards.
On a business trip in Las Vegas, my speaking manager (who does not speak Spanish) asked me to help him take out our large limited our Latin American distributors (who don't speak English) for dinner. Somehow, I was put in charge of finding a restaurant suitable for all four of us. Normally, I shy away from huge responsibility at work. I avoid the break room so I don't have to ever have to take out the trash. That's just how lazy I am.
Anyway, with this language challenged arrangement, I knew it was going to be up to me (and my two years of Spanish in college) to keep the dinner engaging, organized, and running smoothly. Luckily for me, Maggiano's helped out with the experience.
The two Chilean clients communicated to me that they loved steak and Italian food. With the help of my Yelp Blackberry application, I suggested Benihana or Maggiano's (and tried not show sadness in my eyes). Ironically, their eyes lit up when they heard Maggiano's and the date was set.
For starters, the staff here is a superb. The hostess helped me make a reservation for a couple hours later, so I was able to give the rest of the dinner participants time to get ready, as I ran off and went shopping for a little gift for La Novia at the nearby mall. Our server was awesome. How lucky was I that the server was Chilean? He helped out immensely making our Chilean clients feel comfortable, recommending dishes and beers, and making on occasional joke or two. Great guy. Great server. Give that guy a raise.
As for the food, it wasn't terrible. We had the "all you can eat family style" meal, which included two salads, two appetizers, four main courses, and two desserts to share (and share and share) until we were ready to be wheeled out of the restaurant.
Appetizers: We had the "Calamari Fritte" and "Stuffed Mushrooms." The fried calamari was average and the dipping sauce was essentially Ragu. I liked the stuffed mushrooms and so did the rest of the group as had another round of it. However, I did wonder why they were not given an Italian name on the menu. Maybe the guy who wrote the menu only took 2 years of Italian in college?
Salads: The "Chopped Salad" was a eally good salad. There is no way it can be good for you. We also had the "Italian Tossed Salad" and it was wonderful. Who doesn't love a good tossed salad by an Italian?
Main courses: We ordered 4 different main courses. The "Spaghetti, Meatball" and I could have made it better at home. The "Veal Ravioli" was pretty good. It wasn't as heavy as I had imagined. The "Gnocchi, Tomato Vodka Sauce" was my contribution to the group. The gnocchi just melted in your mouth. It was the best dish all night and we had another round of it. The "The "Salmon, Lemon & Herb" smelled pretty bad. I was afraid to get that on my lips or fingers. I didn't want La Novia to pick me up from the airport and think I was having an affair or something.
Desserts: The Crème Brulee was pretty good. We had three rounds of this. I love burnt cream. We had the "N.Y. Style Cheesecake" and it well, it was just plain ol' cheesecake. I think the "N.Y." stood for "Not Your." As in, "Not Your Style Cheesecake."
Overall, the food was up and down and mostly mediocre. It was factory style Italian food that lacked much distinctive flavor. Essentially, it was a pricier version of "Olive Garbage" or "Bucket of Crappo."
This was no more than 2 to 2.5 star food. But the ambiance and staff helped make this a very successful business dinner. So successful, we went out on the town for an adventure that included gambling, karaoke, and general Las Vegas debauchery.
And well, I will award another star for that.
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