Where: Macaroni Grill, 4801 N University Avenue, Provo, UT
Who Went: Chelsey & Owen
Number of Visits: 1
What We Ordered: Blood Orange & Basil Soda, Spaghetti & Meatballs, and Pasta Milano
What It Cost: $31.32
What We Thought:
Sorry these photos are so crummy - it was kind of a last minute decision to go here since we won a gift card to this restaurant the night before and I didn't feel like making dinner...so I was unprepared, but now I am here to talk about the food!
On a side note, I really should just give up on Italian restaurants. Or someone should just prevent me from entering them. It never ends well.
So I started out with a pretty tasty non-alcoholic cocktail -- it was a fizzy blood orange soda with basil and some other stuff... I actually really liked it! But I'm the kind of person who likes weird herbs and flowers in their food, so yeah. You should try it if you never have before :)
We started the meal with a hunk of bread big enough to serve a small family, and embarrassingly, chowed it all down at lightning speed because it was probably my favorite part of the meal. Yeah. Good bread, I must say. It was flecked with rosemary and probably doused in butter, and had a perfectly crispy exterior and soft interior. Everything you could ask for in bread, if you ask me!
I ordered spaghetti and meatballs because I really couldn't think of a more classically Italian dish, and if you're going to go boasting yourself as Italian cuisine, I should hope you would do the basics darn well. Well. This is where the line of good things ended for us. The pasta was cooked fine, but the sauce was lacking (both in volume and in flavor), and the meatballs were just a source of sadness. They were a totally overcooked, completely lacking in moisture and goodness, and I'm pretty sure the kind you can cook from the grocery store are superior. Blaahhh. I didn't even finish this dish or want to take it home, which was pretty disappointing for overpriced pasta that I could have (and should have) made better in my own kitchen.
Then Owen's dish, the Pasta Milano. It was supposed to be some sort of chicken penne dish with white sauce and some array of vegetables I believe, but to be honest, all I can remember about it is SALT. I seriously have never had such a salty dish in my whole life, it was even saltier than Carrabba's! Another dish we didn't bother to finish, another dish we regretted. There is a fine line between hearty Italian food and a salt lick, and this place just went way beyond the boundary.
What You Should Do: The quest for edible Italian food (beyond pizza) served in a restaurant that actually feels worth the hefty bill that often accompanies these sorts of restaurants STILL CONTINUES. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated. I should mention however, our server was very nice and friendly.
Oh, I totally feel the same way about Macaroni Grill. We went last time because we had received a gift card, too, and still regretted it! Can't find a good Italian place around these parts. :-(
ReplyDeleteWe just went on Saturday because we got a gift card, and I thought my dish was super salty too! Austin got this flatbread thing that was pretty good, and I got the butternut asiago tortellaci, just because I wanted to get something I didn't typically make (for like a quarter of the price) at home, but between all the cheese and the prosciutto I don't understand why it seemed like they felt the need to dump a bunch more salt on it. I felt like that dish had so much more potential that I kind of want to try to recreate it myself. Or I just want an excuse to buy prosciutto.
ReplyDeleteYou should try Cannellas for dinner or Fratelli in Sandy. Also, Trio is really good. Their cheese ravioli with butternut squash are so good!
ReplyDelete