Review - Maggiano's Little Italy

I had a weird craving this past weekend and that was to try an Italian chain restaurant.  I know, I know...not my usual hangout for an elegant weekend dinner, but I thought I'd give it a shot.

I went to Maggiano's Little Italy in Beachwood, Ohio, one of two locations in the entire state of Ohio (the other being in Cincinnati).  I must say I was quite impressed.  The decor was very simple, no frills, and elegant.  White cloths covered each table and the main dining room had a nice mahogany trim. 

First off, your truly decided to visit the restaurant during the hours of high traffic on a Saturday night with no reservation.  As I was walking into the restaurant, I noticed numerous families and couples loitering around and I thought the worst.  I guess that is a mixed sign: good because if the joint is packed, it must have good food; bad: you will be waiting FOREVER for a table.  Despite the crowd, the restaurant was not loud at all.

So I went up to the host and he told me the wait would be 1.5 ours.  GULP!  "Unless..."  he began, "you don't mind siting at the end of the counter in the bar area.  We would be able to sit you right now."  SOLD!  At first, we found the counter to be quite crowded, but we were able to sit across from each other and it turned out to be very cozy.  I was impressed and very happy that the host was able to let us "jump the line" and have a seat without waiting during the weekend dinner rush.

The wine list was pretty good.  There were some nice Italian Chiantis on the list as well as the usual American standbys.  The prices were a little steep, but seemed normal for that part of town.

Together, my girlfriend shared a chicken piccata and chicken marsala plate.  The chicken marsala came with a sauteed chicken breast in red marsala wine sauce and bite sized dark button mushrooms.  The chicken piccata was a sauteed chicken breast with capers and lemon butter.  Each came with a side of angel hair aglio olio in a separate plate.  This reminded me of a quaint bistro I visited in Milano, Italy where your meat dish and pasta side dish each came out on a separate plate.  You are free to mix as much of the pasta with the meat as you'd like.  I don't seem to see this done with many of the mainstream Italian/American restaurants.  Points for Maggiano's. 

All in all, the meals were very good.  The chicken was very tender, moist, and succulent and the mushrooms were very delicately cooked so as not to render them soft and tasteless.  My only complaint about the meal was that it seemed to be slightly too oily or buttery.  I try to keep it healthy, but I guess that goes out the window if you want to eat such a rich pasta meal.  For two people, the bill was around $50 for dinner and a drink each.  Despite that, I highly recommend visiting Maggiano's.  It was an enjoyable experience and I know I will be coming back soon.