Chains like Romano's Macaroni Grill are a staple among Tucson restaurants.
Sure, you give up that sense of culinary adventure when you line up with the hordes to dine at a restaurant that gives you exactly the same experience as its counterpart across town or across the country.
But there's something comforting about knowing exactly what you're going to get. And Macaroni Grill delivers a satisfying Italian dining experience.
You can drop some serious cash at Macaroni Grill, with such enticing appetizers as the Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms ($8.29), a nice selection of salads, soups and brick oven pizzas in addition to pasta entrees that reach up to $14.99 (lobster ravioli). There are also grill items such as the Boursin fillet, which is a tenderloin fillet topped with pepper Boursin cheese, accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus ($19.99), and a chef's wine recommendation offered with most dishes that would also bump up the tab.
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Still, some selective planning can net you a meal for a family of three for less than $30.
Macaroni Grill does its best to give you a prefabricated, focus-grouped, English-speaking Italian restaurant experience.
A mixture of opera and easy listening wafts from the speakers, and wine bottles line high shelves. Strings of lights over the dining area provide a halo of non-intrusive mood lighting.
The tables are charmingly covered by white butcher paper, on which your waitress scribbles her name with crayons, then hands them over so you can do some doodling until your bread arrives. You can also peruse the wine list, which included 38 wines from Italy, Australia, New Zealand, California and Washington.
When you enter the bathroom you can brush up on your Italian by concentrating on the instructional tapes that play on the speakers, teaching you to say such things as "hello" and "I love you." I used both phrases many times as each new loaf of complimentary bread arrived at the table.
As appealing as the interior is, you can skip it altogether if you're in a hurry, thanks to the curbside pick-up option. Call the restaurant 30 minutes ahead with your order, pull into a designated space and a server will deliver the food to your car.
It's easy to fill up on the round, rosemary-speckled bread. You rip off a piece and dip it into a mix of olive oil and pepper. And, you get as much as you want.
Aware of our budget, we tried the Chicken Florentine Salad ($9.79), which mixed moist pieces of grilled chicken with orzo pasta and spinach, pine nuts, black olives, diced tomatoes and capers. The garlic lemon vinaigrette complemented the other flavors.
Even better was the Sizzling Tuscan Chicken ($10.99), part of the promotional "Sizzling Sensations" submenu featuring meat and vegetables poured from a hot skillet onto pasta right at our table.
The chicken was sautéed in garlic and white wine with mushrooms and peppers, and lived up to its name by sizzling as the waitress poured it over linguine. The buttery pasta was thick and voluminous, making the sizable meal impossible to eat in one sitting.
It turned out we easily could have shared our meals with our 18-month-old dining companion, but we ordered him a grilled chicken and spaghetti kid's meal, which came slightly overcooked.
Like his parents, the child needed to box up his dinner to take home and try again another day.
• Where: 2265 W. Ina Road (544-4655), and 5100 E. Broadway (790-0177).
• Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
The Bill
Sizzling Tuscan Chicken: $10.99.
Chicken Florentine Salad: $9.79.
Kid's grilled chicken: $5.29.
Total, before drinks, tax and tip: $26.07.
