Almighty Dad | A stay at home dad blog

A friend of mine called me a week ago and said, “ Hey, let’s go to Maggiano’s”.  I said “Well, it’s just me and the boys.  Can they come too?”  Two things people generally know about me is that I don’t eat at certain restaurants (who’s names shall not be mentioned but one of which rhymes with Crapplebee’s), and I take my boys almost everywhere with me.  In other words Maggiano’s has to be quality and kid friendly.  My friend has a habit of eating at overly fancy restaurants that cost 50 dollars or more per plate; he has no kids and he doesn’t quite get the logistical problems with that sometimes.  I assumed Maggiano’s was another one of those because his pitch to me was that all the food is made from scratch.  But, is it kid friendly and not too expensive (because I’m broke these days)?  “Oh, hell yeah!  It’s a family restaurant!”  Was his reply.  Well, damn, a family chain restaurant that makes quality food.  This I had to see. I loaded up the boys and drove 35 minutes to downtown Denver where I met my friend.  My intention from the beginning was to write a blog post about my experience.  If it was just another chain with overly salted and bland food then I was prepared to say it.  If, on the other hand, it was too fancy for the kids or we got bad service I was prepared to say that as well.  After everything this is what I have to say:

The Atmosphere:  Personal

Maggiano’s is not designed like a typical family restaurant.  There is no cheesy memorabilia hanging on the walls that make it look like a theme park.  The décor is classy and upscale but not over the top.  Like I said, there are no decorations that particularly stand out, which makes the experience much less distracting.  It felt like eating at a rich uncle’s house where everything is fancy, and you’re impressed, but you don’t feel like you couldn’t sneeze if you had to. Likewise, the boys (age 5 and 6) were treated respectfully, and they never had a look on their faces that betrayed any sort of insecurity; they were not awed.  It was clear that the goal of Maggiano’s is to gear the experience around the food and professionalism of its staff rather than capturing my attention with gimmicks.

The Food:  Excellent

We spend a few minutes before ordering asking the waiter what he liked most about working at Maggiano’s.  Do you know what he said?  He said “I like working here because I don’t have to lie about the food. It’s all made from scratch, and it’s all good.” It took me about 1/8 of a second to understand what he was talking about.  Have you ever been at a typical chain family restaurant and asked what the waiter recommends?  Then, as soon as you ask, you feel stupid for even wasting your time?  It’s like asking what the McDonald’s employee recommends from the menu.  Who cares?  You don’t go to McDonald’s to enjoy the food. You go there to eat.  It’s the same with most restaurants.  You’re there for a meeting or you’re there because you couldn’t think of anything better or you were forced into it because you didn’t have much money or you simply have no choice because no quality restaurant is appropriate for kids, not because you want to savor the food.  Maggianos’ food is excellent.  The waiter explained that the only part of the meal that was not made in their kitchen was the bread, and even that was made fresh that day at a local bakery.  I ate Lobster Ravioli, and the boys ate Spaghetti with a giant meatball.  I could taste the difference.  I tasted the tomatoes in the boys’ marinara sauce; the meatball had texture.  I identified the chopped up Lobster in my Ravioli.  Yes, it actually was made right there, and it actually was very good.

The Price: Way Less than I Expected

I’ve been to a lot of fancy restaurants.  I always leave feeling like I’ve been mugged.  Sure, I enjoy the food, but is it worth 75 dollars?  I don’t think so.  I want to pay for the food, not the waiter’s snotty attitude or the reputation of the restaurant.  The food should do the talking.  And, to be honest, most high-end places do have quality food.  Their problem is that they are charging for their reputation, not for the food.  It’s like buying a Lexus SUV when the Toyota is built on the same chassis, in the same factory, and has the exact same features and engine.  Maggiano’s is the Toyota.  It’s got 300 HP just like the Lexus and it sports leather seats and a top notch nav system, too.  The only difference is the price.  My meal was 16 bucks as I remember (or close to that at least).  The boys each ate for 6 dollars.  The 4 of us, with deserts and everything, ate for under 50 dollars. It was worth every penny.  It isn’t Mcdonald’s prices, and it’s a little more expensive than a Chili’s.  But, what you get in return is phenomenal.

I had never heard of Maggiano’s before a few weeks ago.  I refuse to eat at so many chain restaurants that I probably just passed it over without a second look assuming it would be the same as all the rest.  I can’t go to upscale restaurants anymore because I can’t afford it, and there were times that the kids were not welcomed (even though they are always well behaved when on the town).  My options these days are to eat Pho at our local Vietnamese place (Pho is a Vietnamese soup that is healthy, cheap and yummy) or to eat at home.  Last year, when I had money, we went out to eat at expensive places several times a week; we were too rich and too lazy to care how much it cost.  I thought those days were long gone.  While I was right that I am no longer eating pricey food, I was wrong that I would never again get the chance to eat just as well.

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