Carrabba's Freshens up Menu for the Summer

One of Carrabba's most beloved specials now has a new select menu. It's the new Amore Mondays menu.

Try saying "Amore Mondays menu" three times fast. Now, stop wasting time. Amore Mondays might not be going anywhere, but there is a handful of promotions currently at Carrabba's that won't last long.

The new Pasta Seconds pro- motion is another big-time crowd pleaser. It lets you order seconds on your pasta dinner. The select menu includes dishes like linguine with clams, spaghetti primavera with wood-grilled chicken and penne Romano with wood-grilled chicken.

"The penne Romano is really popular," said senior kitchen manager Tim Macera. "It's really good. It's made with roasted red peppers and this roasted garlic black pepper cream sauce.

"It's actually insanely good," he concluded.

Tim's favorite dish (not on the Pasta Seconds menu) is a relatively new item: the pollo Sorrento, com- prised of wood- grilled chicken topped with saute´ed eggplant, prosciutto, fontina cheese and port wine fig sauce. "It takes awhile to make. A lot goes into it," Tim said.

"Are you talking about the pollo Sorrento again?" laughed Chattanooga Carrabba's owner and managing partner Pete Kling, setting a hearty plate of food onto the long stainless steel kitchen bar. "This is a new combination that we're now featuring," Pete told me, nodding toward the meal. It was mouthwatering a plump 6-ounce sirloin steeping in its own hot juices, tender ravioli mixed with hunks of lobster, and broccoli saute tossed in onions, peppers, and herbs.

Not everything at Carrabba's is fleeting. Some dishes are un-rushed as the imminent dog days of summer, to which other dishes are very complementary.

The harvest salad tossed in Italian vinaigrette, for example, is a light yet filling dish made with mixed greens, Granny Smith apples, toasted hazelnuts, goat cheese, beets and your choice of chicken, steak or seafood. The beet now, there is an incredibly healthful veggie that often goes undervalued ... much like the lost art of mastering a tongue twister.

Which brings us back to the new Amore Mondays menu. Starting at $12, you can choose a small appetizer or dessert, a cup of soup or side salad and a select entre´e, which now in- cludes baked ravioli Parmesan.

For $15 you can now try the shrimp and scallop linguine as your entre´e. Or, for $18 you now try the decadent lobster mac and cheese. Stay tuned toward the end of summer, when Carrabba's will be remodeling. There will be added seating and fresh furnishings. New look, new menu, same great experience.

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