Maggiano’s Pasta Cutting and Luncheon

I received an invite to Maggiano’s Little Italy, a restaurant concept featuring scratch-made food with Italian hospitality – opening in the new Arden Fair Mall location at 1689 Arden Way, Suite 1148, Sacramento, CA 95815.

Maggiano’s is owned by Dallas-based Brinker International with more than 1,600 restaurants in 30 countries and two territories. Chili’s Bar & Grill is a sister brand.

As part of the grand opening, Maggiano’s hosted a Pasta Cutting & Media Luncheon that I was able to attend with other Sacramento bloggers and industry professionals.

The Sacramento Arden Fair Mall location marks the brands 48th location. There are 5 others in California. One of the exciting things rolling out at the Sacramento location that caught my eye, is the brand’s new “Lighter Take” menu. Lighter take features new preparations of classic dishes including Chicken Piccata, Chicken Parmesan and Fettuccine Alfredo, delivering the same authentic flavors with at least one-third fewer calories.

We were escorted by Jairo, our media contact, to a special table off to the side near the bar area.

I was a little stressed about the bar height seating due to my leg brace, but it worked out fine. I sat with a great group of professional women – some fellow bloggers, culinary school graduates, food writers and chamber representatives. We met with Mike Sellmeyer, the GM and Executive Chef, Daniel Grice. The staff was very welcoming and attentive. It was fun getting to learn where they came from and how excited they were to be living and working in Sacramento.

Guests have the option to select from either a regular or shared family style menu, most of which are generous portions.

For our first course, Chef Grice brought out the Crispy Zucchini Fritte (Strips of zucchini hand battered with Japanese bread crumbs and fried to a golden brown – served with a zesty lemon aioli.) – I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this appetizer, I’d love to explore creating an “at home” version as well.

Next up was their popular Chopped Salad (Chopped iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, crumbled bleu cheese, avocado and crispy prosciutto. Served with their signature house dressing.) – both were great, but the Crispy Zucchini topped my list of favorites that day.

Our main course sampling came out next. They served up their Famous Rigatoni ‘D’ ® (Rigatoni pasta, herb-roasted chicken, mushrooms and caramelized onions, tossed in a Marsala cream sauce.) followed by my favorite dish of the day…

The Lighter Take – Chicken Piccata (Capers, spinach and lemon butter with hand-cut fettuccine.)

Don’t let the blurry, not so awesome photo take away from this amazing menu item. The dish was bursting with lemon flavor. They zested lemons into the breading mixture which made the citrus flavor really pop. It was hard to believe that this was a lighter version of their regular Chicken Piccata, nothing about it tasted “light” –  everyone at the table really enjoyed it.

I’m not sure how I managed room for dessert, but Mike kept playing up the “bomb” cheesecake, I had to try it.

New York style Ricotta Cheesecake topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream – sign me up! The cheese was creamy perfection, I really couldn’t stop after just one bite, but I knew I also had to sample the Tiramisu. The chef and GM really interacted with us,  it was interesting learning about how they source some of their ingredients.

Ladyfinger cookies soaked in espresso and coffee liqueur layered with Mascarpone, dusted with cocoa powder and served with chocolate shavings – Tiramisu, you complete me. This was the perfect ending to a very indulgent meal.

I’m still being chauffeured around, living off Safeway delivery for groceries and in a full leg brace and broken toe shoe… so this special lunch was a real treat indeed. Everyone was very accommodating of my current condition, which was cool.

Another surprise was being sent home with a media kit that included a “Compliments of Your Chef” dinner for Dan.

In the spirit of generosity and family that originated in Little Italy neighborhoods more than 100 years ago, guests that order a Classic Pasta get another Classic Pasta to take home, compliments of the chef. Since launching the “On the House Classic Pastas ” guest favorite in 2009, Maggiano’s has given away more than 11 million Classic Pastas.

Thank you Jairo, Ashley, Mike and Daniel for the opportunity to experience the restaurant before the crowds roll in. I will definitely venture back to try other menu items with friends.

Now it’s back to reality, easy frozen microwaveable meals and soups. Is it Fall yet? At least 4 more weeks in the brace and shoe… I can do 4 more weeks right?