Saturday, November 20, 2010

Maggiano's

4 out of 5 Stars

Website
2019 Post Oak Blvd
Houston, TX 77056
(713) 961-2700

Maggiano's is to society what Home Depot is to most girls.....you only go when it is absolutely necessary.

Necessary times include eating with a large and in charge group, a private party, your first meal out of jail, and in most cases for me - a hilarious, cheap dinner.

Hilarious, cheap dinner? At Maggiano's? Do tell!

I strongly encourage Houston Yelpers and friend or two to grab a table at the front bar of Maggiano's Monday through Friday in between 6 and 9pm . You are guaranteed to be surrounded by suits, cougars, and awkward dates galore while listening to the most ridiculous cover band on keyboard and guitar (and by cover band, I mean a man and woman covering Gnarles Barkley and Earth, Wind and Fire and by ridiculous, I mean cheese-fest). People watching at its finest!

Order a wine, bellini, or whatever strikes your fancy, a small appetizer (like calamari) and split a side pasta. It may not be advertised on the menu, but they offer sides orders of pasta for $3 or $4 (your choice of pasta and sauce)! Sit back, relax, and hilarity ensues for a grand total of $10 -$15 per person including tip. 60% of the time, it works every time.

But seriously, for bulk dining, Maggiano's is one of the best options out there. It's still a nice setting, guests have plenty of options, and the food (when taken into consideration that it's served in bulk) is "a'ight".

I went here recently for a friend's birthday dinner (party of 12). When making a large reservation, they require you to choose a set menu. By set menu, they mean a BOTTOMLESS smorgasbord of food. We ended up with 2 salads, stuffed mushrooms, fried zucchini, lasagna, ravioli, chicken marsala chicken parm, AND cheesecake for $40 a person (we also order a couple bottles of wine).

$40 is a lot BUT, you end up ordering so many items that everyone is happy and everyone takes home leftovers (think dinner and lunch for the rest of the week).

Maggiano's service was outstanding! They were prompt, friendly, attentive, and happy to continue serving additional orders of whatever we wanted fully knowing they were just going to box it up later.

Albeit it's not the best Italian fare, but for a care free feast among a lot of people, Maggiano's is not a bad option.

Bonus!

Maggiano's is a big supporter of the Make A Wish Foundation. One of my "random nights of hilarity" at the front bar at Maggiano's happened to be a night they hosted a Hawaiian luau for a Make A Wish family. Not only did Maggiano's provide the feast for a group of at least 50, they also hired a fire dancer to perform outside the restaurant as a sendoff for the family's trip to Hawaii that Maggiano's paid for!

Good peeps at Maggiano's which ultimately bumps my 3 star review to a 4!

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