Carrabbas Italian Grill provides friendly services and a decent meal, but is it worth the time?
By EMILY HOWALD
Assistant Scene Editor
One usually thinks that when there is a 2 1/2 hour wait at a restaurant, the meal will prove to be worthy of the wait. Carrabbas proved that theory wrong.
The meal was not bad, but after waiting for such a long time, not to mention, nowhere to sit while waiting, the meal did not meet the expectations that one builds up while they anxiously, and hungrily wait to eat.
After making a mistake in the order, which they readily corrected, the meal just wasn't all that amazing.
Many of the entrées come with a side choice of some form pasta. The chicken parmesan cam with the side choice of either a fettuccini or garlic mashed potatoes. Perhaps the potatoes would have been a better choice than the fettuccini, for after about one bite and a wince, the side was left untouched.
The menu offers a variety of choices, and has a bit of depth within each portion. The restaurant is not open for lunch because they prepare all of the meals fresh each day.
They offered steak, fish, pizza and many signature pasta meals. The steak proved to be a bit less than average, and the chicken parmesan was decent, but nothing too special. All entrées come with the choice of Caesar salad, Italian salad or the house salad. The Caesar was surprisingly good.
Carrabbas does have many things going for it, however. The prices were quite reasonable and the employees were very friendly. They were anxious to help you and generally created a happy atmosphere.
A manager wandered around to make sure that everyone was having a satisfactory time, and he, too made the evening more enjoyabe.
There was a pasta bar that was right by the kitchen, and those seats were fair game to anyone who entered the restaurant at any time. Therefore, if one was willing to sit at a bar facing the kitchen, the waiting time diminished.
The cooks are also incredibly nice and they chat with the people seated at the bar.
Carrabbas was founded in Houston by Johnny Carrabba and Damian Mandola in December 1986.
Most of the recipes on the menu are those of Mandola's mother, Grace and his sister, Rose. Mandola also makes numerous trips around the world in search of unique Italian dishes to enhance the menu at Carrabbas
Mandola attributes much of the restaurant's success to his family.
"To my Mamma, Grace, the greatest cook I ever knew, who not only taught me the basics of good cooking but also the importance of having family gather at the table often," Mandola said.
Carrabbas eventually caught the attention of the Outback Steakhouse, Inc. owners, and a joint venture partnership was formed in 1993.
In January 1995 Outback Steakhouse, Inc. acquired the rights to develop Carrabbas nation wide. There ware currently over 100 Carrabbas Italian Grill locations, with plans to develop 25 more this year.
The Carrabbas near school is located just off of Grape Road. For more information or to see their menu, visit the Web site www.carrabbas.com.
All in all, Carrabbas is one of those restaurants that you walk away saying "eh, it could have been better, it could have been worse."
On a weekend night, the wait will be long, no question, but if you have nothing better to do with your time, why not? Just be ready to make an evening of the experience, and don't let the wait build up the meal, because you may be let down.
All Scene Stories for Monday, January 20, 2003
