Olive Garden

[ludja]

Thanks Steven.

Doh!  Of course - everything is available on the web these days!  Wow - that's much more of a difference than I would have imagined - that's averaging around $5 upcharge per plate!

u.e.

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Or looked at another way, the prices for these three examples are 40-50% higher in Manhattan than in Raleigh.

[Daniel]

I really dont eat processed anything.. I dont eat snack foods, drink soda, dont eat fast food outside of mom and pop type places.. I am 5'10, I guarantee if I ate this type of stuff my whole life, I would be at least 6'0.. I wonder if Olympic Atheletes would be allowed to eat at Olive Garden.. I saw 12 year olds growing facial hair at the dinner table.. Umm, I am out of jokes..

Edited March 31, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[Rebecca263]

Hmm, maybe THAT's why my kiddle is only 5'2". Her father is 6'2" and I'm 5'4", the doctors all assured me that she'd be tall, but no, she's decidedly NOT. Should I have fed her soda, chips and chain restaurants?Is it too late? I can hear her now "No, I won't eat my bag of chips! I'll sit here all night until you give me the home made ones again!" All I can add is, UGH, extra salt and hormones in your food.

Edited March 31, 2006 by Rebecca263 (log)

[rich]

I can't wait for you to start your processed sugar-based cereal thread.

[I_call_the_duck]

Daniel, thanks for making the sacrifice.

Just as I finished reading your report, I overheard that a few people at the office went to OG for lunch. What did they think? "It was really good!"

[Megan Blocker]

Oh, man. Once and for all, where on EARTH is the "barf" emoticon?

Well done, Daniel.

[lancastermike]

Daniel - thanks for the report - and thanks for "taking one for the team".

This comment

This is what I hope people in prison are eating...

prompts me to think that you refer to the people in prison who've been really bad - not just the garden variety general prison population

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Hey Owen,

I work at a prison and I see what the inmates eat every day. Daniel would do much worse eating here. Not that much of it either. Prices are better though, inmates are charged 10 dollars a day for room and board, inclusive

[Sneakeater]

Daniel would do much worse eating here.  Not that much of it either.

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I hope Woody Allen isn't reading the "Sincerest Form" thread.

[robert40]

Trust me when I say its a step up from Attica's food.

[Fat Guy]

Can someone please tell me how those circular marks got onto the bread.. What the hell was that cooked in/with.

Looks like what the cooking supply catalogs call a "perforated French bread pan."

[tommy]

it should be noted that the salad is clearly *not* iceberg.

[Zeemanb]

Daniel, I'm going to keep a copy of your review in my wallet at all times just so that I can avoid wasting words if I am ever again asked the question...."sooo what about Ooooolive Gaarden?!?!" by anyone in my family or at work.

Now go and get a high colonic or whatever it takes to flush your system. Man, what sacrifice!

[phaelon56]

Can someone please tell me how those circular marks got onto the bread.. What the hell was that cooked in/with.

Looks like what the cooking supply catalogs call a "perforated French bread pan."

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Look carefully at the pizza crust picture and you'll see similar marks on the bottom of the pizza.

I also know that they use a very expensive type of traditional espresso machine (not a La Marzocco or Synesso which is what they should use) but the espresso and cappuccino is a bit on the flat and undistinguished side. In their defense it's actually no worse than many restaurants serve and better than some.

They'd be better off with a good commercial superauto machine and really fresh locally roasted beans. But that ain't gonna happen.

[Daniel]

it should be noted that the salad is clearly *not* iceberg.

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There certainly was iceberg.. I believe Romane as well..

[MissAmy]

Ugh. Thanks for the report, Daniel.

A poster upthread mentioned the Olive Garden in Abilene, TX, and I remember that as well! My father lived there for years and years and when the Olive Garden opened, you would have thought the town had never had a restaurant before. I can't remember the last time I ate at an Olive Garden, and now you've reminded me why I don't.

I don't understand: why all the fake cheese? Why is fake processed cheese cheaper than real cheese? It seems like their food would actually be edible if it weren't for the fake cheese.

[ulterior epicure]

It's been years since I've been to an OG - ahhh... those breadsticks and salads... know them well. My stomach is churning in nightmarish flashbacks... I must say, your plates of food looked pretty awful - worse than I've ever remembered them being. They just looked sloppy, er, like slop?

Sorry it was such a disappointer.

u.e.

[Fat Guy]

I doubt the cheese is fake. To me fake cheese would be cheese not made from milk. I bet the cheese used at the Olive Garden is made from milk. It's certainly bad cheese, but not likely fake.

[CherieV]

Daniel,

This was hysterical. I haven't eaten at an OG since I was in college. Wow, it really is that bad. It's amazing to think that a lot of American's actually think the quality of OG food is a good dinner out. Some of my family included. The OG in Times Square always amazed me with the amount of people waiting to eat there. I've seen a line up the block many times. For what? It's not cheap and it's not good. Sure there is a comfort level associated with it but it would seem to me that the risk involved with eating possibly at a worse place is minimal, especially in NYC. Sorry, I just don't get it. Call me a food snob I guess.

[OnigiriFB]

Poor Daniel. I'm nauseous just looking at the pictures. And people wonder why I won't eat italian here. Until recently Olive Garden was the only eye-talian place people would go to. We have some decent mom and pop places but do they want to go there?? Noooooo! So I just started telling everyone I hate italian. It's gotten better now there's a Macaroni Grill. I actual like thier bread and make your own pastas.

[tommy]

it should be noted that the salad is clearly *not* iceberg.

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There certainly was iceberg.. I believe Romane as well..

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agreed: there's iceberg in the salad. however, it's not an "iceberg salad", where "iceberg" is used as a perjorative. just pointing out facts for those who try to ignore them. and by extension, sucking all the fun out of the negativity. it's my job.

Edited April 1, 2006 by tommy (log)

[menton1]

it should be noted that the salad is clearly *not* iceberg.

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To my eyes, that lettuce in the salad looks all Iceberg; the outer leaves of those heads of iceberg sometimes tend to be greener and softer than the whiter leaves as you remove the layers... but I don't see any resemblance to a Romaine, Leaf, Bibb, or any variety. IMHO it's 100% iceberg...

A lot of complaining about OG here has also been accompanied by admissions of eating at McD's, Taco Bell and the like. I see little difference, other than the waiter service and the bill. They are all unhealthy, oversalted, and undesirable eating choices.

[Krista G]

Hmm…I'm coming into this thread pretty late, but felt the compulsion to join in because I think the tone is so skewed. I've always wondered why the food-lovers who distance themselves from foodies tend to get so up in arms over chain restaurants. Isn't it possible to enjoy "real" food as well as the occasional chicken alfredo pizza?

I can write about my love of chains, as well as a meal at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. I don't think it has to be all or nothing.

I say this because recently I was going with friends to this particular Times Square Olive Garden. Kind of on a lark, like Daniel's adventure. It turned out that one of my friends had another friend (who I later realized after seeing him, is a frequent egullet poster) who was completely appalled by our restaurant choice. He went his own way dinner-wise on this occasion. And that's fine because I wouldn't want someone ruining my fun.

I totally get why someone would prefer to eat at an ethnic hole-in-the-wall (or a ten-course tasting menu) but my question is why having high standards precludes having a sense of humor. We all have our biases. Me, I can't tolerate mediocre Thai food. I'd have a fit if someone tried dragging me to Lemongrass Grill.

Perhaps people feel the need to define their core being based upon how they distance themselves from what's perceived as gauche or mainstream? No one wants to be average.

[Sneakeater]

You're right when mainstream places are OK. You're wrong when they just suck. I mean, Domino's pizza is just terrible. It's not bad cuz it's mainstream. It's bad cuz it's bad.

As for being "open minded" enough to give places like this "a chance" (not quotes from you), I think the burden of proof is messed up on that. If from experience, you know that these places tend not to be good, why take it upon yourself to keep trying them? I'm not saying you should be so closed-minded as to refuse to patronize them totally; I'm saying that, to me, it's only worth going to one of these places if someone trustworthy has said something that made it sound worthwhile (as with Chipotle or, now, Macaroni Grill).

What I agree with you on is the vehemence you see in threads like this. To me, places like Olive Garden aren't worth decrying. They're more worth ignoring. (I feel the same way about the trendy food barns in the Meatpacking District.)

[Pumpkin Lover]

This is so effin' AWESOME.

And Krista G--I agree with everything you said. Like you said, chain restaurants for foodies is all about having a sense of humor. I love the drinxxxs at Applebee's: gimme a Bahama Mama and I'm good to go. And I recently had a lobster pizza and a gigantic (I mean huge, like bigger than a Texas-size marg at Dallas BBQ) pina colada at a Red Lobster in NJ. I loved Red Lobster as a kid because I loved eating fish and we didn't eat fish so much in my house as a kid. So I associated Red Lobster with fish entirely. Now in my old(er) age, I'd enjoy the swordfish at Tabla much more. But man, going back to Red Lobster a couple months ago was one of the best adventures I could imagine. I never thought I'd go back, but it felt like a relief to be there again. It's about balancing my snobby food standards with something...else. Don't quite know how to explain it beyond that.

ETA an adverb.

Edited April 1, 2006 by Pumpkin Lover (log)

[ulterior epicure]

Is that "Alfredo sauce" on those ravioli?

u.e.

Edited April 1, 2006 by ulterior epicure (log)