Carrabba's Italian Grill

I so desperately wanted to not like Carrabba's because it's a chain, and chain restaurants are by nature homogeneous and pander to the lowest common denominator.  But I'll go ahead and say it......we had a very good time here the other night. There. Ughhhh.

A gift certificate received over the holidays prompted our visit to this newly opened restaurant.  All the "things" and "kinks" have been worked out: service was friendly and prompt, our food was flavorful and properly prepared, the ambiance was welcoming, and everything ran very smoothly.  

This was my first time to a Carrabba's, but I've been a zillion times over the years to other Bloomin' Brands restaurants. It appears the successful business model that first served them so well at Outback has been transferred to this restaurant as well.

Veggie spoiler - the thick, rich, and chock full o' veggies minestrone soup tastes so yummy because of pancetta "flavor." I didn't ask for more details and ate it anyway.  But then, I'm ok with my veggie burgers grilled alongside hamburgers.  Your call, fellow veggies!  The pretty salad had a nice mix of greens and good dressing.

I ordered the orecchiette wood-grilled chicken tossed with wild porcini, cremini, shitake and portabella mushrooms, port wine sauce and a touch of cream, all sautéed then baked with orecchiette "little ears" pasta.  Upon hearing me ask for the chicken dish without the chicken, the waiter didn't bat an eye, smiled and said, "of course we can do that."  I can imagine the fight that ensued with the chef (been there, done that) and I appreciate my waiter going to bat for me and being so accommodating!  The pasta was al dente, all four fungi were present and accounted for, the sauce had less port flavor than I would have liked, but anything creamy makes me happy.

My eso ordered the tilapia nocciola.  Just as advertised, the hearty portion of fish was lightly breaded with hazelnuts, topped with roma tomatoes and basil lemon butter sauce.  Here's what was nice about this piece of fish compared to any fish I've had at Bone Fish Grill - it wasn't foundering in a greasy sea of butter.  Also, it was the thickest cut of tilapia I've ever seen; cut more like swordfish.

The crostata filled with peach and raspberry, baked in a wood-fired oven and topped with vanilla ice cream is totally worth the calories!  

The only slight disappointment was with my cosmo.  Despite having overtones of cough syrup, it still compelled me to finish it off. So it couldn't have been that bad.

For the money, this restaurant is an excellent value, and perfect for a casual everyday meal. Did any of the dishes make me close my eyes and say, omg this is soooo good? No, because they have shareholders to answer to, and don't use cheese that costs $30 a pound like a small restaurant would (and then charge twice as much also).  But Carrabba's also doesn't have the rabidly indifferent waitstaff that is so often found at  small, trendy restaurants.  Congrats, corporate chain - bloomin' good job!

MAMA MIA WHERE IS GRAND MOM? After months of waiting they are open and I must say it was better than I expected, not your Olive Garden Restaurant.. It was New Year's Day and for dinner I went with the Tuccis, Alex and Lisa . We had fried calamari, the bread hot served with olive oil sidedish for dipping. I had the veil parmasian with a side of pasta. The service was very fast and very friendly but being new  they were still working on the kinks. Lisa had the marcela and Alex the chicken Parmesan , being Italian too the dishes past the Italian test.  So many restaurant claim to be Italian when the cooks are from India or China or point beyond. This is also the case is Rome ,sadly to say

They JUST opened so they are still working things out. The food was great. The service a little slow - but we got seated right away. We had a nice family dinner - slow and steady.