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My son always takes his dates to Olive Garden because the food is cheap and the salad bar is large and varied.

My wife and I like to go to the Olive Garden during the week in the mid-afternoon. Seating then is no problem then. Our typical fare is minestrone soup and salad couple with a glass or two of Merlot. It's all-you-can-eat for about $6 each (less the wine, of course). It's one of our favorite places.

There is an Olive Garden in the same building complex as my piano showroom. I know that I have precious little time for a presentation when people walk into the store with their wireless sensor ready to light up and tell them that their table is ready...

tubatooter1940 wrote:My son always takes his dates to Olive Garden because the food is cheap and the salad bar is large and varied.

how do i sign up?

When I'm away from home looking for a place to eat lunch, it's OG for the soupnsalad. I don't think I've ever eaten anything else there.

lprince wrote:

tubatooter1940 wrote:My son always takes his dates to Olive Garden because the food is cheap and the salad bar is large and varied.

how do i sign up?

You want to sign up for a date with my son? I'll ask him. It'll be fun.

wchoc86 wrote:Olive Garden makes terrible food.
...
Idiots.

Coming from one who grew up in northern NJ and had an Italian grandmother, I have to concur. I love eggplant parmigiana, but the version at OG has got to be among the worst I have ever had, and I tried it at several locations. I much prefer Spaghetti Warehouse, Macaroni Grill, or Carabas. Of course, it is a very rare occasion I can go out to eat at a restaurant in that price range (or one that does not give you a toy with the meal.)

MartyNeilan wrote:

wchoc86 wrote:Olive Garden makes terrible food.
...
Idiots.

Coming from one who grew up in northern NJ and had an Italian grandmother, I have to concur.

Sometimes it can be limiting knowing what great Italian food can be.....

My wife, (....Long Island...hint!), served homemade eggplant rollantini, fresh from the butcher Italian hot sausage, rigatoni w/ homemade tomato gravy, a garden salad, and as much hand-grated romano & asiago cheese as anyone could want, for Easter supper.

I'm looking forward to left-overs tonight! Too bad, no pictures.

Olive Garden..........ah....no thank you!

OG opeates under the same principles that most other nationally-franchised chains do:

• Smother it in cheap cheese. You can freeze cheese for storage and buy it when the market's cheap. It will so completely mask anything that's under it that your customers won't care.
• Smother it in a cheap thick sauce, preferably with cheap cheese. You can feeze sauce and heat it up as needed to pour over a cold entree.
• When in doubt, add sugar or fat.

Stick with the soupnsalad for $6. It's pretty hard to wreck a bunch of lettuce.

Chuck(G) wrote:

• Smother it in cheap cheese. You can freeze cheese for storage and buy it when the market's cheap. It will so completely mask anything that's under it that your customers won't care.
• Smother it in a cheap thick sauce, preferably with cheap cheese. You can feeze sauce and heat it up as needed to pour over a cold entree.
• When in doubt, add sugar or fat.

SO? What's your point!? We're tubists, remember?

Just read an interesting book this weekend called "Kitchen Confidential", by Anthony Bourdain.

The chains are bad enough, but after reading that book I'm not sure the independents are even a little bit better. For sure I'm going to be a lot more wary.

...I'll stick the to the Penne Alla Vodka I made last night, thanks.

I LOVE OLIVE GARDEN!!! especially when they used to have the all you can eat spaghetti basket. after marching band some nights, me and my tuba buddies would go over to olive garden and have a fooding competition. (i could barely get through 2 baskets). but yeah olive garden is a great place. my favorite restaurant. yeahhhh

Albertibass wrote:I LOVE OLIVE GARDEN!!! especially when they used to have the all you can eat spaghetti basket. after marching band some nights, me and my tuba buddies would go over to olive garden and have a fooding competition. (i could barely get through 2 baskets). but yeah olive garden is a great place. my favorite restaurant. yeahhhh

And my 6 yr old son thinks that McDonalds has the greatest food in the world. Your tastes change when you grow up.

tubatooter1940 wrote:

lprince wrote:

tubatooter1940 wrote:My son always takes his dates to Olive Garden because the food is cheap and the salad bar is large and varied.

how do i sign up?

You want to sign up for a date with my son? I'll ask him. It'll be fun.

tell him to pick me up at 7

Scooby Tuba wrote:Second, the last time we went to the OG we all got food poisoning! So, kinda left a bad taste in our mouths, heh, heh...

Went to one just North of Houston in the Woodlands, got terrible service, and threw up for 2 days afterwards. I have only been poisoned by food one other time in my life, at a Sonic where I used to be a band director, about 3 years ago.

That was difficult explaining to the superintendent that both the head director and me ate Sonic before the football game, and both had to miss. Our kids actually behaved themselves (thats at least what we were told, so it still counts!) Then the running joke in the school district was never to let the band directors eat at the same place at the same time.

Doc wrote:

sc_curtis wrote: I have only been poisoned by food one other time in my life, at a Sonic where I used to be a band director, about 3 years ago.

So...you were a band director at Sonic?

I once shot an elephant in my pajamas.

duckskiff wrote:Forget all this OG nonsense. What the world needs is a good German chain.

Chicago had one for decades that could have become a successful chain. The late, lamented...

duckskiff wrote:Forget all this OG nonsense. What the world needs is a good German chain

I see Biergartens all over!

Steve Marcus wrote:Chicago had one for decades that could have become a successful chain. The late, lamented...

The Berghoff !! Now that was some good stuff. If nothing else...a great reason to visit Chicago. RIP