Dallas "A Food Symphany: The Orchestra, Proteins, Starch, Veggies, Se..."

It has been many many years since I ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Last time I had a meal there was when I lived in So. Cal. On 7-16-09. we went to the newly opened restaurant here in Kent, Wa.
The food is ok now as is when I had it years ago.
There is no real wow factor dish that I have had there.
My wife had the Chicken Penne and again it was just ok.
I’ll say this, if you don’t want to spend time to make your own Italian dinner, this is an ok place to go in a pinch.
It is a good place to visit with friends/family and just relax on a friday or for that matter any night. Happy eating ya’ll!

I happened to discover this little jewel of a restaurant about 3 years ago, when I was in my old stomping grounds. I vowed that anytime I go back to Calif., I will dine there at least once. Recently I was back in Costa Mesa for my son’s high school graduation. I suggested that we dine at Avila’s! No argument from my son- he loves the food there too (from eating there 3 years ago with me). So we (the party) went to Avila’s and had dinner. Speaking for myself and a (recent culinary arts graduate) I absolutely love the Chili Verde at Avila’s! They use the correct cut of meat and the flavor of the meat and the sauce just bursts with flavor! There is no place like it and my toque is off to the chef there at Avila’s! Jobs well done! The staff is also great, friendly-cheery. Oh I can’t forget the beans, rice and the tortillas those are great! The presentation, textures are nothing but super. I can’t say anything negative about this place- this is a fun place, service again was excellent! And the prices are very reasonable. I was and am sad to have to go back to Seattle because the mexican food there on a scale of 1-10, 1 being the worst and 10 being excellent, is about a 4 to 5.

Wifey and I have gone to Red Lobster, (in Federal Way, Wa), on and off during the years and had decent meals. The last two times was not so good. The last recent time, it was bad. We had the lobster/shrimp special on 3-31-09 and the lobster as well as the skewered shrimp was way over cooked. The shrimp in the gratin dish was save by the butter. It was done just about right. I emailed the corporate office to let them know that with the economy as it is and then to have food not cooked properly was not a good combination. (I was not looking for a free meal either). In any case, I did not even get a response from their office, hence I will not be speaking well of Red Lobster. As a chef, in this industry I must say this was really bad.
The wait-staff was great, sorry they have to suffer for the bad food.