Romano's Macaroni Grill

Really, just about your best dining option in the southern suburbs, as the numerous diners at all hours will attest. We've often bemoaned the absence of decent restaurants in far Southern Dallas County and rejoiced when Romano's opened last year. We love the foccacia bread that's served before every meal and the fresh, tangy tomato sauces and al dente pasta. There are nice touches all over, such as the excellent buffalo mozzarella used in many dishes and the generous house salads served with an entrée for a very small surcharge. Standouts are the spicy penne arrabiata at lunch. Individual pizzas--ours came with a soggy crust--weren't quite as good as everything else, but Romano's combination of quality, value and agreeable, fairly polished service is extremely hard to beat for those of us who live in the south end and suffer from its dearth of eating and shopping options.