We used to live on the outskirts of a small town on the west side of Michigan. There were a few good restaurants that we enjoyed eating at, but nothing like the variety we were used to on the eastern side of the state. Ever since we have moved back to Metro Detroit, I have anxiously been waiting to dine out at Maggiano’s Little Italy. The Facebook reviews and the feedback about the restaurant have been mostly positive in the food allergy community and I was excited to give it a try.
Last night I finally got my chance to check it out for myself. There were six of us total. My in laws, Bobby, the two kids, and I. For some reason the reservation we made was not on the list when we arrived. It wasn’t a big deal because the restaurant wasn’t that busy. We were seated in just a few minutes but it took awhile for our server to make it over to us. She did pop over at one point and said it would be a minute because she had three tables all sit at the same time. Personally, I appreciated her being up front with us. When she finally came over to our table, the first questions out of her mouth were, “Have you dined with us before? And are there any food allergies at the table?”
I felt comfortable already, hungry but comfortable. My husband and I explained Ryan’s allergies to her, and she stated, “Ok, we take allergies very seriously here. I will send a chef from the kitchen over to talk with you.” Maggiano’s was winning me over already.
After a few minutes, the chef came over and spoke with us about nuts used in the restaurant as well as products made in outside facilities that could be problematic for Ryan. This meant he couldn’t have the bread at the table since it was produced in the same facility as peanut products. But, he could order his flatbread pizza AND DOUBLE BONUS– he could have the lemon cookies they offer kids as a dessert with their meal. I can’t even begin to tell you what a huge deal this was for Ryan. Typically, we never let him order desert from restaurants for a couple reasons, mainly because many of them are made out of house, and because there could be cross contamination with nuts.
Eventually our server came back to take our order, we had been there awhile and still had yet to put in a drink order- so, we ordered our food and beverages at the same time. All four adults ordered a pasta dish, which came with a Classic Pasta to take home. All I was thinking was, “I hope it’s good, because we are about to go home with a ton of food!”. Both Ryan and Ben ordered the flat bread pizza, lemonade, and lemon cookies for their desert.
Our food came out fairly quickly after ordering. The chopped salads were huge, and if you added a protein I would say they were big enough for a meal on their own. My in laws, Bobby, and I all had enough pasta to take half home for leftovers. I ordered the Eggplant Parmesan. It was delicious, and I especially enjoyed the house marinara that came with it. The flavors really popped and I could really taste the eggplant. Everyone enjoyed their meals. The only criticism was that the Alfredo sauce on one of the pasta dishes was very rich. Ben and Ryan both gobbled up their flatbread and were given three crescent shaped lemon cookies that had some icing on them. Surprisingly enough, they both said they were too stuffed to eat their cookies. We decided to take them home with us. Of course, as soon as we got home they decided they did in fact have room in their stomachs for one little cookie. I let them each have one and they practically inhaled him. I guess those were good too?
Overall, the service was a little slow. But we were ok with that because of the time and care the staff took with Ryan’s allergies. I definitely felt that both the chef and our server truly cared about making our dining experience as safe for Ryan as possible. Personally, I am excited to go back and eat at Maggiano’s Little Italy again.
*I have not been asked to write this review on this establishment, nor have I been compensated for this review. This is a review of my personal experience written without bias or outside influence.
