No, We're Not That Family (Italian-Americans mad at Olive Garden)

Opnionjournal ^ | July 26, 2002 | Victorino Matus

[stands2reason]

Italian-Americans have a problem, and it's not "The Sopranos."

Italian-Americans are speaking out. They are complaining about a stereotype they just can't stand. One that they find inaccurate and misleading. One that is constantly shown on television, much to their disgust. They are unhappy. They are at their wit's end. They are fed up.

[Salgak]

On the other hand, here in the Wasteland of the East Coast, I'd ***KILL*** for a Carl's Junior out here. . .

[demnomo]

I'd like to smack that sloppy eating punk in the fried onion mouth!

LOL! Me too!!! I absolutely despise the one with the Super Model chick sloppily eating the burger. Like a model really eats that stuff. (Well, maybe she's a bulimic and throws it up afterward.) My husband and son think that the commercials are hilarious. (They won't eat the food, however.) They think it's even funnier when I start throwing stuff at the TV and complain when I view them. I need a life. Such things shouldn't upset me so. ;)

[stlrocket]

Maybe they should try a few of these other "ethnic" restaurants.

HAVE ONE OF THE PIES

MONICAS FAVORITE PLACE

DON'T MIX THESE TWO

[SamAdams76]

When I was growing up, my mother used to serve us "genuine" Italian food. Such as Franco-American Spaghetti-os and canned spaghetti. When we were feeling real adventurous for Italian cuisine, we'd pour tomato paste over some English muffins and bake them in an oven with strips of American cheese. And my mom would let us have a taste of her Boone's Farm wine. Of course, my father thought all this canned spaghetti was French food because of the name: Franco-American. So when he had to cook, he would fry up some hamburger and toss in a couple of cans of their spaghetti and think he was some kind of French chef.

And as disgusting as all this sounds, those meals were much better than our standard fare. Such as meatloaf and mashed imitation potatos or hamburger and baked beans mixed together. Or those jello molds my mother used to make with mayonnaise, carrots, celery and wilted lettuce all mixed inside. No wonder I thought mess hall food was so good when I finally got to Marine boot camp.

BTW, I like the Olive Garden. Don't see what all the fuss is about. Then again, I don't exactly come from a family of gourmets.

[stands2reason]

Yep, the Italian and Mexican chains will always overprice their food. They are both the cheapest of cuisines to cook, especially Mexican. Nobody should be paying 10$ a plate for beans and rice!

[Paid4This]

Well, I'm Italian and the fact of the matter is there is nothing "authentic" about most "authentic" Italian food in America. It's like that scene from the Sopranos, where Tony and some of the others go to Italy to confab with the big boss. They go to a restaurant and Pauly is looking at what I believe was a squid ink sauce pasta in dismay, and says "Can I just get a bowl of pasta and gravy?" The made Italian killer eating with him tells the waitress, in Italian "Get him a bowl of spaghetti with tomato sauce," and then to his other companion "And you thought those Germans were classless pieces of sh''!"

I ate at a VERY authentic Italian restaurant in NYC several years ago, I could identify nothing on the menu from the favorites that my mother makes - no lasagna, spaghetti, gnochi, or anything else. The waitress told me the chef only made authentic Italian food. We picked at our 30 dollar plates, then took a cab over to little Italy, picked a hole in the wall, and I had some of the best ziti I'd ever had. My friend claimed ziti was an American invention.

Snobs turn their nose up at places like Olive Garden, but the fact is most parts of the country don't have good Italian food. You find pockets of it, but there's no decent Italian here in Austin, Texas, and my friend in Tucson has similar complaints. While I don't eat at Olive Garden, it's better than nothing. Those Romano's Macaroni places are much better.

[Lurking Libertarian]

The best barbeque joint will be a shack in front of a giant pit, where you buy your meat by the pound on sheets of butcher paper

Calvin Trillin, whose written some wonderfully funny books on food, once said that if he's travelling down south and someone recommends a barbecue restaurant, he asks "do they have plates?" If the answer is "of course they do," he knows it's NOT the place to go to, and he asks "isn't there some old guy with a shack out on the highway?"

[HIDEK6]

But in one paragraph he actually tried the food and didn't think it was half bad.

Actually, half of it IS bad, the other half is bland.

My bitch with them is that they give you the bum's rush when you sit down, hoping to turn your table in 20 minutes. I HATE being rushed while I'm trying to enjoy half-terrible, half-bland food.

[hellinahandcart]

I don't know a signle wop who frequents the Olive Garden.

I've been hanging around my wop's very large family for about twenty years and I've never heard one of them utter the word "hospitaliano", either.

(those commercials drive mr. h crazy. There was one for "Creamy Chicken Alfredo" that just about made him cry)

[Fedupwithit]

Never been to Saraceno's..I'm hooked on Dolce Vita... : )

[Fintan]

Can I complain about Bennigans...?

Please do. I'll join you.

Being Irish, I somethimes laugh hysterically (usually around St. Patrick's Day) when these "authentic Irish bistros" advertise corned beef & cabbage and green Budweiser and play annoying, ersatz Irish music.

Believe me, if anyone ever ate truly authentic Irish food, they'd break the sound barrier driving to the nearest Olive Garden...

[Dialup Llama]

>Maybe like "South of the Border"---decent food, but don't call in Mexican, 'cause it ain't.

I eaten at the authentic Mexican restaurants. I don't believe that authentic Mexican food exists. Its an illusion. The scary part is that Taco Bell is simply an inexpensive simulation of actual Mexican food. The ingredients are not of the best quality. And there is no meat. However, the basic concept is the same. I mean how many things can you do with a tortillia?

[NYer]

The restaurants dot the vast American subculture of shopping strips and mini-malls, presenting cheesy cuisine, in the nonmacaroni sense, and cheesy décor that appeals to a broad, middle-class, New World idea of Italian cooking, especially to people who are not Italian.

Have any of you tried this chain?

Buca di Beppo

[tracer]

LOL!!

[demnomo]

Believe me, if anyone ever ate truly authentic Irish food, they'd break the sound barrier driving to the nearest Olive Garden

LOL! I visited Ireland and I believe that they would!!!

[HIDEK6]

That said, the critics of Olive Garden commercials need to lighten up.

I could give a shit less about the commercials. I vehemently dislike the Olive Garden itself.

[HIDEK6]

That said, the critics of Olive Garden commercials need to lighten up.

I could give a shit less about the commercials. I vehemently dislike the Olive Garden itself.

[Dialup Llama]

I have an aunt who cooks authentic Italian for holidays. Very little pasta, mostly seafood. Seven different varieties of fish.

[southern rock]

You find pockets of it, but there's no decent Italian here in Austin, Texas,

Have you ever been to that Italian restaurant on the river walk in San Antonio that has the tree growing out of it? Pretty good Italian food. They also have belly dancing on weekends. I could never figure that one out.

Anyway, I'm a fan of the Americanization of ethnic foods. America is a culture too, and we have our own style.

[Remole]

Tell them to watch the move, "Big Night"