Posted on 07/26/2002 12:51:26 PM PDT by stands2reason
Edited on 04/23/2004 12:04:40 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Evidently the post resonates with several of us who welcome the opportunity to agree that Olive Garden food is poor. Since I seldom watch television, I have no interest in the commercials; but since I do eat regularly, and am sometimes found unwillingly in the OG, I appreciate that others share my dislike for it. It's called discussion. (Prolly don't belong in "News Activism" but, what the hell.
That OK with you, Hoss?
Hey, I'm from the South, can I complain about The Dukes of Hazzard?
That would be like Christians complaining about the bible.
Notice that the advertising slogan you mentioned has been stopped, as was "make a run for the border", as was the insulting dog with the Mexican accent.
A good restaurant on the Hill? ONE RESTAURANT?
Dee, lemme tell you in case you don't know this - the Hill in St. Louis has got to be one of the highest per capita concentrations of delicious Italian food in the United States. Outside of Manhattan's Little Italy, I'm uncertain if there is ANYTHING to compare to that area.
My fiancee's mother always says - "You can walk into a restaurant at random on the Hill and probably get one of the best meals of your life." I've eaten at many different restaurants there, and as far as I can tell she's right.
Try a different one other than your favorite and tell me if I'm wrong. If I could transplant one of those cooking staffs to Austin I'd be a millionaire.
Sheesh! Like many ethnic groups, a large number of Italians pay lip service to assimilation, but for some reason enjoy living in neighborhhods amongst large groups of their own kind, speaking their native language, and eating their "authentic" ethnic food. Get over it already!"
Eh!! Whatsa matta wit you?? Do we gotta come down there and slap some sense into you?!? Admit it -- You think Tony Danza represents "Italian-America" in your southern-fried brain, dontcha? LOL...
Anyway, let me tell you something -- real "Italian" food is edible art and culture that fortunately happened to be passed down to it's descendants here in the good ol' USA. You mess with this food, and the world's entire cuisine falls apart...
What -- you want us to be happy when the Olive Garden uses romano cheese from Wisconsin instead of Locatelli from Italy? We leave and go back to Italy, ya know what else we leave behind?? Cottage cheese instead of ricotta; 'Jimmy Dean' sausage?? Yet one MORE piece of apple pie instead of a cannoli...But go ahead -- throw us out and see if we care, but know THIS much: The 'Olive Garden' is committing sacrilege against NOT ONLY Italian-Americans, but ALL Americans!
I think I can shed some light on this. Before we had kids, my wife and I ate out maybe three or four times a week. We hit all the privately owned and operated restaurants in and around town and preferred them to the chain restaurants. But when you have children, you quickly find that you are not welcome at these type of restaurants. Many of them don't have high-chairs or children's menus and quite frankly, they cater to more of an adult crowd anyhow. We got the message loud and clear when our first child was born. We were sometimes greeted by scowls and seated in the worst table - usually next to the kitchen or the front door.
So we have been driven to the world of chain restaurants that cater to families. Olive Garden, On The Border, Bertucci's, Applebees, Cracker Barrel, Ground Round, etc. None of these places have outstanding food. But most of the time, it is decent. The service is spotty due to low-paid help. It always seems that the waiter or waitress we get is "new on the job" and so he or she is usually frazzled and keeps us waiting for interminable stretches. For some reason, many of them never ask me if I would like a second drink and I usually have to try and flag them down. Don't they realize that the more drinks I order, the higher the bill and thus the higher their tip? I never had this problem in the individually owned restaurants and I tipped very well.
Anyway, I just wanted to make the point that for most families, restaurants like Olive Garden are a godsend. They welcome children and keep them entertained with crayons and coloring books etc. They have children's menus so you can feed your kid a $3 grilled cheese sandwich while you have that lobster pie or prime rib. But when my kids are grown up, I hope to never see the insides of some of these chain restaurants again!
Call me a rube, but I think Cracker Barrel has first-rate food.
As for the rest, of the ones you mention that I have sampled they are not excellent, but neither are they horrible. These restaurants are capitalizing on a brand name, which provides certainty in exchange for foregoing any chance at excellence. Whether you walk into a restaurant in Fontana, Newton or Metairie, you know exactly what you'll get, so you avoid getting something unexpectedly bad. In that sense, the restaurant chains perform the same function as any trademark.
Some of the worst meals I have ever had have been in non-chain restaurants, including Italian ones. But if you want a memorable meal, you'll have to avoid a chain too.
On the Hill, some nights you get the added authenticity of gangland slayings. That's attention to detail!
Aye-eee...What are you, some kinda wise-guy??;-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.