Birthday Dinner at Maggiano’s
Saturday was my 28th birthday and my husband and I spent the day out. We saw a movie, though that choice was mostly made because we had been meaning to visit the Big Cat Rescue but the weather was terrible and we needed to find an indoor activity. So: movie. Simple enough solution.
Then we had a nice dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy at the Westshore Plaza in Tampa. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to have my birthday dinner, but his parents and sister gave me a gift certificate which was good at a few places, including Maggiano’s, and I’d been in the mood for Italian, so again: easy solution.
The food was quite good and the décor upscale, but we’ll probably stick with Carrabba’s Italian Grill in the future since its still Seth’s favorite restaurant – and it’s cheaper. I’m just not that much of a “high class” person, but when I do go somewhere that’s supposed to be classy, I don’t expect the servers to shout to eat other from twenty feet away or to touch every single water glass in the restaurant with the rim of the water pitcher or to ask me if we’d like them to box up our food when I’ve still got my fork in my hand.
If I’m going to chance putting up with all that, I’m going to eat somewhere cheaper.
The food, though, was very good, and because it was Seth’s first time eating there, we were offered (just like we saw them offering other tables) a complimentary sample of their fried zucchini, or Crispy Zucchini Fritte, appetizer. That’s something I wouldn’t have ordered on my own, but it was incredibly tasty! The crunchy, breaded zucchini with a warm, soft center then dipped into the lemon aioli cream sauce was more like a savory dessert then a vegetable. Also, we had ordered the Bruschetta, which we both loved. Fresh, juicy tomato chunks topped crouton-like, crispy bread, and I thought it could have used a little onion, but Seth thought it was perfect the way it was. Those two appetizers were our favorite part of dinner, really, and we could easily go back for just wine and appetizers and be plenty satisfied.
For an entrée, Seth got the Chicken Marsala, which he said was very good, but he still preferred Carrabba’s – no surprise there. (I think he could eat Carrabba’s Chicken Marsala every night and never get tired of it!) He wished there was pasta on the plate, too, but since pasta is traditionally a first course, I believe that’s why it was excluded. I ordered pasta as my main course: a plate of Gnocchi with Tomato Vodka Sauce. The gnocchi were tender and the tomato-cream gravy smooth and flavorful. I do prefer more sauce on my food, which I know is merely a personal preference, but the top pieces seemed a little dry to me since the sauce had pooled in the bottom of the bowl.
No dessert was ordered because we were both quite stuffed, and there was cake waiting for me at home anyway. In fact, I barely made a dent in my full-size (as opposed to half-sized) plate, which I believe could have really fed three or four people, and even Seth took home some chicken. But that’s okay; we’ll just have leftovers for a little while.
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