When it comes to fast food restaurants, Fazoli’s is my favorite. Fast food seems synonymous with ‘hamburger.’ How many other fast food restaurants serve fresh, hot spaghetti in the drive-thru?


The Restaurant

It is easy to spot a Fazoli’s restaurant. Just look for the colors of the Italian flag; red, white, and green. These colored stripes make their way around the building on an awning. Inside, we find walls decorated with lattice and shelves of glass bottles. I have also noticed green plants hanging in red colanders. Every restaurant that I have visited has been exceptionally clean.


Service

Since Fazoli’s is a fast food restaurant, you have the option of drive-thru or dine-in. The drive-thru is just as quick as that of McDonald’s or other similar fast food places. When you dine-in, you simply walk to the counter and place your order. It will usually be ready for you within minutes. Every meal comes with a breadstick (2 if you go through the drive-thru.) While seated in the dining area, you will be offered additional breadsticks. You can have as many as your heart desires. I always have to have just one more. You can also have as much to drink as you want. The drink fountain is located in the center of the restaurant along with the napkins, straws, and utensils. The salad dressing is also located here, so you can get as much or as little as you like.


What to Eat

Fazoli’s has a wide selection of pasta, sandwiches, and salads all under $5. My favorites are the fettucine alfredo, and the baked spaghetti parmesan. The regular spaghetti is available with your choice of marinara, meat sauce, or meatballs. Occasionally, I like to add the peppery chicken to the fettucine alfredo. You can also get the alfredo with broccoli, but I’m not big on broccoli so I haven’t tried it. They also have lasagna, ravioli, baked ziti, and chicken parmesan. Chicken parmesan is my husband’s favorite. He gets a chicken breast covered with sauce and cheese, and spaghetti on the side. Just remember the pasta dishes come in 2 sizes; small and regular. The small is a fairly average size portion, while the regular is quite large. I once made the mistake of not paying attention, and ordering the regular size fettucine. I thought I was getting the smaller plate, but I got a huge platter of pasta. This was one of those rare times that I had to get a to go box.

They also have several sandwiches to choose from. You can get a submarino with meatballs, turkey, ham, or pepperoni. The newest sandwich is the panini. I haven’t tried either of these sandwiches, but the sign says it takes 5-7 minutes to prepare the sandwiches. Calzones are only available during busy lunch and dinner hours. You have to take these as they come-veggies and all. There is no picking your own ingredients. I don’t like vegetables on my calzones, so I have avoided them here. However, I occasionally like to drive-thru for a quick slice of cheese pizza. They sell it by the slice or whole pie. In addition to cheese, you can get pepperoni or combination. The slices range from $1.99-$2.29, and the whole pies range from $10-$12.

I love to get a garden salad here, because I love their buttermilk ranch dressing. This is some of the best ranch dressing around. Of course, the dressing makes your healthy little salad higher in fat than most of the meals. There are other full-size salads available that would serve as a full meal. They’re usually located in a display case between the registers. I’ve noticed that most of these contain pasta salad, cheese, pepperoni or ham, and other salad items. Desserts can also be found here. They have great cheesecake. It comes plain, chocolate chunk, or turtle cheesecake. I would recommend any of these if you’re in the mood to indulge a little.


The Con

The only problem I’ve ever had at a Fazoli’s is lack of sauce. Occasionally, you’ll get your pasta with very little sauce on top. If this happens they’ll usually add a little more. Sometimes they’ll give you a small cup of sauce if you ask. Normally, it‘s .35 for side sauce.


Recommendation

If you like pasta, I would highly recommend Fazoli’s. Although, my best friend’s husband claims to be Italian, and he won’t go anywhere near the place because he thinks it isn’t authentic. I don’t really know if it is or isn’t authentic, but it sure is good. Hopefully my Italian friends that read this can tell me what they think...



Recommended: Yes