Carrabba's: Fresh, Great- Tasting Italian Food
Written: Dec 05 '05 (Updated Oct 28 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fresh, tasty food; Nice atmosphere; Friendly service
Cons: High prices; Poor beer selection; Sometimes a long wait for a table
The Bottom Line: Carrabba's Italian Grill is one of the best Italian chain restaurants.
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Carrabbas |
When I’m in the mood for some good Italian eating, the first place that comes to mind is a mom and pop operated restaurant. These types of dining establishments usually offer the best Italian food you can buy, with a taste and craft that has often been handed down from one generation to the next. But in my local area, mom and pop restaurants are scarce and more often than not, I have to select among one of the many chain restaurants in my area to satisfy my cravings. One of the best Italian chain restaurants is Carrabba’s Italian Grill, a nice family restaurant that was founded in Houston, Texas, in 1986.
Menu Selection:
Carrabba’s Italian Grill offers food items such as:
Antipasta- Selections here include calamari, shrimp scampi, crab cakes, grilled bruschette, and other warm- ups.
Pizza- Italian chicken pizza, Margherita pizza, and an option of building your own pizza are among the choices here.
Insalate and Zuppe- A.K.A. Salads and Soups, this part of the menu features minestrone, soup of the day, and various types of salads.
From the Grill- Chicken Marsala, Grilled sirloin steak, Grilled chicken breast, and other specialties are found in this part of the menu.
Pasta Specialties- Scampi Damian, Pasta Weesie, Pasta Carrabba (fettuccini alfredo with chicken and mushrooms), and other pasta dishes are found here.
Italian Classics- The main part of the menu, this section includes spaghetti, manicotti, lasagna, veal marsala, chicken parmesan, chicken & spinach cannelloni, and other similar foods.
Desserts- A few after- dinner treats can be found here, including tiramisu and some specialty desserts like John Cole (ice cream with roasted pecans), Dessert Rosa (cake topped with fruits and whipped cream), and Chocolate Dream (brownie with Kahlua, chocolate mousse, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream).
Carrabba’s also has a wine list with about 30 to 40 selections; a specialty drink menu; and a kid’s menu. The soft drinks served here are Coca- Cola products.
Atmosphere:
The interior at Carrabba’s offers dim lighting for a more romantic mood. The employees can be seen preparing the food and the wood- burning oven (also in the open where customers can see it) creates an ambiance that makes the dining experience more relaxed and peaceful. The booths are wooden and the interior is decorated with vines- meant to symbolize the grapes which are the main ingredient in wine, a staple beverage with a good Italian meal.
Pricing:
The food at Carrabba’s is a little more expensive than most other chain restaurants, and that includes both Italian and non- Italian restaurants. All of the main dishes (those found on the “From the Grill”, “Pasta Specialties”, and “Italian Classics” parts of the menu) are priced above ten dollars. The range in price is $11 to $20 for these main entrees. If you want to keep things cheap, the best you can do is order from the antipasta, soup and salad, or pizza part of the menu. With the exception of the pizza, these other foods will not likely fill you up, but they will be gentler on your wallet, since everything in these sections of the menu is priced below ten dollars.
Customer Service:
Carrabba’s customer service staff is friendly and efficient. They check your table frequently and they bring an endless supply of bread and butter to eat with your meal. They also bring continuous soft drinks without you having to ask for a refill. This restaurant earns high grades with its prompt and courteous service.
Final Thoughts:
Carrabba’s Italian Grill is a very good Italian chain restaurant that is now part of the Outback Steakhouse ownership. This Italian restaurant is nearly 20 years old now and it has seen substantial growth since it partnered with Outback in 1993. The chain now has close to 200 restaurants with locations in the majority of U.S. states.
Carrabba’s offers some excellent Italian food and I have enjoyed every item I have tried thus far. The chicken parmesan is probably my favorite item on the menu, and not just for the chicken itself. I also like the side items that come with each entree, like the garlic mashed potatoes and the gourmet soup. Lasagna is another favorite, followed by the manicotti. I also enjoy the pizzas, cooked in a wood burning stove. And I like the endless supply of bread, complete with olive oil seasoned with herbs for dipping.
One of the key to Carrabba’s great tasting food is its delicious tomato sauce. This sauce is used in all of the restaurant’s main dishes that call for tomato sauce and it combines just the right amount of tomato taste with selected herbs to make it delicious. The other key to this restaurant’s excellence is its freshness. With other Italian chain restaurants (and most other chain restaurants, for that matter), the food tastes mass- produced, like it was precooked, frozen, and then thawed and reheated. At Carrabba’s, the food tastes fresh, like it was just prepared the moment you ordered it.
Are there any bad points to Carrabba’s? Well, I can think of only a few. One is the weak beer supply. They offer the usual stuff like Budweiser, Miller Lite, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, etc., with only one fancy offering: Peroni. This is typical of most chain restaurants, but I’m able to forgive Carrabba’s for its lame selection because, well, Italian food really doesn’t go that well with beer in the first place. When I dine at a place like Carrabba’s, I usally order ice tea or a specialty drink since beer isn’t really that tasty when paired with these types of foods.
Another strike against Carrabba’s- and probably the main one that will discourage families from visiting here very frequently- is the cost. Food at this establishment is about 30 to 60 percent more expensive than with other Italian chain restaurants, like Olive Garden and others. The only foods that aren’t very expensive here are the soups, salads, antipasta, pizza, and desserts. In other words, (with the exception of pizza) the sides and the after dinner treats are the only things on the menu that are relatively inexpensive. All of the main dishes are at least $11. This means that, for a family of four to dine, with each person ordering a main entree and a soft drink, the total bill will be at least $52 and probably more likely to fall in the $65 to $75 range, not counting the tip.
Carrabba’s has a good wine list with wine for sale by the glass or bottle. Again, you won’t find anything inexpensive here, but you also won’t likely find anything terribly expensive, either. The wines typically sell in the range of $20 to $50 per bottle ($5 to $9 per glass) and they include a nice selection of styles- including those that are not normally associated with Italian food- to make sure customers can find what they want.
I enjoy the atmosphere at Carrabba’s and I like the open kitchen and the view of the wood burning fireplace. It gives the restaurant a home- like feeling and the combination of aromas from the food and the wood get you in the mood for some good eating. And the customer service is very good- equal to or better than other Italian chain restaurants.
Overall, Carrabba’s Italian Grill is one of my favorite chain restaurants and one of the best Italian restaurants. Does it compare to the best mom and pop Italian dining establishments? No way. But for a chain restaurant, it is very good with food quality and service quality that easily outrank the other Italian chain restaurants. It’s a little more expensive than other restaurant chains. But the improved quality and warm, friendly atmosphere make Carrabba’s a restaurant that holds a solid grip on my list of favorite places to dine.
Be Sure to Click the Links Below to Read Reviews of Other Full- Service Restaurants:
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Max & Erma’s
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Shoney’s
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Texas Road House
Bill Knapp’s
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Fricker’s
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Applebee’s
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IHOP
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Famous Dave’s
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Cafe
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Italian:
Olive Garden
Romano’s Macaroni Grill
Mexican
Chi- Chi’s
Cozymel’s
Chipotle
Recommended:
Yes
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