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| - This place has been here in this location forever. I remember coming here as a kid when it was called "The Spaghetti Company" and regarding it as a major treat. The restaurant is housed in what looks like somebody's house on the corner of Central and McDowell, (and I always thought it was.) The interior is cavernous and museum-like, with old Victorian-era photographs, bookshelves, hidden rooms, chandeliers, and antiques on the walls. There's even a trolley cable car in the middle of the place where you can sit in and eat. As a child, I thought this was the coolest place ever. My brother and I would even go off and "explore" the restaurant when we finished our meals.
So, this place definitely has nostalgia for me. I always thought it was a unique, special place and that the people that were in the photographs lived in there at one point and now probably haunted the restaurant from the hidden upstairs level (how do you get up there?! There must be a hidden staircase somewhere...)
But then my young, naive little mind discovered the existence of a little thing called a "chain restaurant." "Wait, so you mean there's ANOTHER Spaghetti Factory? In Fresno?! I thought this was the only one? I thought it was a Phoenix thing?" I wasn't sure what to make of that fact. I felt a little bit betrayed, as a matter of fact. Maybe it wasn't as magical and old as I thought. Regardless, the building it has occupied for the past twenty (thirty?) years has real charm and history, and I'm glad it's home to the Spaghetti Factory, and not a Cricket phone paycenter.
The food isn't really anything special. Honestly, it's rather forgettable. But then again, I was always more focused on finding the secret book that would open the trapdoor than on my lasagna. I haven't ever had a terrible experience with service or the food, but it's certainly nothing to rave about. I came here the other weekend with some friends and we had a good time; had nothing to complain about. The portions are rather small, however.
Now that it's directly across from the lightrail maybe I will stop by if I'm in the area. It will always have a sort of nostalgic status in my mind, but I have to say, I love the OSF of 1991the best.
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