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Okay, so I am reviewing a restaurant
I initially hated. Not due to any fault of theirs...they were just
new owners of a place my family used to visit on a regular basis and
which held many memories that can never be recreated. Of course the
first few times I tried the new place I was way biased against them,
but I feel that enough time is passed that I can talk about
Margherita's on their own merits. Still a tall order for any place
to overcome, but in all sincerity Margherita's has grown on me. New
owners have definitely made investments in the building and interior
which were long overdue under the old regime. This is reflected in
the price, but Margherita's is not overpriced compared to any
present day competition. |
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 Bread Again |
 Lobster Bisque |
 Dinner Salad |
First some of the disappointments. This trip we found something different with the bread and sauce from previous trips. The bread did not have it's traditional crustiness and had a bitter aftertaste. The sauce also differed from previous outings, being a little chunkier and had lost some of the balance I had grown to appreciate here. The salad appeared sparse but maintained the freshness I had come to expect. The soup du was lobster bisque and here things really took a turn for the better. Small bits of lobster, smooth creamy texture and a pronounced dose of brandy was a surprising delight. Not something you would typically expect at an Italian Grille in Girard. |
 Pizza Burger...Enormous |
 Chix Parm |
 Cavatelli with Meatballs |
Back to the sauce. Previously what I had grown to appreciate about Margherita's sauce was it's sharpness and acidity balanced out with herbal notes and a slight sweetness. This day the acidity won the day handily. I don't know if the gravy had not cooked down long enough to take the bite out of it, or something else had thrown the plumb bubble towards one particular side, but today was definitely not their best day. The pizza burger which has become sort of a family joke due to it's enormous size (I'm not very hungry, I think I'll get the pizza burger.) didn't play as well as previous trips today either. Typically doused in sauce, without the appropriate lubricant the whole ordeal seemed dry and difficult to swallow. I hate to say it but there is one last criticism. I have a pet peeve which you can see at the bottom of the parm picture above. I know how it happens. In a busy kitchen you are plating several dishes at once, trying to get them out hot, and will try to work as efficiently and quickly as possible. To save a second you don't give the pasta basket time to drain and end up with a pool of orangy water in the bottom of the plate. This absolutely makes the time you spent putting a nice crust on the chicken a waste as the bottom turns to mud and slides off onto the plate. One small missed step that makes everything less appetizing. Margherita's has been working hard to bring me around, but this trip suggests they might not quite have their feet under them still. |
| Ratings | |||||||
 Food |
 Service |
 Ambiance |
 What's Best |
 What's Worst |
 Overall |
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| D | C | C- | A | D- | D | ||
| Saved by Soup | NEEDS a Second Door to Avoid the Continual Waves of Freezing Air Blowing Through!! |
This Trip the
Lobster Bisque hoping For Return to More Things Here. |
Way Too Many Small Mistakes in One Service |
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