ONE OF THE adjunct members of the Chain Gang has been raving about the Macaroni Grill for a few months now, so with two kids in tow we headed out to Plymouth Meeting for what at least one Gangster had hoped would be a dish of grilled macaroni.
No luck.
Tucked away in the shadow of the Blue Route, the Grill parking lot was packed on a Wednesday night. But the mass-market Italian restaurant is big enough that we got in with little wait.
Unfortunately, the Grill was understaffed for such a busy night, and service, though friendly, was spotty: It took extra time to order, plates didn't get cleared, dishes didn't arrive together, etc.
We started with Crab Stuffed Mushrooms ($7.99) a good-size portion of caps with tasty, creamy crabmeat filling. Along with the Garden Salad (a bargain at $1.59), it was a hit of the evening. The Romano Sampler appetizer ($9.99) came with small portions of Tomato Bruschetta, Mozzarella Fritta, Calamari and a dipping sauce.
The bruschetta was weak - only two crusty bread slices and a tasteless tomato topping. It's hard to mess up fried mozzarella sticks, and these were fine. The calamari, although a little greasy, was tender, and the tomato dipping sauce had a surprising kick. Some thought too big a kick.
The two little Gangsters, who spent most of dinner coloring the white paper tablecloth, ordered Fettuccine Alfredo and Macaroni 'n Cheese ($4.79 each) from the kids' menu.
Neither dish had much color (not a bad thing) and neither was especially gooey (also not bad), but kids accustomed to Kraft might wonder where the yellow cheese is. The Gang isn't complaining. The kids stopped their scribbling long enough to eat.
Of our three adult main dishes, the best was the simplest: Spaghetti & Meatballs in a meat sauce ($10.49). It was plenty of pasta for two, and the meatballs were big enough for everyone to get a taste.
The Seafood Linguine ($13.99) had shrimp, scallops and clams sprinkled throughout a trough of pasta, but the garlicky olive-oil sauce was flat. Not bad, but not memorable.
Memorable for the wrong reasons was Mama's Trio ($12.99), a sampling of Lasagna, Chicken Cannelloni and Chicken Parmesan. The pasta shell of the cannelloni was overcooked and there wasn't much chicken, though the cheese filling was the right consistency.
The Chicken Parmesan was mostly dried-out breading and the lasagna had been cooked until the ricotta cheese lost all moisture and the noodles were like rubber.
