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Americanized Italian food is huge in the United States. A lot of us have been eating spaghetti and meatballs from Italian chain restaurants since we were kids, and that culture isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Does Buca di Beppo have the best pasta? Whose breadsticks are better than the ones at Olive Garden? Which of the most popular Italian fast food chains are worth a visit? Let’s find out.
Feels wrong to start anywhere else. With just about 900 locations, the place is impossible to avoid, no matter where you are. The Garden’s infamous Never Ending Soup, Salad, and Breadsticks move remains one of the best chain restaurant deals you can find. This was a champion meal when I was a broke college kid. Is the food good? No, no way. You’re there for the pageantry of the place. And maybe a couple thousand breadsticks.
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Sitting at around 30 locations throughout New England and along the East Coast, Bertucci’s is wildly popular within its region. Unlike a lot of the chains which focus mainly on pasta, Bertucci’s has an extensive brick-oven pizza menu. I’ve never been, but I have to admit that I’m intrigued. Calzones are an unreasonably aggressive food, and I have a deep, shameful love for them. I’ll have to try Bertucci’s.
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You’ll find Romano’s Macaroni Grill in 15 different states, serving just about the same stuff as everywhere else. There’s more of an expanded non-pasta section at Romano’s, offering chicken scaloppine and shrimp Portofino, but that’s not the most jarring part. Under the pasta section, you’ll see Mama’s Trio, which might sound like three types of pasta. It’s not. It’s chicken parm, lasagna bolognese, and fettuccine Alfredo. That’s quite the trio, Mama. I’m not sure I have what it takes to tackle that trio. Frankly, I'm worried about anybody who does.
Buca di Beppo kind of feels like a fake restaurant, or maybe a restaurant that you might have visited in a dream. The portions are comically gigantic, there’s usually a pope room, and occasionally the tables have a lazy Susan in the middle of them. While the food will never measure up to the classic Italian-American neighborhood joint you’ve got nearby, Buca is almost always a great time. And that chocolate cake? A slice of that cake is bigger than my whole head. Outstanding stuff.
Like many of these places, family-style dining is available at Maggiano’s, which offers traditional Italian cuisine. You’ll find classics like ravioli and chicken parm, but there are a few more exciting hits as well. Steak and osso bucco are fun additions to the menu, and even lobster carbonara found its way on there. I’m OK with Maggiano’s.
Carrabba’s seems to fancy itself as one of the more traditional Italian restaurants in this race, serving what started as Sicilian family recipes. Chicken Bryan (grilled chicken dish topped with goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes) is hugely popular at Carrabba’s, so yeah, fine, I’ll give it a try.
It may not be best practice to name your place of food service after a building that’s famously dirty, dark, and home to suspicious activity, but there's a lot on the Spaghetti Warehouse menu that piques my interest. There's some 15-layer lasagna, which is good because you and I simply will not eat lasagna with 14 or fewer layers. And for only $8? The Warehouse is slinging its very own version of the Olive Garden's unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks deal. Seems silly to miss that one.
Though the name of this restaurant isn't too much better than Spaghetti Warehouse in my eyes, we've got another menu full of interesting surprises. Jumbo crab ravioli sounds like a delight, and as a lover of value, I appreciate the three-course pre-fixe option. My personal favorite? Spaghetti Vesuvius, a pasta dish that features chicken, sausage, diced meatballs, green peppers, onions, Tabasco sauce, and sambal chili paste. It feels odd to name a dish at your Italian restaurant after one of the most devastating events in Italian history, but I'm here for it.