Always
on the lookout for an affordable lunch an ad for a 'buy one get one
free' (or, as it is now called, BOGO) caught my eye.  Allen and I
decided to give it a try.

Pulling
up to the entrance of the Ciao Pasta & Grill didn't impress me as
it wasn't much different from the other store fronts in the thousands of
shopping strip malls in South Florida. It was walking in that you knew this place was different , not
that it was lavish but that it was comfortable with half of the
restaurant furnished like a comfortable living room with deep sofas and
chairs loaded with large soft pillows. The colors of the dining room were black and blue with white accents here and there.

The
menu is extensive with items ranging from speciality salads to wraps to
vegetarian, seafood, chicken, beef and ham platters. My eye caught the
section labeled "boxed home style meal" though 'made fresh to order
Southern Fried Chicken' at $5.95 a pound sounded like a winner until
Michael, the server, told us the fryer wasn't working.

The
menu emphasizes 'fresh market ingredients, high quality meats, no
processed meats, sauce and soups made fresh daily, salad dressings made
in house, we make everything fresh, etc., which certainly makes you look
forward to the food.

We
both decided to have the boxed homestyle meals ($11.95 each) with Allen
ordering the baked  ham with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli while I
ordered Italian sausage and peppers with southwestern rice and macaroni
salad. He had a bottle of green honey iced tea ($1.90) and I had coffee
($1.90) and a glass of water which Michael forgot to bring.

The
only two people in the place were the server and the cook so when there
was a delivery order we lost our server. It took awhile for the food to
come and when it did, I, not Allen, was disappointed though he did
mention the 'fresh' smashed potatoes had to come out of a box as they
were too watery.  I find it hard to believe the southwestern rice didn't
come out of a yellow box. The macaroni was okay but the sausage and
peppers, supposedly made to order, were room temperature and, though
tasty, would have been much better served hot.

It
is said that you can tell how clean a restaurant is by how clean the
restrooms are and I can tell you the Ciao Pasta Grill men's room with a
mythic god on the wall, a small sitting area, was one of the cleanest
restrooms I have been to in a long time!
The
bill, including tax, a 20% tip on the original cost, minus the one
entree came to $24. Allen said he would like to go back again and I know
I would like to see the place in the evening plus hear the jazz plus I
do want to try that Southern Fried Chicken!