The problem is that I grew up with very good (read: the best) homemade, Italian food. Because of a permanently lodged comparison meter, the idea of eating-out Italian is not appealing. I am not a food snob, I'll eat darn near anything, but when I am paying for it, I do not want a tomato sprinkled with oregano and garlic salt passed off as Italian food.
But back to Carrabba's.
Our dinner was a shared mixed-greens salad tossed with oil and vinegar, and a three-cheese pizza. Both were very good. It's hard to hurt a salad if the lettuce is fresh and cold, which it was. But pizza is another thing. The crust was thin and crispy with just enough body to give it a little chewiness and it was sprinkled with some tasty dried tomatoes. It isn't the best pizza I have ever had but it was very good.
My only criticism, and it is not enough to keep me from returning, is that the portions were on the small side. A ten dollar salad and a ten dollar pizza could be a bit bigger than what they were serving, and still be very profitable for the restaurant. The cost for two without tip was $24 which included a liter bottle of Pelligrino water.
I liked Carrabba's. The service was good and friendly, and the food was good.
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One final note from the curmudgeonly side of my brain. One of the reasons that I have never tried a Carrabba's is that the two guys that play the "Carrabba's boys" in the TV commercial play up the "I'm a real Italian boy with a real Italian mama" thing way too much for me. It's annoying enough to have kept me from the restaurants.
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The Details:
Carabba's Grill / Hurst
(817) 595-3345
1101 Melbourne Rd, Ste 6200, Hurst, TX 76053
Mon-Thurs: 4pm-10pm
Fri: 11am-11pm
Sat: 11am-11pm
Sun: 11am-10pm
