Note: This review is based on visiting the Carrabba’s in Frederick, MD.
My in-laws are in town this week and we have been trying some restaurants in the area. I wanted some Italian food the other night, so we decided to try Carrabba’s. None of us had ever been there and we wanted a break from the usual.
When we walked in, I noticed how dimly lit the place was. I was a little hesitant to eat in such a place because my eyesight is not that great when it comes to reading in the dark. I was afraid that I might have trouble seeing the menu and make a fool of myself. Well, when we were seated I noticed that there was a light shining on each table so strategically placed around the restaurant. Problem One solved.
The waitress brought out our drinks and some bread. She also put some kind of herbs on a plate on the table next to a small jug of olive oil. She never explained what the herbs were or what we were supposed to do with them, but my husband and I assumed that we should pour some olive oil over them and dip the bread in it. It was really quite good.
The menu is not very extensive, offering your typical selection of appetizers, pizzas, pastas, and classic Italian dishes. However, they do have a moderate wine and alcoholic drink menu. I did notice that their selections are a bit more expensive than I am used to at other Italian restaurants. I decided to order chicken parmesan, which is usually what I order at any Italian restaurant. I had seen on the menu that my entrée was supposed to come with a choice of a side — garlic mashed potatoes, spaghetti pomodoro, cavatappi amatriciana (I have no idea what that is and it was not explained to me), or the vegetable of the day. The waitress never asked which I wanted so I just assumed it would come with the spaghetti. Traditional, right? My husband ordered the same thing as I did, and my mother-in-law ordered veal parmesan which was not listed on the menu. They went ahead and made it for her anyway. For my daughter, I ordered cheese ravioli with the sauce on the side. My father-in-law ordered spaghetti and meatballs — how adventurous.
A little while later, a manager came over and asked my mother-in-law what side she wanted with her veal parmesan. I thought that was a little strange, considering he didn’t ask my husband or me what side we wanted with our chicken. I let it slide. She ordered garlic mashed potatoes as her side. Well, when our meals came, my husband and I both had garlic mashed potatoes on our plates. What a coincidence! But mashed potatoes with chicken parmesan?! I started to say, “I didn’t order mashed potatoes,” but I ended up getting out, “I didn’t…” and stopped myself. I had neither the energy nor the patience to argue. Then, he placed my daughter’s ravioli down in front of her and it had sauce on it. As I was telling him that I had ordered the sauce on the side and he offered to take it back to the kitchen, my daughter decided to stick her fingers in the sauce. I told him to forget about it. He then asked if everything was all right and we all said yes. The garlic mashed potatoes actually turned out to be pretty awesome. They do have a dessert menu, but we were all too full to get anything.
So although I feel like the waitress was not doing her job the way she should have and some of our orders came out wrong, the experience was worth it. I will probably go there again just to try something different, but it will most likely be at another location.
For more information about Carrabba’s Italian Grill, please visit their website.