Boston: Maggiano's

Let's Eat by Kitty Kaufman

Maggiano's bills itself as "Little Italy." Which makes us think of Boston's North End or Manhattan's Little Italy. I'm not sure this is that exactly. There is no wait because it is 3 pm and there are others also having lunch. They look to be tourists.

Kim orders pasta Alfredo and if you're that kind of eater you can "double your portion for just ." It arrives with no garnish, just pasta with sauce in a bowl and they're all the same color. It is a little boring. Figure the broccolini with lemon and tons of garlic will be zippy. Er, no. I go for the chopped salad. It is fine and though iceberg has its place, I'm not sure this is it.

Let's see: you can have gluten-free pasta. Oh, there was a curious event. As we were chatting, the lights abruptly went down and the light level looks like a generator kicked in. Kim asks our server and she says lunch is over, not that we have to leave.

Go downstairs. Photos of "celebrities," living and dead, are everywhere. For some reason it took me back to the '80s, not my eighties, or the '70s or what I've been told about the '50s. (My mother said there were Broadway restaurants with photos of well-known people and maybe there still are). It screams old. It's like me showing up in a cheerleader uniform from high school. Or a maître d'hôtel in a tuxedo.

See it on TripAdvisor

© January 17, 2013

Write to us:
Kitty@corp-edge.com

Share it on X Twitter:

See Boston restaurant stories via One for the Table on Zomato

Locanda Del Lago in Santa Monica
Italian Western
Santa Monica Seafood Cafe
Fine kettle of fish
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Food, and art
Ming's Blue Ginger Wellesley
Red hot and blue
Deli after Dark Dedham
Yes, we have no meatballs
Sophia's Grotto
Meatballs and calamari in Roslindale
Pon Thai Bistro
Pon cooks with fire
Island Creek Oyster Bar
Happy, happy new year
Amelia's Trattoria in Cambridge
New York state of mind
Cafe Sushi in Cambridge
Industry standard
Black Trumpet in Portsmouth
Ta dah
Flour Bakery
Eat dessert first