Romano's Macaroni Grille
Manchester, CT (other locations throughout the U.S.)

If you are a regular visitor to this space, you know that I've had some problems in the past with taking my family to restaurant chains that I've enjoyed previously (notably the Rainforest Cafe.) So it was with apprehension that I recently walked through the door of Romano's Macaroni Grille in Manchester. I had been to one of the sister franchises in Massachusetts, and thoroughly enjoyed it. But that was also the case with the aforementioned Rainforest Cafe (be forewarned, I'm gonna mention that ALOT!) So do me a favor and keep you fingers crossed.

If you've never been to a Macaroni Grille, the designers have taken great pains to create what Americans think of as a quaint, Italian Restaurant atmosphere. The main room of the restaurant is completely open, and the kitchen with its wood-fired stoves is in full view. Also, the hosts and hostesses are lined up on either side of the door waiting to guide you to your table. They are all (male and female alike) attired in black pants and black shirt with a LOUD tie. Similarly, the waitstaff is in black pants and WHITE shirt with an equally loud tie and white aprons knotted about their waists. I wonder if they are trying to make a statement regarding Italian fashion. But I digress. After being shown to a table, our server appeared, wrote her name on the paper tablecloth with two crayons, and elaborated on one of the quirky aspects of the establishment.

She placed a large, one gallon jug of the house wine on the table along with two water glasses. She explained that the wine was $1.50 a glass. She'd pour the first one for us, leave the bottle, and afterward, if we wanted more, we'd just pour ourselves a glass. You simply keep track on the tablecloth of how many glasses are imbibed and they add them to your bill. Neither Teresa or I had any intention of taking them up on it, but it was still kind of a neat thing. Anyway, on to the menu.

The menu consisted of a great many variations on traditional Italian fare. Not being very familiar with much Italian cuisine, I stuck with the dish that most CLOSELY resembled my usual - Fettucini Alfredo. Their take on this classic dish was called Penne Rustica. It consisted of Penne pasta in an Asiago cheese cream sauce, with grilled chicken, shrimp, and prosciutto. Teresa opted for a salad and a pizza made with diced tomatoes and several kinds of cheese. With that done, the young lady headed off to the kitchen with our orders.

Soon she returned with Teresa's salad and a large loaf of Foccacia. She then explained that they did NOT serve their bread with butter, rather they used olive oil. With that she poured some oil from the bottle on the table onto a plate and ground some black pepper into it. Also, she said that Italians believed it was bad luck to use a knife to cut bread, which is why they always tear it into bite size pieces. We took her advice and dipped our chunks of Foccacia into the olive oil/pepper mixture. Pretty good! And Teresa is smiling. This is DEFINITELY going better than the Rainforest Cafe.

Not long after, our dinners arrived. Teresa's pizza was HUGE, and since she was still trying to finish her equally large salad, it was obvious that a good bit of it was coming home with us. But it was VERY light and REALLY good (Her words, not mine) so no troubles there. My dinner came in a good sized skillet, with the top layer of cheese sauce browned from the fire. One bite and I was in heaven. If you like Alfredo, do not HESITATE to get this dish. Of course, it IS fattening as hell, and my cholesterol probably went up 8 points with every forkful, but you only live once, right?

After we had eaten our fill, and listened to a few Italian songs (did I mention the young man strolling from table to table singing?) it was time for the bill. We came in at right around 30 dollars. Not too shabby! A definite return visit is in order, maybe with my parents next time. Maybe that will take their minds off of going to the Rainforest Cafe ...