Ramano's Macaroni Grill...Draft Beer...44 degrees

“What is Peroni Nastro Azzuro?”

“It’s an Italian beer.” The waitress at Romano’s Macaroni Grill was curt if not rude in her response.

I knew it was an Italian beer. I was reading it right off an Italian restaurant menu under the beer section, but I could tell this waitress was in no mood for banter.

“I’ll try ‘the Italian beer’ and a glass of water.”

Is it just me, or is there a large number of attractive looking young people who have the personality of a wet dish cloth.

These are the twenty somethings that seem to run in coveys. They all look alike. They must spend hours primping to achieve the same understated, Abercrombie & Fitch style, “I’m too cool for this room” look. It seems to me that these young packs of pals are forced by peer pressure to never show surprise in their lives. The only time they are encouraged to speak out is if they are criticizing someone or something. Should they ever express excitement or approval about anything it is quickly muted by the gaggle.

Our stoic waitress did a double take when she noticed my thermometer sticking out of the beer and the reporter’s notebook laying on the table. But she quickly reined in her surprise and went back to the “I’m bored with this party” look. (Hey lady. James Dean called. He wants his act back.)

“Wanna order now? Or wait?”

“I’ll have the chicken portobello,” said my wife.

“My daughter and I would like to share the penne with oven roasted chicken.” I said quickly not wanting to keep our waitress waiting.

The Peroni Nastro Azzuro was an ultra light beer served in a glass at a disappointing 44 degrees. This beer was so light it was almost completely transparent and the taste was fragile yet clean. This featherweight beer called for a temperature at least 10 degrees lower than which it was served and even then it probably would not have stood up to the heavy handed taste of my entree.

I seemed to annoy the waitress once again when I asked for an additional empty plate for my daughter in order to share the entree. I can describe the taste of the penne in one word – garlic. There was plenty of food to satisfy both my daughter and me. Between the penne with olive oil and garlic sauce were tender cubes of chicken breast, mozzarella dumplings and asparagus spears al dente. I have never been a big fan of sun dried tomatoes but in this case the chef used them perfectly as a garnish, chopped in small infrequent pieces.

My wife liked her grilled chicken breast topped with portobello mushrooms, melted mozzarella and a demi glaze served atop a spinach orso pasta.

My nine year old daughter enjoyed the evening. She enthusiastically ripped pieces off the small loaf of bread served before the meal and dipped them into the plate of seasoned olive oil to share. She marvelled at the decor of the restaurant and led the conversation with unbridled enthusiasm. She insisted on being the person to put the thermometer in my beer and wanted minute by minute reports of its temperature. I hoped that if she ever felt the need to act like she was “too cool for the room” that it would just be a phase that did not last very long.

There are two Ramono’s Macaroni Grills located in Tucson. We were dining at the location at 5100 East Broadway. The second location is at 2265 West Ina Road.