Maria's Italian Café

People in Rockford go on & on about this place. President Bush (41) ate here when he visited Rockford back in the early 90's. I, however, am less & less impressed with each visit.

The first time I went there, the place was packed. There were a few local newscasters there who were off duty. We waited for about 1.5 hours to be seated, which was at a table in the bar area. I ordered chicken paresean, which was good.

The 2nd time I went there, we decided to make reservations. That made it worse. We were sat down about 2 hours after our reservation. My cousin & I ordered steaks, which apparently take more than an hour to cook to medium-rare. When I got my steak, it was charred black on the outside & near raw on the inside.

The 3rd time I went there was with a large group. This meal was served family style. We only had a choice between different types of pasta & lasagna. The lasagna was good.

I tried the place again by ordering a pizza to go. We went to pick up our pizza at around 8PM only to find the door locked. A hostess answered the door & said they were closed (despite the fact that I could clearly see the bar area was packed to the gills), then closed the door on me. I knocked again, & said that I had actually already ordered a pizza for pick-up. She said that was the magic word, then ordered me to wait in the kitchen. I was told by the cook that my pizza had just been taken from the oven, but they dropped it and were making me a new pizza. I had to wait for half an hour in the kitchen.

It was then that I decided their incompetence was too much to tolerate. I really do not get the hype about this place. The food is average, & that is not enough to put up with the lousy service.