Editorās Note: This is a new and hopefully informative column written by residents for residents. Our columnists are not trained or paid professionals, nor do they get complimentary meals from the restaurants they visit. They arrive unannounced and do not reveal that they will be doing a review. The criteria for evaluating each dining experience will include the following: quality, variety offered, and quantity of food vs. dollars spent, service, ambience, and desire to return. They will usually be accompanied by one or two other couples whose opinion will be included in the evaluation.
This weekās review is on Morettiās, located on Randall Road, just in front of Costco. Morettiās is the current breed of family restaurant/sports bar with a diversified menu. Visiting with us were fellow N-33 neighbors Denise and Rich Lessner, along with Lorraine and Jim McGuire. A year ago, this was another restaurant that had been there for many years. Morettiās is a chain in the Chicagoland area. We were seated immediately and told of the specials of the day by our server, who was excellent throughout our stay. Two couples ordered different meals, while we split a pizza. Our server took our drink orders and brought us hot, fresh bread. Good start.Denise ordered Chicken Marsala with a small Caesar side salad. She said the salad was very good with just the right amount of dressing. She ended up sharing some of the salad with Rich. Her comment on the entrĆ©e was that it was very tasty and the chicken could be cut with a fork. She gave it a very high recommendation. Rich ordered the ribeye steak sandwich, which came with sautĆ©ed mushrooms and onions. He said it was done perfectly, was delicious, and he would order it again. He said that the homemade chips that came with it were just āokay.ā
Lorraine ordered a mushroom burger cooked medium, but it came on the rare side. She said it was very tasty, although not prepared exactly as she had ordered. Jim ordered one of the daily specials: spaghetti and meatballs. He said it was very good and especially enjoyed the very large and tasty meatballs. He couldnāt finish the entire meal, so he took the rest home.
We ordered a large half-sausage, half-mushrooms and sweet peppers pizza. Judy said it was very good and liked the thin crust. Sam loved it and thinks it is the best pizza in our area. They had enough to take home.
General Consensus: excellent quality and quantity of food, perfect service, not so perfect on the doneness of the burger, very good value for the dollar, large variety of reasonably-priced dishes, many adult beverages to choose from, and a good family atmosphere with lots of TV screens for the young ones. The food came promptly and was hot. One other real plus was that we could talk in normal tones and easily hear each other. Overall, we enjoyed our experience at Morettiās and plan to make future visits.
Geezers Grade: A-minus
