Remember the scathing Olive Garden post I wrote a few weeks back? Well, I am back to write on Romano’s Macaroni Grill which I believe is the superior choice if you find yourself at Ala Moana with a hankering for pasta. If you find yourself standing in front of Olive Garden, turn yourself around and head towards Macaroni Grill.

Mom’s Ricotta Meatballs + Spaghetti | $21.00 (Bolognese Sauce)
house-made beef, veal, pork + ricotta meatballs, romano, spaghetti

Pollo Caprese | $20.00
grilled chicken breast, fresh mozzarella, imported pomodorina, pasta

I’ve discussed this little health journey I’m on and while I still go out and eat…I do try to be a little more healthful in my choices (though you will be seeing my dessert picture very soon). I was intrigued by this dish because the description sounds pretty dang good to me and came in only at 448 calories (compared to the 1000 plus for other pasta dishes). Can I just say something? It was delicious! I didn’t know it would come with this nice little arugula salad on the side and I chomped that right up which actually filled me up so I could take home a lot of the chicken and pasta. The chicken breast was nice and tender (thankfully not dry) and the pasta was flavorful…it was like an angel hair pasta. Delicious!

New York Style Cheesecake | $8.95
shortbread crust, fresh strawberries

Lemon Passion | $7.95
citrus cake, lemon curd, fresh whipped cream

Yeah, I ate the healthier pasta and then ended with dessert. Live your best life okay. Haha, I think I’ve talked about this dessert before. It’s just a super moist lemon cake…and gosh I just love lemon desserts. Sometimes, lemon desserts can be almost acidic to the point of a metallic-y taste. I don’t like that. I like this, just a nice smooth lemon taste. The cake is like practically sopping wet from being so moist. If you like lemon, you’d like this dessert!

Yes, Hawaii finally got their own Olive Garden and I don’t know what the big whoop is. Never have. I’ve tried Olive Garden on a few trips in the mainland and just never understood the appeal. I don’t know how the lines are now, but if you know Hawaii…Olive Garden is located in Ala Moana where the old Bubba Gump’s was. Now if you can imagine that, imagine the line going from the restaurant all the way down to Macy’s. It was that busy when they first opened! In a pandemic no less.

Anyway, we decided to do a take-out order which they actually made pretty easy to do. They have a separate door/entrance for take-out orders specifically. No online ordering so I just went in to order, they are so busy that they can hardly answer the phones anyway. I placed my order and was told the food would be ready in 30 minutes. Great, I knew it would take a bit of time so I headed over to Target for some browsing.

So how was the food? To me? Blah and overpriced! The amount they charged for a regular fettucine alfredo is outrageous. But…I have a few family members who have never tried Olive Garden before so we had to give it at least one go. Here goes…

Calamari | $12.99
lightly breaded and fried. served with marinara and spicy ranch

Calamari was good, hard to screw up this dish. Would I order this again? Yes.

Fettuccine Alfredo | $17.99 (!)
our signature sauce is made every morning. served over fettuccine

Ugh, I can’t bear to look at that price. Can you believe a dish of plain fettucine alfredo costs that much? I mean, alfredo is actually so easy to make at home too! We actually decided to get this cheaper dish and cook up some steak to top it at home. Thumbs down.

Lasagna Classico | $20.99 (!)
layers of pasta, parmesan, mozzarella, pecorino romano and our homemade meat sauce

That piece of lasagna before your eyes is $21. Is it worth it? Well, I just went Sam’s Club last night and bought a family sized pan for $15 so I say no.

Chicken Alfredo | $22.99
sliced grilled chicken and our signature alfredo sauce over fettuccine

Okay at least this dish has a bit more stuff to it. But $4 bucks for some grilled chicken breast on top? You’re killing me smalls. It was enjoyed so I guess that counts for something.

Shrimp Scampi | $22.99
shrimp sautéed in a garlic sauce, tossed with asparagus, tomatoes and angel hair

Okay this was my dish, I wanted to go just a bit healthier even though it’s pasta. I like when menus tell you the calorie count with the items. Yes, I have become one of those people. Was it good? Sure, it was! The portion is a bit puny and I don’t know if you can tell but get a few of those asparagus thick stalks (the ones you supposed to snap off and throw out).

So each entrée does come with either a soup or salad. The salad I think is a better deal, the soup was just alright. They are also supposed to give you free breadsticks. I don’t know how you are with take-out orders but I always try to check everything before I leave because they often times mess up. Well this time, they forgot one our soups so I asked for it. They brought it out and also brought out the breadsticks. So…they forgot the soup and the breadsticks! It’s alright, I got all my food in the end and paid a hefty price tag for it. Would I return? Probably not anytime soon. I would suggest Romano Macaroni Grill across the way if you are at the mall and hankering for some Italian.

My first visit to Romano’s Macaroni Grill was years ago when they were a fairly new restaurant. I didn’t have a great experience so I haven’t returned for all these years. Well, I had a recent visit and was pleasantly surprised by my experience. Maybe it’s because I’m older now but I enjoyed the food and thought their menu was of pretty good value! I’m looking forward to my next visit.

Good drink! Not great but not bad, worth another order!

One of my few complaints? No complimentary bread! You can order bread but shoot, why would I want to do that?? Man some nice crusty bread would have been great with these meatballs, they were delish!

Can’t comment too much on the lobster ravioli since this shrimp scampi was mine. How was it? How can you go wrong with copious amounts of garlic, butter, cheese and shrimp? It was delicious. Very rich. I don’t do so hot with rich foods anymore but am willing to risk it!

My dessert! I loved this dish. Looks super rich but the citrus really cuts through the richness. And when they say citrus cake, they mean it. The cake is like sopping wet, lol. It’s okay, I don’t mind an (extremely) moist cake. Love lemon curd, love the caramel sauce surrounding the cake. I would definitely order this again!

I got treated to a wonderful lunch course at Arancino for my birthday. A belated birthday celebration and it was very nice, a bit awkward when they brought out the birthday dessert (my birthday was in August, lol) but it was nice that they asked if we were celebrating anything! I think the lunch course is a pretty good deal, I heard dinner is pretty pricey. Well, you are paying for their rent at a high end hotel! If you want to try them for dinner, you should try their other locations. Let’s take a look at their lunch course though!

What a wonderful and refreshing drink. I don’t care much for alcohol in general so I appreciate a good variety in non-alcoholic drinks.

Rosemary bread! Isn’t it the cutest? They serve you olive oil with the bread but you can ask for balsamic vinegar and even butter, free of charge!

Well, doesn’t this look…appetizing? LOL, where do I begin? The anchovy garlic dip is warmed by a tea light candle. The veggies are delicious, anything dipped in garlic is good. So the “soil” is not edible, I don’t know why I was hoping it was like sauteed mushrooms or something. It’s just…rocks.

Okay, I’m a little silly. We had a wonderful server by the way, he was very nice and respectful and attentive! I had to giggle to myself when he described the dish…at the avocado tartare part. I mean, I guess to me avocado is always tartare. This was a delicious appetizer! I would get it again.

They are known for their uni pasta and I actually usually get it. Unfortunately, uni pasta can be quite rich and my tummy can’t take it well anymore. If you get the uni pasta as part of the three course meal, you have to add $8.00.

So how was this dish? It was good! The calamari was nice and soft and I loved crunching on the black tobiko. I enjoyed it!

Okay, I know I should have enjoyed this. This is a seasonal pizza and includes so much mushrooms and cheeses! For me, it was lacking a little something. Possibly spice? Just very bland to me and I could hardly taste the truffle oil. They do offer red pepper flakes if you want it…

Isn’t this dessert beautiful? Well it tasted great too! Sinfully rich and chocolate-ly, you can’t go wrong. I would recommend this dessert!

The secret’s out, my name really is Jenny, not just maybe. Ah well, I’ll keep this domain anyway. Isn’t this the cutest? Thankfully they bring it out but don’t make all their staff members sing to you. Whew. I didn’t realize they sprinkle silver flakes all over the plate and I went a little overzealous blowing out the candle. My apologies for the mess.

I don’t know the name of this dessert but it was a very nice meringue/baked baked alaskan pie type dessert. There was a nice chocolate cake within the meringue. Delish!

Do you see all the prices with the dishes? That’s ala carte prices, these dishes are actually included as part of a three course special lunch (appetizer, entree, dessert) for $43 each person. That’s a good deal considering the prices of these dishes individually!