New light-entrée menu at Carrabba's

Last week, Carrabba's Italian Grill introduced the Cucina Casuale menu with entrées starting at $10, as well as new seasonal recipes.

"The Cucina Casuale menu is basically to introduce casual dining to Carrabba's for those guests who want to dine here more than once a week," says Miguel Morales, proprietor of the Hamilton Place Carrabba's.

The new menu will provide convenient and tasty recipes that are not too heavy. Morales foresees the Cucina Casuale menu being especially popular during the restaurant's lunch hours on Saturday and Sunday.

The menu includes recipes like chicken parmesan ciabatta prepared with chicken parmesan and served open-faced on a grilled ciabbata with housemade chips. There is also a grilled fish ciabatta with wood-grilled tilapia, a tomato- basil vinaigrette and arugula.

The Ribs Agrodolce is a new baby-back rib recipe braised in red wine with fresh herbs and grilled with a sweet and sour glaze.

The Cucina Casuale will also include pizzas such as the build your own with three fresh toppings of choice, a margherita pizza with fresh tomatoes, basil, olive oil and mozzarella as well as an Italian chicken pizza with an Italian-style sweet and sour sauce with pine nuts, scallions, Romano, fontina and mozzarella cheese.

The Cucina Casuale features a handful of salad options with an Italian Cobb and Caesar as well as less traditional options like the Insalata Fiorucci. The Fiorucci is prepared with artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and grilled eggplant in vinaigrette topped with a hazelnut goat cheese medallion.

Morales says he thinks many guests will enjoy the lighter entrées with a drink at the bar. Carrabba's features a happy hour menu Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and all day Sunday. Guests can order a quartino of house wine or sangria for the price of a glass or buy-two get- one free on draft and well drinks. White, peach, red and blackberry sangria flavors are a cool treat after work.

Carrabba's is not only offering lighter entrées in the Cucina Casuale, the restaurant is also embracing the end of summer with its new quarterly insert menu.

"The seasonal specials always go really well," Morales says. "People anticipate this rotating menu which is a menu insert because the things they've always enjoyed will still be there as well."

The quarterly menu features recipes like Sicilian skirt steak, Chicken Spiedini, Chicken Sorrentino and a Mixed Berry Crostata. The crostata is a light and crispy-faced berry tart baked in the restaurant's wood-fired oven and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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