Maggiano's Little Italy

Tyson Restaurant Review

*Good
**Great
***Excellent
****Exceptional


Maggiano's Little Italy- Oak Brook, IL    Tyson Rating **

We came here on a Thursday night with an 8pm reservation.  We had asked to be seated outside because the heat was mild and there was a nice breeze at the time.  We were promptly seated with no trouble. 

We started off the night with some fresh Italian bread with olive oil and fresh Parmesan cheese.  While the server was slow to bring it to us, once brought it was consumed quickly.  The bread was a bit stale and store-bought, but it was enjoyed.  The second loaf had been heated up and was even tastier.  We then split the Tomato Caprese, an Italian classic.  I was left a little unsatisfied, as the tomatoes were not fully ripened and rather hard to the bite.  The mozzarella, however, was delicious and the balsamic enhanced its flavor.

Around this time the skies appeared ominously grey-black, and we decided to move inside.  This was our only main encounter with poor service, as the server was not very accommodating to us,  despite the fact that a tornado looked imminent.  We were moved inside to high-top bar tables; not the most comfortable of seating, but we made do.

Both of us tried the "Famous Rigatoni 'D'", a large bowl of rigatoni in a marsala cream sauce topped with mushrooms, chicken, and caramelized onions.  The dish was truly delicious, though the chicken appeared to be a bit old and gritty, and was covered in an overwhelmingly large amount of herbs that made the dish more "green," than it needed to be.  Overall, however, it was quite tasty.

We finished off the night with an Apple Crostada, served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.  It is described as apples baked inside of a pasty crust, but the crust is much closer to a sugar cookie than any pastry crust I've ever seen.  This is an exceptionally good dessert and one they should play up more to their advantage.  I've been for some of the traditional desserts in the past, and none of them come close to the quality of the crostada.  The carmel sauce topped off a great dessert.

All in All, Maggiano's is an above average Italian Restaurant.  It easily tops the likes of Olive Garden and Bucca di Beppo, and it's portion sizes are worth the price they ask in return.  While we did not experience it first-hand, they offer a free take-home pasta with any of their traditional pastas, and this is definitely an offer I have yet to see anyone match.  Maggiano's lacks some aspects of a great Italian restaurant- fresh bread, small country feel, but it is a good place for a night out or a family dinner.