Archive for the 'Italian' Category

Maggiano’s Little Italy

Published on October 3, 2011 in Dessert and Italian. 0 Comments Tags: .
  • Food Quantity: 9/10
  • Food Quality: 9/10
  • Cleanliness: 8/10
  • Atmosphere: 7/10
  • Service: 8/10
  • Price: $10 – $30

Maggiano’s Little Italy is a great traditional Italian restaurant located in Pointe Orlando. It offers a classy, yet casual, atmosphere. The prices are comparable to Olive Garden, but the food is much better. It tastes like a home cooked meal and the portions are more than enough for a single meal. Make sure you save room for dessert because their cheesecake and chocolate cake are excellent. The one complaint I would have is that while their individual tables are nicely sized, the tables themselves are too close together. Maybe you could request a booth if you want a little more privacy. Other than that, I’d highly recommend Maggiano’s, for big parties, families, or an intimate dinner for two.
Maggiano's Little Italy on Urbanspoon

Mama Mia’s Pizzeria

Published on April 26, 2011 in Italian and Pizza. 0 Comments Tags: , .
  • Food Quality: 7/10
  • Food Quantity: 7/10
  • Cleanliness: 7/10
  • Atmosphere: 6/10
  • Service: 7/10
  • Price: $5-$10

The pizza at Mama Mia’s has a different flavor than a lot of other shops in the area. I had the 2 slice lunch special, and the slices were fresh out of the oven. It’s pretty good pizza, and reasonably priced. It’s not the best pizza in town, but I would definitely grab a couple slices if I were hungry and passing by. There’s not much room if you plan on dining in, a few bar stools against the front window and a table or two. If you do want to dine in, I wouldn’t bring a party bigger than 4 people.

Mama Mia's Pizzeria on Urbanspoon

Brick & Fire

Published on April 12, 2011 in Italian and Pizza. 1 Comment Tags: , .
  • Food Quality: 6/10
  • Food Quantity: 8/10
  • Cleanliness: 7/10
  • Atmosphere: 6/10
  • Service: 6/10
  • Price: $6-$10

Brick & Fire serves up brick oven pizza, as well as the usual fare of Italian cuisine. Their pizza is cheesy, really cheesy. I normally like extra cheese, but I didn’t even ask for it here, and it felt like a ton of cheese. It was too much cheese to enjoy the pizza. It might have been better if the pizza was cooked a little longer making the cheese crispier. One thing I found odd about the restaurant is that it is a sit down restaurant, you have a server take your order and bring your food to you, but the drinks are self serve. I guess you could look at it as nice that you don’t have to wait for refills, but the mix of service and self-service creates an inconsistent experience. The food here wasn’t terrible, but not my cup of tea. I wouldn’t tell someone to avoid this place, but I wouldn’t recommend it either. There are plenty of good pizza places in Orlando that you don’t have to eat at this one.

Brick & Fire Pizza & Pasta Parlor on Urbanspoon

Carmela’s

Published on March 8, 2011 in Italian and Pizza. 1 Comment Tags: , , .
  • Food Quality: 6/10
  • Food Quantity: 7/10
  • Cleanliness: 6/10
  • Atmosphere: 6/10
  • Service: 7/10
  • Price: $6-$10

Carmela’s serves up pizza and the usual Italian fare. The food is alright, but nothing special really. The restaurant is quiet, and mostly empty at lunch time. I found it odd that the restaurant was so empty, yet we were sat at a booth with a giant rip in the middle of the seat. There were plenty of empty tables, and even other empty booths. Also, the rip wasn’t even taped up. Otherwise, the service was good.

Overall, I wasn’t really impressed with Carmela’s. I wouldn’t recommend them, and there are plenty of pizza places in town, and plenty that are better than this.

Carmela's of Kirkman on Urbanspoon

Darden Restaurants Skimping on Bread

Published on March 15, 2010 in Italian, Seafood and Steakhouse. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

There is a new policy at Darden restaurants, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Longhorn Steakhouse, Seasons 52, and The Capital Grill. Servers have been given orders to only bring one piece of bread per person to the table each time the table asks for more bread. This might be seen as a way to save money, and cut back on waste, but I think it makes the restaurants look cheap, and only occupies the servers more, possibly degrading service. With regard to cutting back on waste, I know I usually have leftovers and will bring home any uneaten bread as well. To cut back on waste, they could easily ask the table if they would like bread at all, and if so, how much each time.

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