"The problem I have with Maria's is that the items that used to set them apart from all the other Italian family restaurants have been removed from their menu.As with most businesses, not just restaurants, only best-sellers are kept in the inventory.They used to have a delicious spicy risotto with shrimp and corn, a salad with gorgonzola and pecans, but they longer will make them even if you offer to pay extra. They used to let customers order either a large or small size chicken piccata dinner. Not any more. And they used to have a bar that made a most delicious cocktail called The Milano. Nope, they no longer even have a bar, and the wines that are on the menu are, shall we say, not exactly Italy's best.Although l am still glad to order the chicken piccata or generous sized meatballs, I find it a little depressing to go to Maria's. We were loyal patrons for nearly 30 yrs. We'd frequent the one in Reseda, Studio City, Hastings Ranch, but now we go only occasionally.I understand that the pandemic has taken a terrible toll on the restaurant-and-hospitality industries, but if they want to keep customers coming back, they need to offer things you can't get at every other place that bills itself as specializing in a specific cuisine, but serves only what one can get anywhere else. Otherwise it's a lot cheaper to just boil up your own pot of water and throw in a box of pasta."
