March Maggianos Monday: Little Italy Favorites

This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a small commission when you make a purchase at NO additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our site in this way!

Welcome to the highly anticipated March edition of Maggianos Monday! We’ve fallen in love with Maggianos for their family atmosphere and fabulous food, but what makes it even better for our family are the values they keep offering each month.

From now through March 30, Maggianos is offering their Little Italy Favorites: some delicious new dishes and at a discount everyone will love (with this $2 off coupon). With the help of their executive chefs from across the country, Maggianos has crafted three unique dishes that are sure to please any palate!
Before I tempt your taste buds with the Little Italy Favorites, let me say that you can’t go wrong with the Maggianos salad: fresh greens, crispy prosciutto, blue cheese crumbles, red onion and their house vinagrette (which I could drink from a bottle – it’s just that good!). I tried to get the secret recipe for the dressing….but no such luck.

Nuzzo's Gnocchi in Pesto Cream Sauce

I couldn’t resist sampling Nuzzo’s Gnocchi. While normally made from potato, this gnocchi is made from ricotta cheese and tossed in a pesto cream sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, herb-roasted chicken and Kalamata olives. Since I’m not a fan of olives, I left those off, but I have a hard time turning down anything containing pesto & cream! These little puffs of heaven were so delightful! My only complaint was that the portion could have fed about four people (if that even counts as a complaint! Some would argue it’s just a good value 😉

Herb Crusted Sirloin with Fontina Potatoes

I convinced my husband to try the Herb-Crusted Sirloin. Ok, maybe convinced is a strong word; he wanted to order it anyway! I do not consider myself a meat person, but just reading about the sirloin crusted with Italian herbs and served with Fontina potatoes and horseradish cream sauce made me giddy. Like the loving and dutiful husband that he is, he obliged and almost forgot to let me stick my fork in it! Delicious does not adequately describe this dish.

What’s most interesting (and what will have us heading back sooner than we may have thought) was that everyone we spoke to agreed that their favorite of all the Little Italy Favorites was the Salmon Oscar. The fish is crusted with Asiago and herbs, topped with jumbo lump crab, asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes in a white wine lemon butter sauce, served with linguine. I didn’t even consider it originally because I’m allergic to salmon, but since Maggianos is a scratch-made kitchen, they can accommodate any food allergy. This means they could have substituted the salmon with their other featured fish of the day. Needless to say, I can’t wait to taste what everyone is raving about!

Britton's birthday serenade

Our energetic and enthusiastic server, Phillip, seemed set on making this outing a special occasion for us. When asked if we were celebrating anything special, my son was quick to say it was his birthday (technically it was a week ago, but obviously he wanted to keep the celebration going!). After bringing the kids their ice cream and Vera’s Lemon Cookies (which I cannot get enough of, by the way!), he serenaded Britton with an Italian operatic version of “Happy Birthday”…to which Britton responded, “He is so, so nice!”

Maggianos Cannoli Duo

Maggianos is also offering a special dessert as one of their Little Italy Favorites: the Cannoli Duo that features freshly made Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cannoli and White Chocolate & Candied Pistachio Cannoli served with fresh berries. I don’t normally like cannoli, but this creation from Chef Francie Copeland-Ford at the original downtown Chicago restaurant was light and lovely (must be a Chicago thing 😉

Once again, Maggianos has graciously offered to give two of my readers each a $25 gift card. There are several ways to enter, so please make sure to leave a separate comment below for each means of entry:

1. Leave a comment below letting me know what draws you to Maggianos: the food, the atmosphere or the value
2. Become a Fan on Facebook (SamiCone.com) & SHARE the contest on your Facebook wall (https://www.samicone.com/?p=11397)
3. Follow @TheSamiCone on Twitter & SHARE the contest on Twitter   https://www.samicone.com/?p=11397
4. Like Maggiano’s Little Italy official Facebook page and leave a comment there with which Little Italy favorite you’re most looking forward to trying
5. Follow @Maggianos on Twitter & RT the following
   I want to try @Maggianos Little Italy Favorites thanks to @TheSamiCone https://www.samicone.com/?p=11397

I’ll pick two winners at random from all entries received before Midnight CST on Sunday, March 20. Winners will be contacted by email and will then have 48 hours to respond with their contact info.

Even if you don’t win, make sure to print your Maggianos Coupon for $2 off any Little Italy Favorite or sign up for the Maggianos eClub and get $10 off your next meal!

UPDATE: Congratulations to the Owen Family & Angela Pullen -the winners of our gift cards!