Having not come back to "Romano's Macaroni Grill" in a long while (almost two years), I wasn't sure what to expect. But after a tiring morning doing errands with my dad, I was pleasantly surprised when he came back to the car saying they had a new lunch special and for seven dollars. Of course I was skeptical seeing as how mostly every lunch deal I have ever encountered has been a cut down version of the dinner plates. This time I'm glad to say that isn't the case. The deal is simple, order up front from a healthy assortment of eligible items (salads, sandwiches, pastas and desert at a discount). Next you sit down and wait for up to seven minutes. The catch is you get free food if it takes more than seven minutes.

In my experience, my food arrived at nearly four minutes and the plate was surprisingly full sized in relation to the dinner portion! I'm talking about a plate that would normally be 12 dollars at the least for seven dollars instead. The dish was an order of angel hair Alfredo, wholesome portabello mushrooms, Romano and a bed of lightly peppered sausage chunks. The dish was served at a warm temperature and tasted 100 percent fresh and not as if it had been prepared and reheated from hours before.

The angel hair is an experience in itself with the thin pasta curls enveloping my lips with a light texture accompanied by that signature Alfredo cream (a hint of garlic and olive oil in a milky cream). The thick mushrooms accompany the rest of the dish wonderfully seeing as how said thickness offers a great contrast to the ground meat consistency of the sausage. This sausage tastes like it was made in house and empowers the creamy garlic Alfredo sauce with some much needed black pepper kick. Just enough to notice the spice but not enough to lay to waste the other ingredients of the dish. All parts of my plate worked together to deliver a satisfying lunchtime of Italian food. Take your time with these dishes, processing every taste is worth it. I also had a taste of their meat sauce Bolognese, but not enough to say more than "I liked it". Tomato sauce lovers won't be disappointed I can say that much with certainty.

The atmosphere is standard fare for Italian restaurants. A murmur of Italian music in a quiet, dimly lit setting with a wood fire grill musk sparsely enveloping areas of the interior. Whether it's for business or a lunch date with your significant other, the restaurant atmosphere and the kind employees do their job exceptionally. Highly recommended for a time out to unwind in the afternoon hours.

For a meager seven dollars, the folks at Macaroni Grill have outdone themselves by a landslide. The dishes offered are relatively simple but far and away much better offers than what the same amount of money would get you at a run of the mill fast food joint. If you can afford to get down for 7 minutes to pick up a hearty portion of authentic italian food (and amazing bread for a dollar more) you owe Romano's Macaroni Grill a visit for lunch at least once.

8.5/10 A delicious choice for the lunch time rush and at little cost to you. The "7 in 7" deal is way ahead of it's competition and offers well above average food per dollar.