Maggiano’s Little Italy By Jim White It’s a nostalgia renaissance I tell you. Most of these new restaurants want to take us back to a kinder, gentler time, set somewhere in the 40’s. The big steak houses that have come to town all have that elegant way-back look-supper club, men’s club. It’s only fitting that the new Maggiano’s in Northpark would take us back to a setting resembling an old-fashioned, Italian neighborhood family restaurant in, say….New York’s Little Italy. The look of the place is warm and inviting with red and white checkered tablecloths and a bustling atmosphere downstairs. While, upstairs where the private functions take place, it’s dark woods, fireplaces and rich appointments. Maggiano’s has some of the best private dining facilities in the entire city. But let’s get back downstairs where all the action is. Maggiano’s is a concept born in Chicago. Brinker International has taken it on the road with Corner Bakery, which as I’m sure you’ve noticed is often stand-alone. In this case they’re together and it makes for a great mall stop for take home items or a quick casual meal. The Maggiano’s food concept is based on Italian family style dining, and lots of food. No one will leave hungry and almost everyone will be leaving with a doggy bag. For a group of four or more, Maggiano’s Family Style Dinners are served for $19.95 a person. And are served on giant platters for sharing. You choose from more than a dozen appetizers, salads, pastas, main courses, vegetables and dessert. An extra charge is levied for premium items like veal scaloppini, shrimp, salmon and so forth. If you’ve got a full table and big appetites, this is the way to go. You can also order items individually and the portions will still be huge, so thank goodness for take-home bags and half-orders that are available with many items. The menu at Maggiano’s Little Italy features all the popular crowd-pleasing Italian and Americanized Italian dishes. For appetizers, bruschetta, calamari and stuffed artichokes are favorites. You also find clams, mussels and stuffed mushrooms. A number of salads are available…from sliced to chopped to Caesar. These come small and large, although the small is large and the large is big enough for two or three to share. Favorite pastas like spaghetti, fettuccine and linguine are served with marinara, meat sauce or meatballs, just to name a few. Seafood pastas include Linguine with red or white clam sauce and a calamari with diablo sauce over linguine. Whole roasted chicken is delicious. Other chicken dishes include chicken Parmesan (enough for three people) and chicken scaloppini. There’s more: big steaks, chops, veal dishes, plus grilled swordfish and salmon. The Maggiano’s hallmark is quantity, and they deliver. Although, I would gladly trade big portions for better quality. The wine list is a mix of California and Italian with a decent selection of wines by the glass. There are also some pretty good buys on big-name Champagne. If you have any room left for dessert go for the lemon cookies or the spumoni. Maggiano’s is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. The restaurant is located on the Northwest Highway side of Northpark. Free valet parking is offered. Reservations are accepted at 214-360-0707, and a word about that. On one of our visits we waited 30 minutes for a table that was supposedly reserved. They need to manage that better. On The KRLD Restaurant Show Review Scale of One to Five Forks, Maggiano’s rates 3 Forks. Food is 3 Forks. Service is 2 and a half Forks. Atmosphere is 3 Forks. Price is moderately expensive, with entrees ranging from $8.95 for a half-order of pasta to $28.95 for a New York Steak.   Send me an Email: jwdineline@aol.com Copyright © 1998 Inter Active Media Solutions. All Rights Reserved. The interactive components of this site require that you use a current browser version of Explorer; be sure to maximize your window out so you can see the entire page. This page was created by Inter Active Media Solutions.