Eating out at the Mall of America

When I visited the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota this past week, I was in awe and in shock. They have an entire theme park, Camp Snoopy--the nation's largest indoor family theme park--in the middle of the mall! The Mall of America is the nation's largest mall. It is a 4.2 million square foot complex and is home to more than 520 shops; it also has a 1.2 million gallon walk-through aquarium; a 14-screen movie theater and more. So, as you can see, this mall is every girls (and guys) dream.

After our day of shopping we ate a late lunch at Tucci Benucch, a country Italian restaurant. The blurb of the restaurant says that "the setting is an Italian country home with distinct dining areas... [The restaurant] serves as an oasis amidst the busy activity of the shopping mall [and] features thin-crust pizzas, pastas, gnocchi, chicken and fresh fish created by our chefs to add to your dining experience." It sounds pretty fancy, but it isn't. We didn't try their thin-crust pizzas, which is their specialty.

I had the Spinach and Goat Cheese Salad with oven-dried tomatoes, pinenuts and mustard vinaigrette ($13.95) and a glass of prosseco--you know me, I always have to have my bubbly.

My husband had the Stuffed Mushrooms with fresh spinach, garlic breadcrumbs, and lemon butter ($7).

My salad was good but I don't think it was worth the 13 bucks. The oven-dried tomatoes were too salty for me and the salad could certainly use more ingredients like roasted chicken or olives. There was something missing in this so-so salad. On the other hand, the stuffed mushrooms were quite delicious and filling. My husband got 3 very large mushrooms stuffed with a garlicky-breadcrumb mixed with spinach. The mushrooms were swimming in the lemon-butter sauce which tasted great with the fresh bread they serve you. I highly recommend this as an appetizer or just for a light meal.

The service was prompt and the bus boy would not stop filling our water glass! Tucci Benucch is a good place to go for lunch or a light meal, it just seemed to me like a fancier Olive Garden and a lot pricier, too.