I dunno...the guys that franchise the Macaroni Grills in Southern California really doesn't know what he's doing. The food is REALLY subpar, especially compared to the Macaroni Grills in the Chicagoland area. BUT, the Olive Gardens in the Chicagoland area totally SUCK, but they are VERY good out here in Southern California. Go figure. So in Illinois, go Mac Grill. In So Cal, fo OG.

As for people that hate the Italian franchises...have you been to more than one location? Just like any chain with more than one location, you can't judge the entire chain by just one experience. Like the people who say they went to Morton's and had the "worst steak ever..." I've been to many, many Morton's and have had many, many amazing steaks, and maybe one or two "okay" steaks. If I based all my opinions on the one or two "okay" steaks, I might have not gone back.

Off-Topic: My favorite dish at OG is the Chicken Marsala with angel hair pasta. At a Chicago suburb, they didn't heat through the sauce enough, SO IT WAS LIKE DRINKING BAD WINE with my chicken! I had to instruct them to reheat the sauce so that the alcohol burns off and the manager says, "But we've been doing it the other way for years!" Oy! No, not suppposed to get drunk off of the Chicken Marasala!!!

As for Maggiano's...great food consistantly in all locations that I've visited. Probably the safest bet.