From July 2006 issue of MetroFamily

Let’s Eat Restaurant Review: Carrabba’s Italian Grill

Can’t take the heat? Get out of the kitchen, grab your bambini, and enjoy a family-inspired Italian dinner.
 
Carrabba’s offers a call ahead service so you can get on the waiting list before you leave home—a nice touch as this has already become a popular restaurant. At Carrabba’s, you’ll see tables filled with couples, families, and groups of friends enjoying their time together. Your little ones will love the opportunity to play with the pizza dough servers are happy to provide.
 
My husband Joe and I enjoyed our leisurely evening at Carrabba’s. We had delicious Italian food served amid a background of 1950s-era Italian music. Servers start diners off with a plate of herbs and olive oil. The mixture, apparently of basil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese, was the perfect blend for dipping warm Boule bread.
 
We started with an order of Bruschetta Agrodolce ($6.99) which was crispy bread brushed with olive oil and a generous side sauce of roasted bell peppers, grilled onions, sun dried tomatoes, herbs, and balsamic vinegar. It was nice to have the sauce on the side so the bread remained crunchy.
 
Carrabba’s offers something for all of their customers. They have a gluten-free menu and diabetic nutritional information. They serve a variety of seafood, beef, poultry, and, of course, pastas. The mussels they use are rope grown off the coast of Prince Edward Island, making them clean and meaty.
 
Joe and I decided to try pasta dishes, though it was hard for me to pass up the brick oven pizza. Joe ordered the Pasta Weesie ($13.99). Don’t you just love the name? Our server told us it was named after an aunt, or so the story goes. Pasta Weesie is fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp sauteed in a garlic, lemon butter, and white wine sauce with sauteed mushrooms and scallions. Joe had a house salad of crisp, romaine lettuce, carrots, and a Parmesan dressing. Though it was a pretty salad, Joe thought it was a bit bland.
 
I had the Tagliarini pasta ($11.99) with added chicken. I was completely overwhelmed when our server set down the huge bowl. The angel hair pasta was covered with a sauce of crushed tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, and large slices of grilled chicken. It had an excellent flavor, but as I ate, the pasta never seemed to disappear—in fact, I felt as though it was multiplying. Needless to say, I had some to bring home.
 
To finish off our lovely dinner, we shared an order of Tiramisu ($4.99). This large serving, easily shared by two, consists of lady fingers dipped in a liqueur with espresso and layered with sweetened mascarpone cheese, Myers’s rum, and chocolate shavings with chocolate syrup drizzled on the plate. I thought we would have some to relish at home, but suddenly we had eaten it all! Oh well. A good excuse to return.
 
Pasta Carrabba
gathered by Jill Singletary Richards from the Houston Chronicle, printed with permission from Executive Chef, Steven Whitford
3/4 C Parmesan cheese
2 medium shallots
1 pint whipping cream
3 T butter
1 package fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 package frozen green peas
1 C cooked ham, cut into strips
2 grilled chicken breasts (browned in skillet in olive oil, then cut into strips)
1 box pasta (ziti or penne)
 
Dice shallots and saute in 1 1/2 T butter. Add pint of whipping cream and let simmer. Do not bring to a boil. In a skillet, saute mushrooms in 1 1/2 T butter. Season with white pepper. Add peas and ham, stir for about 4 minutes over medium heat. Drain well. Add to the cream mixture. Let simmer while preparing pasta. After the pasta is cooked and drained well, place into a large serving bowl. Add Parmesan cheese and mix. Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix well. Place the strips of chicken on top and serve.
 
Note: Chop everything up before you start to cook.
 
Carrabba’s Italian Grill
3121 W. Memorial Rd, OKC, 751-8450
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 4–10pm; Friday and Saturday 4pm–11pm
Prices: $3-$19; children’s menu $4.49-$5
 
Have a restaurant to recommend? MFM’s Food Editor, Annie Nashert, would love to add it to her review list. Contact her at FoodEditor@MetroFamilyMagazine.com.