Italian Maid Cafe

I'm sooo disappointed with my meal this evening. Normally, this place has decent Italian food, nothing spectacular but, decent. I made reservations for 4 for Valentine's Day. Had no idea they would only be serving a special valentine day, 4 course meal for dinner for $34.95/pp. That would not normally have been a problem except, we wanted Italian food. There was nothing on the menu (besides pasty risotto) that was Italian. The waiter came to our table, and only said "Appetizer!" Then, 'Entree!" We ordered our meals and wine. Rolls were brought out. These were store bought rolls that had not even been warmed. They were not fresh. The butter served was teeny 'Country Crock' vials. Our $5/ 4 oz. glass wine came from bottles with screw tops. My husbands beer was served in a mug that was chipped and cut his lip. The first courses arrived.....french onion soup. The bread was not toasted, the 'barely there cheese' was not melted and the soup was just horrible. The salads arrived with no dressing. The waiter returned with a squirt bottle and said, "Shhh....don't tell anybody I'm doing this." He went around the the table and proceeded to squirt our salad plates. Our entrees came. 2 of us ordered the beef tenderloin, medium well. One came well done, the other came medium rare. The outsides of the beef were burned and the gravy tasted like the powdered brown gravy that you get at the grocery store. All of our risottos tasted like paste. The only redeeming ingredient on the plate was the fresh vegetables. Dessert arrived. Crepes filled with ice cream and berries. The crepes were thick and doughy....the blueberries were the teeny canned type. The sauce, I believe, was microwaved raspberry or strawberry preserves.

Such poor quality for a special occassion.

Pros: Good lasagna during the week

Cons: Shouldn't stray from the regular menu

Oh, oh, oh! ?The Italian Maid? is the Infinite Is? gift to us common mortals. I had a chicken breast marinated in fabulous basil/cilantro vinaigrette, then grilled and topped with a mild tomato/pepper/red onion salsa and served with some fantastic roasted veggies. Dearly Beloved had a fantastic cup of gumbo followed by tilapia and shrimp in a superb tomato sauce with the same roasted veggies for a side. Now the bad news is that the house salad was nothing to be too excited about ? romaine and cabbage ? I had the House dressing which was the basil/cilantro vinaigrette, and very good. And more bad news is that the roasted veggies, while absolutely divine, were on the cool-ish side. The broccoli was cold, but good with the chicken and gone before we could make a complaint. The asparagus had been prepared by someone who knew, just knew, how to fix asparagus. No toughness and snapped instead of cut. It was a pleasure to eat. I had never had roasted jacima before, just the raw, grated stuff. What a difference! And dessert! We asked for a tiramisu which, unfortunately for us, was already gone. What we had made Life Worth Living again. Dearly Beloved had the Italian Creme Cake and I had the Orange Swirled Cheesecake. Ah. Yes. This was more than we had hoped for and a delight to the palate. The Creme Cake was perfect in the ingredients and balance between the walnuts and the sweetness. The cheesecake was New York-style, but without that sometimes bitter tang you can get with an improper balance. The crust had just enough sliced almonds to highlight the orange flavor and there was enough richness to the cake, I can still taste it lingering at the back of my palate. Sigh. Such bliss.

Pros: deserts, gumbo, vinagrette, seafood dish, roasted veggies, asparagus

Cons: cold broccoli, located in historic district