Macaroni Grill

Macaroni Grill Restaurant Review:

This may be the most fun chain restaurant to set up shop in the outskirts of the Houston area. The playful mood is best represented by the honor-system serve-yourself wine. When ready to chow down, there's the respectable calamari, shrimp and artichoke dip or the tomato bruschetta. Sausage-and-pepper classico rigatoni pasta laced with sweet peppers, basil and feta cheese is a filling option if you like a spicier tomato sauce. Simple fare---such as salmon sautéed in lemon butter with capers, tomatoes and basil or the chicken scaloppine---is crowd-pleasing. If you're in a hurry and don't want to order multiple courses, you can have a brick-oven pizza and a beer. Whatever you order, you get crayons for coloring on the butcher paper tablecloth, and this opportunity has helped us on a number of visits to get in touch with our inner child.