We just got back from girlfriend's birthday dinner, and Lidia's served the worst Italian food I've ever eaten. Worse than a cafeteria, worse than the spaghetti served on boyscout outings, and reminiscent of Chef Boyardee in look and taste. We did not enjoy the appetizer. Large, flat, soggy noodles in ketchup. Chef Boyardee's beefaroni with the same quality of ingredients. I tried the pasta trio figuring there was no way to go wrong. I was overwhelmed by the garlic flavoring in the egg noodles. The stuffed square noodles were pretty much inedible. The spinach was slimy and flavorless, and left a film in my mouth. The next pasta, which was my favorite of the three, tasted like Chef Boyardee, which is ok when you pay a dollar for a can of it. My girlfriend's lasagna was edible, but certainly not what she had in mind for a birthday dinner. It was mushy with low quality cheese and unidentifiable sauces. The best part was the bread, which was served in three varieties. It wasn't warm, but somewhat fresh. It was served with what looked to be pesto and olive tapenade, but was blended into a paste and melon-scooped onto a little olive oil. Both tasted pretty awful, and we just soaked the bread in the tiny bit of olive oil surrounding the two lumps of who knows what. I'm certainly not a picky eater, but this food did not have anything good in it. It used the same ingredients as fast food, but lacked the delicious flavor of fast food. The only pro was the attentive staff who acted as though Lidia's was a nicer restaurant than it was. Do yourself a favor, and go to Olive Garden, Bucca di bepo, joe mamas, or just about anywhere. At least it is edible, and you will be able to eat your entire meal and the food tastes decent. The selection was horrible, too. Under pasta there were about 3 things. They didn't even have spaghetti with meatballs. NEVER GO HERE. Ive never posted before but felt the need to warn everyone.
Pros: wine list and attentive and friendly staff
Cons: all of the food
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