Romano’s Macaroni Grill Allergen Free?
Many MANY moons ago, I remember Romano’s Macaroni Grill Grand Opening in Las Vegas on West Sahara. These were platters, (not plates) of food, mountains of food served to each person, in typical over the top abundance of Vegas style.
Fast forward two, maybe three decades…..
I find myself sitting in a car, with my dinner mate asking me: Macaroni Grill or BJ’s? And what do I think?
Well, I know I’m not eating pasta….. but wait! The ambiance….. nice lighting and I’ll bet they have booths. “Ok. I’ll get a salad”.
YOU WENT TO A PASTA PLACE AND ONLY ORDERED A SALAD, CHEF MARIAN?
Hold onto your pants. I’m not there yet.
BUT CHEF MARIAN….???
Trust me. I’m not there yet. I will delight and amuse you.
So, we head into this ‘abundant’ pasta joint, with limited expectations (the only way to fly).
The waitress comes over. She’s from NY, (she announces) and there are things on this menu you can really, really enjoy. ‘HA’! (I’m thinking). I say: “I don’t suppose you have gluten free pasta, do you”? THIS WOMAN whips out an Allergen information brochure the size of New England which tells me what is: Gluten Free, Peanut free, Tree Nut free, Egg free, Dairy free, Fish free, ShellFish free, and Soy free.
Am I in love? Or what? Are you kidding me? A restaurant that beats to the drum of what we want today?
So… sooooo cool. I must say: I am impressed.
And if that wasn’t enough ~
I want you to look at my gluten free pasta Pomodoro, that I ‘built’ myself by adding roasted garlic and broccolini to….
Does that not look absolutely ‘delish’?
Well…. it was. The pasta was ‘al dente‘ and you would never have known it was any different than anything on the menu.
So BRAVO! Romano’s Macaroni Grill! YOU ROCK on many levels!
And now… instead of complaining about portion control, I eat enough to satisfy (with a salad to start… and guess what folks? They have vegan dressing)!
And then I take the rest home. How many days does this feed me for? Three (count ’em) 3 days and 3-4 meals later, I am finally done with the pasta.
Now I could have added chicken, shrimp, or anything else I wanted. But I’m still trying to lower my consumption of animal protein to 5% or less a day so…..
But that doesn’t mean you can’t!
And I want to say one more thing about the Macaroni Grill. I am not your average dinner. I sit facing the kitchen. And when I see a manager that is running the back end and totally in charge of everything from staff to service…. and I mean really on top of it, I am impressed. So again, Bravo to the Escondido location of Romano’s Macaroni Grill.
Happy Eating!
Chef Marian
mm@chefmarian.com