Carrabba's Italian Grill

I'm generally not one for Italian chain restaurants, but last week on business in Houston my clients took me to what I believe is their original location, and I was pleasantly surprised by their halibut preparation (plus a greaseless calamari appetizer.) As I now know, they're one of the many Texas-origin restaurant offshoots of the Mandola family of PBS/cookbook fame. Has anyone been to their Naperville or Woodridge locations here? I don't see any personal recs here on the board.
>>Brent

I've been to the one in Sarasota and the have excellent mussels in a Pernod sauce I believe.

I have been to the Woodridge location with my family. I'd go back to Olive Garden before any return visit. The meal was truly awful.

Flip

My in-laws seem to like Carrabba's pretty well, and I have found it a pretty decent chain option.

And though I haven't been back since this visit last summer, we were just talking the other day about where you might get a decent drink in Johnson County, KS, and we both thought of Carrabba's. Sad but true.

Flip wrote:I have been to the Woodridge location with my family. I'd go back to Olive Garden before any return visit. The meal was truly awful.

Flip

LMAO...Flip, how do you really feel?

I've been to the Naperville location.

Let me preface this with: we chose it because it has a gluten-free menu.

In terms of the GF perspective, it was very nice. The managment and servers clearly understand GF and the need for careful prep. The food was good, though still chain food. Service was fair; typical of what I would expect at a chain of this size/caliber.

Our SIL, BIL, and nephew ordered off the regular menu. The portions were large - SIL and BIL got an extra salad, an appetizer and shared something. I think they had some left.

If we needed an Italian option again and needed GF, we would definitely put this on the list of places to go and would choose it over Olive Garden every time (they have no GF menu). Not sure about those who at glutenous food - I think they liked it better than Olive Garden.

Is this a real thread?

What makes you think it's not? Some thought it decent, some good, some hated it. Seems normal to me

Since I started the thread, heck yes, it's real. Nothing more than my being commanded to eat at an Italian chain that turned out IMHO better than the average bear.
>>Brent

Not a darned thing wrong with Carrabba's. I've been to a couple of their locations, one in Kansas City (Overland Park) and the other in Grand Rapids.

At the KC outpost I ordered a chicken marsala dinner. The marsala sauce was weak and unispired with virtually none of the characteristic flavor of marsala wine. As "sauces" go, in the generic sense, it wasn't too bad; it served its purpose as "food lube". The chicken breast itself, on the other hand, was one of the best I've ever been served anywhere. Perfectly seasoned and grilled, very juicy and flavorful.

Our host, the guy who suggested Carrabba's, ordered a filet mignon, very rare, and it came out exactly the way he wanted it, almost "blue" as they say, in the middle. The steak was exceptional as were all other aspects of the four entrees we were served.

My Grand Rapids experience was similar except that, having learned from my previous experience with the sub par marsala sauce, I ordered a different grilled chicken dish (the name escapes me) that was brilliant. Once again the boneless, skinless breast was grilled to perfection, only this time the rest of the elements matched the high quality of the breast.

I was skeptical when my friend in KC suggested the place (he is an avid foodie as well, and also a food creator with several items on the market), but I was convinced upon first bite that this place was worth visiting.

Buddy

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:but I was convinced upon first bite that this place was worth visiting.

Buddy,

Worth visiting in the context of Grand Rapids, or are you suggesting I hunt down a Chicagoland Carrabba's and avail myself of it's Italian American delights?

Enjoy,
Gary

Yes, Carrabbba's is a chain, but they're not serving frozen crap from Carrabba central, unlike most chains. For example, I ordered the eggplant parm at the Woodridge restaurant. The waitress warned me that I might not like it, because it's "very eggplanty". Sounded good to me, and it was -- not oversauced, the eggplant was not overly fried. It was delicious.

Fast forward to Naperville restaurant some months later. They didn't have the eggplant on the menu, but told me that if I called ahead, they'd make it for me. I asked if they had lasagna with a meatless sauce. Again, they said call me an hour in advance, and we'll make it for you.

I had the chicken marsala one night at Naperville, and the sauce was very flavorful.

I think Carrabba's is head and shoulders above Olive Garden, which I think serves food that is inedible. There, the salad is drenched in the dressing, and the breadsticks are disgusting: aren't they the same as the partially baked ones available at the supermarket? And like most places, the pastas are way oversauced. And a final annoying note, one waitress offered a glass of "red Zinfandel". Zinfandel IS red! It's the white that is the abnormality!

Not to be a snob, but unless you have your heart set on a chain place, I would think that, even in the suburbs, you'd have a lot of better options (I can think of a half dozen in Naperville alone).

tcdup wrote: The waitress warned me that I might not like it, because it's "very eggplanty".

I'd call that a selling point. Real Vegetables? Awesome.

G Wiv wrote:

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:but I was convinced upon first bite that this place was worth visiting.

Buddy,

Worth visiting in the context of Grand Rapids, or are you suggesting I hunt down a Chicagoland Carrabba's and avail myself of it's Italian American delights?

Enjoy,
Gary

Yeah okay, I guess Carrabba's would not be a first choice in any city with a strong Italian heritage and a wide range of choices for Italian food. However, I would say it is more than a safe bet for a good meal in any case.

There's a whole "authenticity" thing going on among many members of these boards that I don't get. "Authentic" does not necessarily equal "good". I've seen Anthony Bourdain eat plenty of "authentic" stuff on his travels that I would not put in my mouth on a bet.

If your goal is to find 100% authentic Italian food, then skip Carrabba's. If you want a good dinner made with quality ingredients that tastes good, then you should check them out.

Buddy

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:
There's a whole "authenticity" thing going on among many members of these boards that I don't get. "Authentic" does not necessarily equal "good". I've seen Anthony Bourdain eat plenty of "authentic" stuff on his travels that I would not put in my mouth on a bet.

Buddy

I strongly agree. My first real restaurant job was at a Carabba's and it was one of the best experiences of my life. They trained us well on both the menu and food service in general. As for the food, they used quality ingredients that were always fresh, and generally everyone looked forward to their shift meal.

Yes, Carabba's is a chain, but its a chain that has both a wood burning pizza oven and a wood burning grill in every location. If such a restaurant opened in my neighborhood - Wicker Park - their would be threads a mile long about it.

As for "real italian", I have also lived in the Hill district in St. Louis, which as some may know, is home to at least twenty or thirty italian restaurants, no exaggeration. I have had great Italian meals there as well as horrid ones, all served by independently owned restaurants.

The bottom line is use your senses, not your preconceptions.

JohnnyConatus

tcdup wrote:I think Carrabba's is head and shoulders above Olive Garden,

Tcdup,

From my perspective this is not a strong recommendation.

On general principal I try to avoid chains, even in cities I am not familiar with. Sure, sometimes my meal is so-so, but it irks me to no end to see the same few outlets in every town, large and small.

I'd rather eat bad chicken fried steak in a Arkansas mom and pop restaurant than consistently mediocre pasta in a multi-state chain. If we don't resist even a little pretty soon family run restaurants will go the way of mom and pop drug stores and hardware stores, to name two.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:I'd rather eat bad chicken fried steak in a Arkansas mom and pop restaurant than consistently mediocre pasta in a multi-state chain.

No matter how much of a "foodie" I ever become, this sentiment will never compute in my brain. But I suspect you realize that, which is why you compared two wholly different foods; saying one would rather have bad pasta than mediocre pasta really highlights the absurdity of the argument.

Notwithstanding all that, I generally try to avoid chains too. But I really enjoyed Carrabas the one time I went. I had veal marsala.

ews wrote:

G Wiv wrote:I'd rather eat bad chicken fried steak in a Arkansas mom and pop restaurant than consistently mediocre pasta in a multi-state chain.

No matter how much of a "foodie" I ever become, this sentiment will never compute in my brain. But I suspect you realize that, which is why you compared two wholly different foods; saying one would rather have bad pasta than mediocre pasta really highlights the absurdity of the argument.

Notwithstanding all that, I generally try to avoid chains too. But I really enjoyed Carrabas the one time I went. I had veal marsala.

Speaking of Chain style CFS, I've been informed that the first meal on our roadtrip to Springfield this weekend will be at Cracker Barrel.

My CB standard is CFS, extra gravy, green beans and Mashed Potaters.

Flip

ews wrote:But I suspect you realize that, which is why you compared two wholly different foods; saying one would rather have bad pasta than mediocre pasta really highlights the absurdity of the argument.

Ews,

Not really no, and frankly I'd rather take my chances on pasta from an independently owned restaurant rather than a chain where I know full well my meal will be mediocre.

I am perfectly willing to kiss any number of frogs in exchange for the occasional stellar experience.

Enjoy,
Gary

brotine wrote:I'm generally not one for Italian chain restaurants, but last week on business in Houston my clients took me to what I believe is their original location,

Must be the one on Kirby Drive? I took many a client to lunch there and a few first dates back in the day. Always good stuff. I loved the smell of the place. Some of the first chain locations around Houston and Austin were pretty good. I haven't been in years but still fondly recall the Chicken Bryan and the Polla Rosa Maria. The first real meal I ever cooked for a date was a combination of those two dishes. (grilled chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese, prosciutto and sun dried tomatoes) I had eaten them so many times I knew I could replicated them at home. Worked, too! At least that night. The girl is long gone but I still love to cook!