Carrabba's Italian Grill-Ciao!!
Written: Feb 19 '01 (Updated Feb 22 '01)
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Pros: Wonderful food, decent price
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: They’re consistent, reasonably priced and overall very tasty.
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| chrisceb's Full Review: Carrabba's Italian Grill |
Whoo hoo! Thursday night was girl’s night out in this house. It was my dear friend Denise’s birthday and we’re always looking for an excuse to get out of the house and leave the kids and hubsters behind. There’s something you gotta know about my friend Denise. She actually enjoys celebrating her birthday. She doesn’t get depressed about being another year older, getting more wrinkles or even gaining a couple pounds from eating too much birthday cake. She says, “Bring it on!”. She loves the presents; the attention she gets and she would just love for someone to give her a surprise birthday party. So as you can see, her expectations are kind of high.
So what a better place to celebrate than Carrabba’s Italian Grill.
The Product:
Carrabba’s Italian Grill was “founded in Houston by Johnny Carrabba and Damian Mandola in December of 1986. Both Johnny and Damian have extensive restaurant experience and belong to one of Houston's most successful restaurant families. After many travels to the Houston area, Carrabba's caught the attention of Aussie-themed Outback Steakhouse, Inc. A joint venture partnership was formed in January of 1993. Under the joint partnership, 10 locations were opened in Houston and in Florida. In January 1995, Outback Steakhouse, Inc. acquired the rights to develop Carrabba's nation wide. There are currently 80 Carrabba's Italian Grill locations.”
Carrabba’s came to Knoxville, Tennessee about 18 months ago and became one of the most favored restaurants by Knovillians. The outside of Carrabba’s is a site of it’s own. Covered totally in muted rocks it makes a statement with its roof. The roof is covered in tall, bush-like trees that take you right into Italy.
Upon entering the establishment, you’re greeted with a friendly smile from the hostess. The restaurant is pretty small, and a waiting list is usually pretty long. Beautiful tiled floors and textured walls are all muted browns, oranges and golds. Murals of Italy adorn the walls and antique family pictures hang everywhere.
The wait staff is always courteous and informative. Drinks are first, and warm loaves of Italian bread are next.
The wait staff has always mentioned the specials of the day that aren’t on the menu, and they’ve always sounded wonderful, even though I’ve never tried them.
The menu carries many appetizers, soups, salads, Wood-fired pizza, pastas, chicken, beef and pork dishes, as well as, a children’s menu and dessert menu.
My Experience:
I’ve visited Carrabba’s four times, and have yet to be disappointed. My last visit started with a glass of wine to toast my friend’s birthday. However, I was the only one drinking, as she’s expecting. A baby that is. I wanted something with some bite and ended up with a Merlot. It had just enough zing to add to the laughter and fun of the evening. But one was definitely enough for this non-drinker. We quickly ordered our favorite appetizer of Calamari (about $7). Carrabba’s has two different calamari dishes. One is plain calamari served with its traditional marinara sauce, and the other is Calamari Ricardo. The dipping sauce is a spicy Italian pepper sauce, which I ended up liking better than the traditional calamari. Normally, I wouldn’t order an appetizer, as its just too much food for me to eat. But my husband is totally offended by most seafoods, so the only time I get to indulge in one of my favorite foods (calamari) is to order it with my dear friend Denise, as she probably enjoys it more than I do. They do have some other appetizers to choose from such as fried mozzarella cheese, sausage and peppers and bruschette. But I can’t imagine they sell much of them, as the entrées are so yummy, why waste my stomach room on appetizers…unless it’s calamari that is. Nice double standard huh?
My newly pregnant friend was absolutely famished, and I thought if our waiter didn’t bring us our bread that she was going tackle someone. The reason she was so impatient is because Carrabba’s Italian bread is too yummy. It’s always hot right out of the oven, and newly sliced. In a small bowl the waiter pours a special herb and spice concoction and covers it with extra virgin olive oil for dipping. I’m not much of a bread eater, so I usually don’t have much of it, especially when I’ve just eaten my weight in calimari. But she enjoyed it, and that’s what’s important. Just a hint…if you have some bread left over, and decide to ask for a take home box, ask them to add the bread to it and don’t forget to mention the spice packets. They’ll throw in some of the spices so you can dip away at home.
We decided on our entrée’s and I chose my “tried and true” of Pollo Rosa Maria which is fire-roasted chicken breast stuffed with fontina cheese, prosciutto and topped with mushroom basil butter sauce (about $14.00). It’s my favorite; I’ve never had chicken so tasty and flavorful…oh and tender. I’ve also had Chicken Gratella, which is fire-roasted chicken breast basted with olive oil and herbs, served with sautéed vegetables. All the “grilled” entrees are served with a salad or soup and your choice of garlic mashed potatoes, fettuccine pomodoro or fettuccine Alfredo. I highly recommend the garlic-mashed potatoes. They give you two huge scoops and they are very flavorful. I wasn’t crazy about the fettuccini pomodoro, as it lacked flavor.
The birthday girl ordered Spiedino di Mare which is shrimp and sea scallops coated with Italian breadcrumbs, grilled and topped with lemon butter sauce (about $16.00). She was presented with a beautiful line of shrimp and scallops grilled to perfection. I was able to sneak away a portion of one of her scallops and I have to say, it was probably the best scallop I’ve ever eaten. See I’m a Florida girl, and not only am I a Florida girl, but a coastal Florida girl, so I’ve had my fair share of good seafood in my life. First of all, this dish was not only the best seafood I’ve had in East Tennessee…which isn’t saying much, but it could also hold it’s own in Florida too. It was perfect, not too chewy, yet not underdone.
A few other dishes some of my dinner companions have tried over the course of my visits are Fire Roasted Pizza, which my husband loved. The Italian Chicken Pizza my mother raves about. Another dinner companion I was with ordered a pasta meal called Mezzaluna, which is half moons of ravioli, stuffed with chicken, ricotta and spinach in a tomato cream sauce. Sounds yummy doesn’t it? And lastly, I was with yet another friend who ordered the traditional Italian meal of Eggplant Parmesan. She also said it was very tasty and flavorful.
Carrabba’s also has many different types of American and Italian drinks including wines, beers and coffee drinks. Not to mention your typical sodas and bottled waters. They also have a children’s menu of pretty typical favorites of children. Things like chicken nuggets, spaghetti and meatballs and pizza. Carrabba’s will also entertain your child and they do that with their bread dough. They give the children a ball of bread dough to play with and mold while waiting for their dinner.
I’ve honestly never even seen the dessert tray before, as I’m always too stuffed to even look, so I’m not quite sure it actually exists, but they do have some delicious sounding yummies on the menu. Maybe one day I’ll just go for dessert and try something like the Tiramisu or The John Cole (ice-cream with caramel sauce and roasted cinnamon rum pecans). I can’t eat chocolate so I wouldn’t be able to try the Chocolate Marble Cheesecake or the Chocolate Dream, but both sound delectable.
My friend Denise and I had a wonderful time celebrating her 34th birthday. Our bill came to $51.00 including drinks, tax and tip. And after our bellies were stuffed beyond belief, we made our way over to the movie theater to indulge even more in a chick-flick. Chocolat was wonderful by the way.
Overall, Carrabba’s is one of my favorite restaurants. They’re consistent, reasonably priced and overall very tasty. Oh, and Happy Birthday Denise!!!
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Try the Calamari Ricardo! Yeah, I know it has tenticals...but just try it
Best Suited For: Friends
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Epinions.com ID:
chrisceb
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Member: Chris B
Location: Florida
Reviews written: 367
Trusted by: 322 members
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