Macaroni Grill

www.macaronigrill.com
980 N Milwaukee Street

Time: 3- close
Special: $2.99 small plates; $4.99 wines
Rating: 3 martinis
Smoking: no
Other mentions: bike rack

A friend of mine mentioned enjoying happy hour at Macaroni Grill a while back so the last time I was in the neighborhood I thought it appropriate to pop in and give it a try. The bar area has a few tables and a large wrap-around bar with seating. As I usually prefer, I sidled up to the bar. While there were only two other patrons in the bar, it did take Brian, the bartender, some time to make his way over to me. I also had to ask him a few questions to get the real gist of the happy hour specials out of him.

The happy hour special has a great selection of small plates that ranged from chicken or shrimp skewers with roasted veggies to chicken parmesan atop spaghetti. Any wines by the glass are offered at $4.99 with a food purchase….this was a great deal for me as I ordered what is normally a $10 glass. The catch with this special is one must order a food plate to get the $4.99 price for each order. So for the second glass of wine, I had to order another plate. Luckily I had went with the skewers which were much lighter fare.

I really liked that MG has a bike rack out front as I pretty much only ride my bike to establishments, unfortunately it is located on a very busy road that is not bike friendly. The food was great, the wine fantastic, and the service improved greatly. Brian actually turned out to be a great server with a heavy dose of sarcasm, a couple of my favorite things. I could see returning to Macaroni Grill if in the neighborhood again.