Carrabba's specializes in pizzas, pastas and seafood dishes. The restaurant takes particular pride in its calamari dishes, exclusively using squid between three and five inches long, which the Carrabba brothers found is the most tender after cooking. Approximately 80 percent of the menu consists of traditional Italian recipes that previous generations of the Carrabba family perfected, with the remainder consisting of the Carrabba brothers' original culinary creations. The Murtreesboro Post recommends Carrabba's shrimp scampi with garlic-lemon butter sauce, as well as the Rigatoni Martino, featuring grilled chicken and sauteed mushrooms smothered in Carrabba's tomato cream sauce.
Cool Beans is co-owned by Murfreesboro native Lieu Ho and My Khanh, an expert in Cajun cooking who learned his trade in New Orleans. The bistro offers food that blends Italian and Cajun culinary traditions, offering diners a selection of traditional Italian pastas, New Orleans cuisine and Cool Beans' own original dishes. Cool Beans bakes all of its bread daily and grows most of the herbs used in the kitchen in its own gardens. Diners can call ahead to have Cool Beans' staff prepare their meals for carry out or they can have Murfreesboro's Boro to Go service deliver their food to any location within Murfreesboro.
Demos' is owned and operated by the Demos family, who opened their Murfreesboro restaurant in 1989 and now own five locations within Tennessee and Alabama. Demos' signature dish is their steak and spaghetti combination plate, which they serve with their freshly baked bread. Jim Demos selects the dishes for Demos' menu, catering to a family clientele who appreciate the diverse selection of American and Italian favorites.
Head chef and proprietor Steve Puleo combines traditional Italian cooking with Southern culinary influences to create Puleo's dishes, specializing in steaks, seafood and pasta. Puleo's opened its Murfreesboro location in December 2004, aiming to create an eclectic menu with something to appeal to every diner. Puleo's only uses fresh ingredients for their dishes and the restaurant cultivates the herbs used in its recipes from its on-site garden. Puleo's accepts reservations up to 30 minutes before diners' arrival and while reservations aren't strictly necessary, they can help guests bypass the line for a table.
