Carrabas, Carrolton, TX

Located on the N Dallas Tollway at Trinity Mills Rd, You can spot this one with all of the trees, bushes and shrubs on the roof. 4 locations in the DFW metroplex but almost nation-wide.
These two Damian & Johny know how to set up a place to eat. From Dmain's mom in LA, learning to cook Sicilian from her mother and mother-in-law ~ this is a family place. You can see pictures of them decorating the walls.

With a wood fired pizza oven, and grill, the taste of anything cooked on these is wonderful.

We like the vegetarian minestrone soup, that comes in bucket sized bowel for under $ 6. The sauteed spinach with garlic makes a great side dish and veggie lunch.

Be careful, however, as their bread is fresh from the oven, so hot you may burn your mouth. I order chopped fresh or roasted garlic to add the herb mixture & olive oil to dunk it.

There are many choices for a veggie but more trouble than worth for a vegan - but possible to do with the custom pastas.

I ask them to make a penne pasta for me with olives, goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and pesto - yumm for under $9. Their chicken and cheese ravioli in a marinara sauce is fantastic. The chicken MEZZALUNA (Half moon ravioli stuffed with chicken, ricotta and spinach in tomato cream sauce $12), well ...

2 Very Happy Dragon one of our favorite eateries, 5-

Pasta Palooza, Unity Church, Dallas, TX

This annual event for $20 as a fund raiser for Singing Unity Choir, is the best deal in town for fine food, and singing wait staff, all volunteers of the Choir - for sure; All on Forest Lane.

Neil's meat sauce as one of 3 choices for the pasta toppings, is not to be missed, unless of course you are vegetarian, as Neil is the Choir director.

If you are vegetarian you have two choices: Susan's pasta premavera with Alfredo sauce, or Marianne's marinara. You will be in heaven after any of these 3.

The Cesar salad however I rate in the top 3 in this city. The others are professionally prepared and so close in my 5 star salad rating I could not distinguish one from the other as to which is better. This one is the best - I like the black olives and grape tomatoes added in - this on e I would give 5 Star if served on china.

the cake for desert was a white cake with a lemon cheese cake like filling 1/2 inch wide of the filling no less !... I am impressed, and stuffed.

Since Susan make the veggie premavera I am a bit biased. I just like meat sauce better than Alfredo. (Did you know that pasta premavera originated in NYC in the mid 1970's?)

We heard from country favorites, the King himself made an appearance, with a live band, Opera arias, pop favorites, show tunes, barbershop quartet, even live musical stage pieces acted in front of us.

I tell you - as this event is sold out, if you can get tickets for next years - buy them them NOW !
You can't get a better deal in all of Texas - and that's a big deal..

2 Very Happy Dragons 5 Star...

Ferrari's Italian Villa, Addison, TX

Located in Addison, on Midway Rd., just south of Beltline Rd.


This 5 Star rated restaurant didn't make it in our book. It is only our tastes, yours may agree with the many who feel it is 5 star. Francesco Secchi is from Sardinia, the owner and very gracious people.



The wait staff are friendly yet leave you to your intimate conversations.

The decor is marvelous, the food was as good elsewhere not more outstanding, it was very well prepared.

The Aniti pasto selection is unparalleled, but in the winter cold in just not our thing, so we took to the soups - very tasty.



Veggies can select well here.

The downfall for us is as with most Italian places, the whiteness of the pasta, the sugar. These in atmosphere like this will get us a 5 star rating but must give it a 4+



2 Happy Dragons 4+

Penne Pomodoro, Dallas, TX

Is located on the SE corner of Forest & Preston Rd. in Dallas, TX
Dinner for 2 runs about $30 - $50. The atmosphere is is upscale and comfortable, wait staff informal, friendly and personable.

The menu is traditional Italian, tasty specials, but limited for vegetarians. The Caesar salad was good, but I have had others more to my tastes. The seafood skewered grill was delicious, shrimp, white fish, salmon, scallops, zucchini grilled was spectacular, over twice mashed potatoes with skin, and bacon: all in a butter lemon sauce. All very fresh and cooked just right- But this was a special and grand. Susan doesn't like bacon in her mashed potatoes - I loved it.

The real success was the baked Ziti with tomato and Italian sausage. We are Ziti Freeks this is the best we have had anywhere - about $14.

The Italian bean soup was superb - Susan is the bean lover here, I really loved the taste myself.

From Wikipedia:
Penne (pronounced /ˈpɛni/ (UK), or /ˈpɛneɪ/ (US)) is a type of pasta with cylinder-shaped pieces, usually with a ridged surface with the ends cut on the diagonal. The same or similar shape is also called mostaccioli and Ziti, which also refer to particular dishes made from penne-shaped pasta.[1] Penne is the plural form of the Italian penna, deriving from Latin penna (meaning "feather" or "quill").
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We would go back and split the baked Ziti again.

2 Very Happy Dragons, but it has a price. We give it 5- (- Over our heads price wise.)