Sunday, April 3, 2011

Macaroni Grill review

I have eaten at the Macaroni Grill a dozen times, with less and less frequency lately. They have always been pretentious, but the food was good. That has changed in the last year though. Now they are both pretentious and have bad food. The service is still decent, but service isn't a reason to go to a restaurant.

I like good Italian food, even moderately okay Italian food. The food at Macaroni Grill lately isn't either of those. I don't know why they have changed, but the food I have been served lately is poorly cooked.

Recently I thought I would give them one more try. I ordered Chicken Parmesan, a dish that I though nobody could screw up. They screwed it up. The chicken breast was overcooked, dry on the inside and actually burnt on the edges. The spaghetti sauce contained pieces of garlic so raw I think it was added after the sauce was cooked. They even managed to screw up the appetizer, although that is easier to do.

I will have to try to find a decent Italian place now. Someplace that understands the concept that a restaurant is about food.

4 comments:

Misti said...

Well, it's not "everyday" fare, but mediterano is amazing!

Misti said...

I'm curious, though...what consitutes "pretentious"? I've heard that in restaurant reviews before, but never really understood what it means in terms of a restaurant. I take it to mean "fake" in people...and Macaroni always struck me as pretty fake...maybe that's it?

Misti said...

I'm curious, though...what consitutes "pretentious"? I've heard that in restaurant reviews before, but never really understood what it means in terms of a restaurant. I take it to mean "fake" in people...and Macaroni always struck me as pretty fake...maybe that's it?

Unknown said...

For me pretentious is when they put a lot of effort into presenting a false image. They have put a lot of effort into presenting an image as an authentic italian restaurant, but they are actually a chain run by people who have never been to Italy.