Thursday, February 07, 2008
Carrabba's grills Italian tamely
Larry Bly
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I had heard so much good about Carrabba's Italian Grill that it's probably only natural that the its reputation could not possibly have lived up to the buzz. And it didn't. Which isn't to say that I did not like Carrabba's. In fact, I enjoyed it very much and give it at least one of two thumbs up.
Even for Saturday night in the Star City, I was surprised at the one-hour wait to get into the place at 8:30. There were all of those people crammed into a small holding area as you come into the restaurant. My group headed immediately to the bar for some survival juice. I was surprised at how small the bar area really is, considering that this is a franchise; and franchises know that you improve profit margins by plying those waiting customers with drink. But we managed to find three seats at the modest bar, where we enjoyed the service so well and the nicely mixed drinks that we decided to just stay and have our meal there -- much to the disappointment of others hoping to snag a barstool during their wait.
First off, the bar staff is just the best! No wonder service at most other places has gotten so lousy: Carrabba's has scooped up all the good people.
Both the lady and the gentleman running the bar handily served up drinks for the tables, all the while making us feel mighty clucked-over. I've not had such great personal attention in years.
To my notion, Carrabba's excelled in the "Antipasti" (appetizers) department. The best food we got all evening between three of us came at the beginning of the meal, no doubt. We started with the mozzarella marinara -- perfectly fried hand-breaded mozzarella pieces with Italian breadcrumb coating, lightly fried as promised. The marinara sauce was full and flavorful with a slightly sweet tomato base. I had the "Cozze In Bianco," which is cold water mussels steamed in white wine, basil, lemon butter and pernod. I had to order up more of the amply-supplied bread so I could sop up this delicious sauce. The mussels were fat and tender.
The "Mama Mandola's Sicilian chicken Soup" (don't you love these down-home Italian names?) was light, with a full-flavored broth and plenty of big chunks of white chicken meat throughout. This is a great dish, available by cup or bowl.
Another of us ordered the "Calamari Ricardo," which is fried calamari served with a spicy Italian pepper and lemon butter sauce. It had a nice kick and the calamari were tender and not fishy. Those are the two credentials upon which I usually judge a good calamari.
Our entrees were good. Simple things like luke-warm presentations took away from them. There's no reason why, for instance, a big old hunk of lasagna should not have arrived piping hot from the pan, which is where it normally resides until plated. But my friend's not-so-inspired lasagna (isn't everyone an expert on lasagna?) was nearly cold. And while he thought it to be a good, basic lasagna, he didn't think that it was exceptional in any way.
Same with my other friend's spaghetti. This is the dish upon which to judge Italian, some would say. The sauce was nice, thick, not exceptional in flavor. The pasta was slightly chewy; the meatballs truly delicious, with a nice blend of grilled Italian fennel sausage. The meatballs make this dish.
I tried a "suggested" entree, as I was attempting to avoid tomato sauce, cheese, and/or red meat for the evening, preparing for a medical test the following Monday. So I tried something called "Spiedino Di Mare," which is shrimp and sea scallops, breaded, grilled and topped with lemon butter sauce. I was getting pretty full by this point and so my ability to make judgment on this dish was severely impaired. I think it was pricey at nearly 17 bucks, and I thought that the lemon butter sauce was way too lemony. The scallops were fat and delicious but I was not terribly fond of the spiral pasta side, which was basically flavorless. Sort of like a spiral mac and cheese; and there wasn't much of it, so the plate was left looking a bit empty.
Friends swear by the Margherita wood-fired pizza, even though I've asked them not to swear in my presence. And family classics like the chicken parmesan is quite good here as well.
There's a considerable wine list, mostly Italian, but a few German and no locals that I could find. Typical of a franchise operation. There are specialty drinks and I couldn't help but notice a Sangria, which is illegal in Virginia. Did you know that? There's a case right now before the state Supreme Court with a Northern Virginia restaurant owner and those wacky people down at the Virginia ABC board. I'm sure that there must be something that gets around the law here, though I haven't figured it out. I can assure you that these folks know what they're doing, so not to worry. I don't think the local cops (or ABC agents) will put the cuffs on you in the middle of this "Sangria." I think it had something to do with the "homemade"
nature of Mr. Northern Virginia Restaurant Guy's offering.
If you're having a party, there's a huge carryout menu from which to choose and you can serve 8-12 easily for less than $80.
Carrabba's has a huge open kitchen, though I didn't go over and gawk at
them. I'm sort of over open kitchens. I wish they had
taken some of the kitchen space to make a more intimate and larger lounge for the waiting masses.
Carrabba's Italian Grill
4802 Valley View Blvd. NW
Roanoke, Va. 240l2
www.carrabbas.com
