Went to Carrabba's last night for my mom's birthday (she wasn't feeling well last week, but is better now) and, as usual, I thought it was very good for a chain! The mussels app was fantastic, and the calamari is very good. The lentil/sausage soup tasted great, but was pretty thin (maybe the server took it from the top?), but the service was otherwise outstanding -- even the manager was walking around asking if things were okay, and the owner was there as well. I couldn't even fit the entree in (I tried the lasagna - pretty good!) as I was stuffed already, the portions are pretty huge! And I love the open kitchen where you can watch them cook.

While I love Olive Garden's all-you-can-eat soup (Zuppa Toscana) and salad lunch (and that's about it there), I recommend trying Carrabba's for dinner if there's one near you -- it has more of an authentic "family" vibe to it, at least the one here.