maggiano’s cumberland mall | Real Vinings

Restaurant Review: Maggiano’s at Cumberland Mall

Posted by thunsicker in Living, Restaurants, Vinings on February 28, 2012

For Valentine’s Day my sweetheart wanted to go to Maggiano’s at Cumberland Mall. I usually enjoy going to this restaurant as it seems like a great value, it is kid friendly and is so close to our home in Vinings.

When we went to make reservations the only time available was 5:00 and we booked via opentable.com (always quick and easy). That’s OK as my date gets his bath around 7:00 and is usually in bed by 8:00pm. Also, they sent me a $10 coupon for my next visit which is nice.

The children’s menu is varied and is only $4.95 including their ice cream. We always end up taking the leftovers home for a second meal there is so much food.

As far as the quality I’ve seen a degradation since the last time we were there:

I remember them using fresh grated parmesan at the table before and now you have to request it and its in a shaker – ugh, can’t eat that type.
Also, they used to have the balsamic vinegar at the table for your bread and that had to be requested as well.
Additionally I believe the quality of that has been reduced or my taste buds are becoming more discriminating.

I had the chicken piccata which was good with a side of angel hair pasta and Chase had the penne alfredo with the fake parmesan cheese.

It was packed and service was mediocre—perhaps a fluke because it was Valentine’s Day?? My recommendation is that Maggiano’s is good for “family friendly” meals, but not the type of Italian I’d be craving regularly.

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Pizza Places in Vinings

Posted by thunsicker in Living, Restaurants, Vinings on September 14, 2011

There are many local pizza places to choose from and one thing I’ve learned is that everyone has their own preferences. Some like thick crusts, some thin, some like a lot of sauce, some prefer less.

It seems like everywhere we go with children’s functions they are serving pizza or chicken nuggets, so usually I’m leaning toward ANY other type of restaurant….but with a child their preferences rule in many cases, so I try to lean towards a pizza place with a more extensive menu where I can get something else and let my son choose where he wants to go.

Without a doubt Chase always chooses “my soccer coach’s place” – St. Angelo’s on the West Side of Vinings off of Log Cabin Drive at 4686 S. Atlanta Road. His other favorite pizza place is “pizza and a train” – New York Pizza Exchange on the train tracks in Vinings, at 2810 West Paces Ferry Road.

There are many other places including Mellow Mushroom (in Vinings Village) and Mulberry Street Pizza (across 41 from Kroger). I run by there for lunch quite a bit since it seems to be on my route going everywhere and has easy parking. They can get you a slice quickly while you sit and watch the news on their TV’s.

St. Angelo’s is owned by Vinings residents Cecilia and Sean Rowe and they are very involved in all things Vinings, so Chase knows them and likes to go there and feels like he knows the owner. They give him dough to play with and he can watch them make the pizza.

With my son making some of our dinner decisions, I love going to St. Angelo's in Vinings so he can eat pizza and I can have a salad.

St. Angelo’s has a very fun family night on Thursday where kids eat for $0.99 and that includes their fountain drink, carrot/celery and ranch dressing, a slice and gelato – can’t beat it. Then I can have a salad, cheese bread and even an adult beverage if I’m in the mood.

The breadsticks at St. Angelo's are also really good!

We’ve been going to “pizza and a train” (New York Pizza Exchange) since Chase was a baby (he’s still mad at his mom for helping to stop the whistle blowing as the train is passing thru Vinings). He still rushes to the window or insists we sit right next to the tracks.

I’ve heard that many people love the pizza at West Vinings Village; I think its called Blue Moon Pizza, but that’s not as much on my daily path.

I was addicted to Pero’s Pizza for years as my office use to be next door in the shopping center where Houston’s is and we still go to Pero’s quite a bit for other types of Italian food. The thing is they don’t have a children’s menu, so I’m thinking they don’t encourage kids? They’re always nice to us so I can’t imagine that’s it, but in this day and age I thought everyone had a children’s menu!

When Chase wants his “special mac and cheese” which is basically Alfredo sauce instead of cheddar and he wants to make Italian bread dipping sauce, which he is very good at making “our” special recipe, we go to Maggiano’s at Cumberland Mall and have regular Italian sans pizza.

I’d love to hear what your favorite pizza places are in Vinings as well!