This was the venue for a fam dinner on a recent Sat eve. Just moved down here so I'm a novice to Richmond's dining scene. Can't say I had high expectations but after being informed that the wait is 1hr 15 mins I was eager to be pleasantly surprised. By the time we were seated I had done a round of expedited shopping and was sufficiently starved. Unfortunately, it would be close to another hour before our food arrived. The calamari and crabcakes starters were nothing spectacular. Crab was not of the best quality and horseradish in sauce was overpowering, to cover up the subpar quality of the crab? The fried calamari was tender but unfortunately the sauce it came only brings one thing to mind: watered down ketchup. Chicken parm followed. There?s only one thing I expect when I order this dish: tenderness. Three hunks of breasts that I?m pretty sure were never introduced to a meat mallet were served. No room to critique the two linguine dishes but needless to say they were less than impressive. I have to highlight the asparagus side dish, one of a few that we ordered. It was in a garlicky sauce that I thought was pretty good. I was working on them enthusiastically when I bit into one part and chewed...and chewed?and chewed. In all honestly I?ve never been served asparagus where the skin isn't peeled off the tough section or broken off altogether. EVER. And so I was stuck with a dilemma?whether to discreetly emit it or swallow against all instinct. In short, the entire experience was probably a 3 on a scale of 10 and not one I care to repeat. I have to admit the Pinot Noir I washed it all down with was fairly decent. Alas, it wasn't nearly enough to drown out my perplexity at why this venue was so packed.\r
p.s. Ironically, it occurred to me that the food here is better suited for a casual dining chain. Coming from NYC I had never heard of Maggiano?s so I wasn?t aware that they are indeed a chain! My only problem is I don?t wait 1hr 15mins for a casual dining experience.
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