Critic's Review
Carrabba's is a mid-end chain owned by the people who brought you Outback, catering to the middle income diner. Whenever I go back to Long Island, my favorite place to go to is Carrabba's. Not because its the best restaurant, but because its a comfortable place. They have nice, clean bars with TVs on either end. They have good Italian wines by the glass. The girls who work there are nice. And they'll always put the game I want on for me.
This location is one of the oldest locations, and it not only looks older, but has a layout that isn't what you find in others. This location had a bar that's less inviting, and the place is a bit darker than the more modern stores.
I'm not crazy about the food here, mainly because they try to get too fancy and their dishes are loaded with calories. The mussels include pernod and are really good, but be aware that their recipe includes butter so its about 800 calories if you eat the whole thing yourself. On the downside, the seafood linguine (LINGUINE PESCATORE is the fancy name) is served in a watery, tasteless sauce and the fish lacks any distinctive flavor. I had a sirloin ruined with marsala sauce that was grilled properly while the chicken marsala was tough. And the chicken parm here, a personal fav, is more like Stouffer's than Carmine's. They caesar salad is good, but they refrigerate the salads and then grate cheese on them, so they're not as fresh as you'd like. My server claimed that only the plate was refri
If you want to eat healthy, order the Grilled Chicken (formally Chicken Gratella) with brocolli and spinach. The chicken is brushed with olive oil and herbs and grilled; its a good low-carb meal with a mound of veggies and a nice, simply prepared boneless chicken breast.
Every day they have a "fresh catch" special. If they have Trout; I highly recommend it. It comes out looking like chicken but its very good. I order it with spinach.
The have a special here which includes "lobster linguine" which is sort of lobster scampi with spinach. Its pretty good, but I think it would be just as good or better with shrimp. I always thing of lobster with butter and shrimp with garlic and olive oil.
For dessert they have "bacino", which are mini-servings of treats like tiramisu and espresso creme. My advice is leave some of the entry for the dogs and have one of these.
Due to its reasonable pricing, this place draws crowds thursday thru Sat, so be prepared to wait..