Romano’s Macaroni Grill Launches New Italian Chef Specialties

(Gerry Furth-Sides) A warm welcome on the phone even before you arrive starts your experience at  Romano’s Macaroni Grill^®, with a parking lot and everything is done to please you once you arrive.  Before you even enter the inviting, softly lit, rustic dining room, this is the first family-friendly greeting you see inside the door.

 It turns out that the manager overseeing the Northridge Macaroni Grill is also executive chef, Jose,  and the first and last sight we had was of  his smiling and working.

This spring a new chef-favorite menu filled with time-honored clasics. A new entrée, antipasti and two decadent desserts are among the new items featured, as well as seasonal classics like the Italian Meatloaf: House blended veal, beef, pork, roasted peppers + onions meatloaf, chianti-balsamic demi-glace, butternut squash garlic mashed potatoes, roasted seasonal vegetables.  The meatballs, according to our resident Italian resident are “light as air and filled with flavor.”

New chef-favorite Anti-Pasti selections include Smoked Bruschetta withwarm whipped ricotta, rosemary oil, smoked buffalo mozzarella, sautéed spinach, roasted wild mushrooms + roasted tomatoes, atop thick slices of rustic bread.

The anti-pasti list also offers Citrus Chicken Arancini, which are crispy-fried balls of rice, filled with creamy citrus chicken, served with roasted garlic + lemon aioli;  and Sausage + Cannellini Bean Dip: Warm, savory dip of cannellini beans + Italian sausage, bruschetta tomatoes, served with house-made rosemary crackers

The house red wine blend is bottled in Italy. A bottle is brought to the table for individual glass servings for guests who do not want an entire bottle and a crayon is handed out to make the number of glasses finished off in the casual-style water glasses right on the paper tablecloth.

Entree selections include Osso Bucco with Italian brown onion gravy, roasted butternut squash mashed potatoes and crispy sage, Grilled Mahi-Mahi with bruschetta tomatoes, pesto gnocchi and basil, and Braised Lamb Shank with Marsala demi-glace, butternut squash mashed potatoes and crispy sage.

For dessert that is a Romano’s Cannoli.  This is the freshest, most substantial yet crispy pastry shells with a smooth and  rich ricotta filling,  cinnamon + chocolate chips.

A Chocolate Caprese completes this list, described as chocolate slices, paired with fresh strawberries + raspberries, sweet mascarpone cream and biscotti.

For more information and locations, please see MacGrill@icrinc.com.

Romano’s Macaroni Grill^®, also launches  a Fresh Catch menu nationally featuring two flavorful fish dishes, beginning March 6 and running through Easter on April 21.

The new Fresh Catch menu features two delicious meal options:

• The Italian Fish Fry – Peroni beer battered sole, shrimp and calamari, served with rosemary citrus potatoes and house-made dipping sauces
• The Grilled Fish Feast – mahi-mahi filet, served with shrimp and scallop spiedini with a choice of rosemary citrus russet potatoes or broccolini