Like I said...

Don't mess with a good thing! Last night we went to the Macaroni Grill while my parents watched the kids. Woo-hoo - date night! As I said before whenever I go to the MG I order the Penne Rustica, last night was no exception. (Trevor actually surprised me and diverted to the Vodka Rustica which is very similar to our usual dish, it's just made with a different sauce and it doesn't have any shrimp.) Well, unfortunately last night I was sorely disappointed with my food. The pasta was so chewy it stuck to my teeth, the sauce was watered down and they didn't put the parmasean crust on top like the menu says. When this dish is good it's really good! After taking my first bite I usually say "it's like there's a party going on in my mouth" - the flavors are so intense. Not last night! So, for the first time in my life I sent something back to the kitchen. I told our waitress what was wrong and she promised to bring me the good stuff. Well, we waited another 20 minutes for the 2nd try and it was worse then the first! This time they didn't even give me penne pasta. It was a much bigger noodle. The sauce was more watered down (probably because they spit in it) and a lot of the pasta didn't even have sauce on it so it was all dried out. They claimed that the reason they didn't give me penne was because they were all out, but after that I saw them bring other people penne pasta so I'm guessing they were just trying to mess with me. So, after the 2nd dish came out I actually asked to speak to a manager. I know - me - Miss Timid actually complained to a manager. I think the thing that actually pushed me over the edge was that both loaves of bread that they brought us were actually cold in the middle. Apparently they don't make those from scratch. They probably just pull 'em out of the freezer and heat them up. So, I did my griping to the manager and he offered to have them try again. There was no way I was going to wait another 20 minutes and be disappointed again. So he told us that the entire meal was on the house and that we could order dessert if we would like as well. I guess we could've really taken advantage of the situation and each ordered dessert, but we just got the dessert ravioli and split it (which was what we were planning on doing anyway). I think it's going to take a long time for me to go back to the MG, at least that particular one. The reason we went there was because we got a restaurant gift card that we could use there or at 3 other restaurants. We'll probably use it at Over the Border instead since they just opened one nearby. You know... if it was the first time I'd ever had that dish I wouldn't know how bad it was and probably would have thought that their food is bad in general. But, I know they can do much better. Since it's my favorite restaurant dish of all time I won't give up on it just yet.

Then today as if to make everything right in the universe Taco Bell has released the Cheesy Gordita Crunch!!!!!!! For a limited time of course, but I'll take what I can get! Guess where we'll be eating tomorrow?! Guess where I ate lunch today?! :o)