View of the Macaroni Grill
from Westheimer
Friends in Merida recommended this place, and since said friends have, in the Critics humble opinion, good taste, a visit to the Macaroni Grill was practically obligatory. What a restaurant! Great music, decor, absolutely delicious food and professional and friendly waiters and waitresses.
The house wine comes to your table in the form of a huge jug and you serve yourself as much as you want and then tell the waiter how many glasses you had when you ask for the bill. Since the glasses are 12 oz. tumblers and the jug is about 5 liters, if you should ever finish it, you'd be pretty well under the table. The bread is very good and comes to your table with olive oil for dipping. Don't be tempted to overdo it though, 'cause the portions are laaaaarge and you won't have any room for dessert.
To compensate not having room for dessert on the first visit, the Critic visited a second time just for dessert and had an excellent tiramisu. On this second visit, a waiter accidentally dropped on the tile floor one of those 5 liter jugs of red wine, smashing the bottle and splashing wine all over the place. The waiters then proceeded to clean this mess up with used tablecloths and napkins (all white) by throwing them on the red wine and broken glass and doing the lazy-man's shuffle. This is where you don't bother getting a mop, you just step on the linens and move them around with your feet until everything is soaked up. This, when taken in context, at this particular restaurant, and in the Critics humble opinion, looked pretty amateurish and totally out of place and immediately put a damper on any enthusiasm felt for the place. The manager didn't seem to think that walking on table linens and napkins to wipe up a mess on the floor was any kind of big deal, and so, with a heavy heart, the Critic demoted the anticipated 5 rating to a lower 4. Details, details, details!!!
Dinner, with two appetizers, two drinks, 2 glasses of
house wine, two main courses, absolutely no dessert (no room!) and a 25%
tip was about $60.00
The Critic and Co. quickly dispelled any fears the staff may have had that the evening wasn't going to be a good one as far as sales went, and proceeded to order just about every kind of sushi available, not without first trying the steamed salted green soybeans appetizer, which is just that: a bowl of steamed salted soybeans that you pry open with your fingers to extract the soy beans. Lots of protein, the owner/manager/head geisha person commented. The hands-down favorite sushi? Fatty, yellowtail and belly tuna sushi. This stuff just melts in your mouth! And each slab of raw fish on top of the rice is huge. Washed down with a couple of ice-cold Sapporo beers, the Critic gained aproximately 2 inches around the waistline in one sitting, frightening even the hostess/manager geisha who uttered an awestruck 'You eat so much!' upon presenting us with the check.
A stomach-stretching pig-out dinner, with 3 Sapporo beers,
and probably an entire raw tuna belly, was about $115.
It's hard to describe the incredible variety of delicious
raw and prepared foods, from fresh baked breads and muffins to the impressive
build your own sandwich and salad bars to fresh cuts of meat and fish (we
grill for free! boasts a sign) to soups to an enormous selection of jams,
salsas, crackers, cookies, wine and beer, sauces, fruit, vegetables, etc.
etc. etc. etc. Buy some huge fresh strawberries. some sun-dried tomato
dip and a loaf of sourdough bread and take it with you. For breakfast there's
an 'oatmeal bar' where you fill whatever size container you feel like having
with oatmeal and top it with cinnamon/brown sugar, apples, nuts, granola,
fresh blueberries, raisins and more. Try their hazelnut/milk chocolate
bread or maybe a multigrain loaf. I could go on and on for weeks, but I
won't. A must on your next trip!
The Casual Restaurant
Critic's appetite knows no bounds.
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horrendous, don't bother, not worth the price, time and/or calories
not really good, but has the occasional saving grace
average, some good points some bad, nothing special
good, only a few nitpicking details
really good, great food, great ambiance for what it is supposed to be,
great