Maria Elena's

Once a month, my husband and I go out to dinner with some of our other couple friends for dinner. We usually try to go somewhere new and somewhere that is not a chain restaurant. One of the people had been to Gabriela's (which used to be Maria Elena's) a few years ago. I had lived two blocks away up until 3 years ago and never knew this restaurant existed. It is located in the middle of a residential/campus area in valpo, and if you're not looking for it you might drive right past it.
The restaurant itself appeared to be clean and well-kept, but we chose to sit outside in their patio area, as did most of the other guests there. Most of the tables outside were full, and it was a diverse crowd- I think every age group was there. The outside tables and chairs are old patio sets, but they worked just fine for us.
Our server was pleasant and attentive, and she left our menus with us when she took our drink orders. One of our party asked about beer selection, and we found that they have a very limited selection of beer (none of the local brews) and a few wines. I stuck with the ice tea, which is what I always drink.
I had read the reviews on the way there and was aware that this was an Italian Mexican American restaurant, and I wasn't sure what I would find. But the menu was broken down into separate sections for the different types of foods. They had a variety of foods for each group, and everything on the menu looked like it would be great.
We started with their pesto bread as an appetizer (which was very good), and I ordered chicken piccata. The rest of our group also ended up ordering Italian, and everyone was pleased with our food. My piccata was exactly what I had a taste for, and it was cooked perfectly! It really was fantastic. Not too dry, no excessive oil, and I had a lot of leftovers (I love leftovers!). One of the other people at my table had the spaghetti a la verde, and she actually said she was full but it tasted so good that she was going to keep eating (and she did).
Overall, everyone was happy with their food, and we hung out for an hour or so after we were done eating, and even after we paid our server came to check on us to see if we needed more drinks. We didn't feel rushed at all.
I think this is a nice, out of the way place for a date or a smaller get together. I will definitely go back as I was happy with the food, and the prices were ok as well ($40 for two entrees, a beer, two teas, and the pesto bread).

Now named Gabriele's we dined here last weekend.  We were very impressed.  I had the Chicken Marsala and it was one of the best I have had.  My husband had the greek pasta special and loved it.  We both were talking about our meals the next day!   We surely go back.  Oh and the bread was awesome!   Two meals, and dessert cost around $38.00.  A bargain for that quality of food!

A friend recommended this place to me.  I took my girlfriend here on a date.  The food was so salty I couldn't finish it, and though it wasn't terribly busy, our server rarely got to our table.  Overall it wasn't a terrible experience, but it will take a lot to get me to consider coming back.