Today's post is...
*Drum roll please*
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Not a haul!
Whaaaat?!
No, it is not, but it does have to do with perhaps the one thing I like to do more than shop.
Eating.
This past week I had the chance to go to a food tasting at Carrabba's Italian restaurant.
To be honest, I'm not so sure if I've ever eaten at Carrabba's before...perhaps only once.
When it comes to Italian I usually am just fine with Olive Garden's delicious free salad!
But anyway, there was a tasting of their new "fire finished" menu that they are launching.
This was the tasting menu for the night that explained most of the dishes and their contents.
Overall the experience was nice. The ambiance was mild but comfortable, and it was seated semi cafeteria style. There were a cluster of tables in the back of the restaurant, and you had to sit with other parties if yours didn't fill the whole table (6 people). Can be a little awkward, but they did make it feel like an event instead of just giving you tiny plates of food. Other than that, we were served the dishes one at a time, while some varied from being served family style to individual plates.
Now on to the food!
While we waited for our courses to begin, we were served fresh bread with olive oil and pepper. I don't like to eat stand alone bread (unless at Olive Garden lol) so I'm guessing that this was good. It looked like the norm for an Italian place. After that we were served a tasting of their new mushroom and sausage appetizer. This was okay...but nothing too memorable. Not too much flavor, but not bad.
So I clearly fail. i forgot to take this pic before everyone jumped in! This was the Rigatoni al forno. Again, mildly likeable but didn't find it worth the calories lol...so I only had two bites. THEN there was the Testa baked pasta. Totally up my alley! I quite enjoyed it...though I'm easy to please. Anything with a creamy pesto sauce complete with spinach is a winner for me.
Just look at it! I still only had a tiny bit lol (I'm on a diet!) After that was the Salmon! I LOVE salmon! This was one of the few dishes with a distinct flavor. They added a bit of apple and honey to the salmon and it was baked within the layers...quite delish. And then it was topped with jumbo lump crab meat *no words*.
Lastly was the Sirloin. This was the second dish of the night that really caught my eye...slightly. It came topped with bleu cheese and sweet roasted peppers. Now, while the rest of my table did not really appreciate the bleu cheese, I actually like it. I don't really eat beef, so it made it more tolerable for me than trying to eat stiff meat alone. But the roasted peppers didn't sit well with me. I prefer my sweets separate :) I feel like they're always showing up uninvited when placed on a savory plate!
Next to last was this creme brulee. I thought it was DELISH. I am a sweets person though...but it was nice and rich and very creamy. But, I don't know if it was just a mistake that night, or how the dish will always be made, it was not firm...like at all. So I actually heard one of the waiters refer to it as creme flan! It was totally a pudding...but had bits of cinnamon or nutmeg and I really enjoyed!
Last up was this uh...drink? I'm pretty sure there was some time of alcohol in it, and half of a moon pie lol, but other than that...I have no idea what it was. It wasn't on the menu so, your guess is as good as mine. But whatever it was, it was quite tasty and added a little warmth for when we left the restaurant :)
Whelp,
That's it for Carrabba's. If you like "fire cooked" items I'd say give it a try, but don't get your hopes up too high. The food was good but not mind blowing. Definitely a safe choice for decent fare though.
Until next time,
Love and nibbles,
Sierra Anastasia
