It’s that time of week again and the age old question arises, “where do you want to eat?”. I have seen some every funny tweets that say “Marriage is basically asking, what do you want to eat? Over and over again until someone dies”. I think that’s pretty accurate. Tonight was no different. I made an executive decision, and dug through my pile of gift cards (I won a bunch at the Troy Chamber Golf Outing and I got many from my birthday party – thanks everyone!!) and decided we should go to Maggiano’s Little Italy in Troy.
We arrived early, as once again, our day floating in the pool made us so hungry! That and we like to beat the crowds. When we arrived we were told that the wait would not be too long so we decided to grab a drink at the bar. Now the bar area is pretty vast, and seating is first come first serve. We saw an open booth but before we decided if we wanted to sit there it was taken. They were attended to so quickly, they had drinks and bread before we even got our drinks. Omar asked if they had his anchovy stuffed olives. The bartender said no, but a nice waitress overheard and said she would be happy to go into the kitchen and hand stuff some. Now that is service! Omar was a happy man with his Tangueray Martini. I ordered a Tito’s and soda. Not super exciting, but wanted to slightly pare back calories as I knew I was about to embark on a voyage of decadence.
It took no time before we were seated. The waiter immediately came over and introduced himself, saw that we were hooked up with drinks and offered up the days specials. The menu has some interesting offerings, like a bruschetta bar, kind of a “top your own” bruschetta, or try a sampler of their favorites. A variety of appetizers ranging from mozzarella marinara, crispy risotto bites to calamari. Entrees included a wide variety of steak and veal, chicken, seafood and of course pasta.
What we spied however, is a deal that just can’t be beat. It’s Marco’s Meal for Two. For one price you get any appetizer or two salads, 2 classic pasta entree’s, or upgrade to a specialty for a bit more, one desert to split AND 2 more pasta entrees to take home for the next day! It was hard to say no, and we didn’t!
We started with a Caesar salad and an Italian Chopped Salad. The salads were very good, but huge! They looked like someone mistakenly brought us entree portions! For dinner, Omar ordered the “Famous” Rigatoni D, Herb-Roasted Chicken, Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions and a Marsala Cream Sauce. Besides the mushrooms it sounded pretty good! I ordered the Gnocchi and Italian Sausage with a basil and vodka cream sauce. Omar’s pasta was creamy and tasty, but my pasta, although it was not advertised as so, was super spicy! So spicy in fact, that I could not eat it. Omar and I switched meals, as he loves the heat and I think his meal was too “chicken helper” for his tastes. To go, we took home a classic spaghetti and meatballs, oh excuse me, meatball. One giant meatball. We also ordered the Braised Beef Pappardelle (Pappardelle is a hand made large, broad flat ribbon pasta. The name derives from the verb “pappare” which means to gobble up. True story). Now it is good to note, for those hungry folks who think they will eat their main entree only to head home and eat the second, it is good to know the take home pasts is served cold. My guess is it is all made in advance, portioned out in take home containers and conveniently grabbed when it is time to go.
The Pappardelle was very similar to a dish I make at home, a take off of swedish meatballs served over wide egg noodles. Substitute the meatballs for the braised short rib and it is basically the same meal. Good though, and a great winter comfort food.
For desert, even though we had no room, we split the Double Chocolate brownie. A rich chewy brownie, topped with vanilla bean ice cream, strawberries and hot fudge. It was really good, but I allowed Omar to have the Lion’s share.
I would not classify Maggiano’s as an “upscale” Italian restaurant. I rank it above Olive Garden, but not as fancy as say, Andiamo’s. The food was decent, waitstaff friendly, and we had more than enough food to eat for two more days, so economical. Try it for yourself. Send us a comment and let us know what you ordered and how you liked it!