Citizen of the Month » The Truth About Olive Garden

The Truth About Olive Garden

Last night, Sophia and I attended a blogger-meetup, greeting Psychotoddler and Mrs. Balabusta, who were visiting L.A. from snowy Milwaukee. Since the Psychotoddler family is kosher, we met at a kosher Chinese restaurant on Pico Blvd. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be (although note to restaurant: please hire someone who knows how to make sushi. That was NOT sushi, kosher or not). Also attending the event were Dr. Bean, ball-and-chain, Brett of DadTalk, and Anne of Inland Empress.

There were spirited conversations about many things, including integrity and truth-telling when writing blog posts. The group was extremely intelligent, which, of course, made me think about my blog post for that day, which was about a “Cock Shaker.” So, I’m glad to be back here with so many of my other blogger friends who are as dumb and unsophisticated as I am.

Despite my lack of sophistication, the issue of “integrity in blogging” has been weighing on my mind today. You see, in my last post, there were quite a few joking comments about the Olive Garden chain. Although I didn’t say so directly, I insinuated in my post that I didn’t like Olive Garden. The truth is : I’ve never been to Olive Garden. I’m like the movie reviewer who gives the film “three thumbs up,” but never bothered to see the flick.

In all honesty, I just don’t like those chain restaurants — at least the ones that I have actually gone to. To give you a better understanding of my feelings, I’ve created a list of chain restaurants, in order of my hatred of the chain, from least to greatest:

The Cheesecake Factory
Denny’s
Coco’s
El Torito
TGI Friday’s
Chili’s
Souplantation
Bennigan’s
Outback Steakhouse
Fuddrucker’s
Benihana
Applebee’s
Red Lobster
Pizza Hut

Today, I called Sophia.

“Sophia, I’m taking you to lunch.”

“OK, where to?”

“Olive Garden.”

Silence.

I explained how I owed it to my readers to learn the truth about the Olive Garden, especially if I’m ever going to mention it again. So, I picked Sophia up and we drove to Olive Garden near the Del Amo Mall.

We were surprised to find such a long line for such an uninspiring place. Why were so many people here? Los Angeles has tons of excellent REAL restaurants. Maybe we were missing out on something. Maybe people were just suckers for those stupid commercials where the guy brings his authentic Italian mama to Olive Garden, and she loves it. Loves it!

Inside the restaurant, the decor was anything but “authentic.” There were some badly drawn paintings of the Italian countryside on the wall, and few bottles of Chianti were propped up here and there. “Benvenuto!” was written on the wall in the waiting area. The restaurant staff was not very authentic either, more Redondo Beach High School than Tuscany High School.

We were told that there would be a ten minute wait. This seemed a little bull-shitty, since there were seven other families waiting in front of us. Afterwards, another couple was also told that their wait would be “ten minutes.”

“How could this be?” I asked Sophia. “This made no sense. Do they just tell everyone that the wait is ten minutes? And if our wait is ten minutes, and they came after us, shouldn’t their wait be at least eleven minutes?”

Sophia and I were given this large black beeper contraption that was supposed to go crazy with lights and special effects when our table was ready.

Time passed. Twenty minutes. Sophia and I revealed to each other that we spent the morning snacking and neither of us were too hungry. But it was too late to turn back. I had to learn the truth about the elusive Olive Garden.

BRRRINGBRRRRING!

My hand vibrated as if I had just pulled the trigger of a 45 caliber pistol. The beeper was sending us a message: It was TIME for our reconnaissance meal.

Some girl in the Olive Garden uniform, but wearing USC socks (!) took us to our cozy table, nestled comfortably next to a large obnoxious family celebrating some bratty boy’s birthday. Before we even had a chance to open a menu, Miss USC wanted to know if we wanted anything to drink.

“We serve real Italian wine.”

We said we just wanted water. She looked disappointed, as if we had just rejected her from admittance to our sorority.

Sophia and I looked over to the birthday table to check out the food they were eating. Bland pastas, boring pizzas. Nothing looked very exciting. We were also surprised that the menu was more expensive than we expected, considering it was a “family” restaurant.

“It’s cheaper to just go to the real Italian restaurant on Torrance Boulevard.”

“I guess we’re paying for the ambiance.”

We laughed as the family started singing “Happy Birthday” to the bratty boy.

“Since we’re not too hungry, maybe we can share something.”

As I perused the attractive, flowery-designed menu, I noticed something interesting. For six bucks, you can have as much soup as you want, with three different choices of soup. For another six bucks, you can get an unlimited amount of Olive Garden’s special salad.

“Sounds good,” said Sophia. We can get one unlimited soup and one unlimited salad, and we can share it. They even give you unlimited breadsticks. I think I’m beginning to like this place.”

“Sophia, I don’t think you understand. Each unlimited soup and each unlimited salad is for one person only.”

“What do they care if we share it?”

“Because then what’s to stop ten people from coming in here and ordering one unlimited soup and one unlimited salad and just sharing it all together.”

“That’s ridiculous. Besides, it doesn’t say anywhere, “no sharing.”"

“Olive Garden cannot stay in business if everyone shares the same unlimited soup.”

“The place is jammed. They’re making a fortune. No one cares if we share the soup. We’re only two people. How much soup and salad can we eat?”

“It’s stealing. It’s like downloading illegal music.”

“You download illegal music all the time.”

“That’s different. “They see you here doing it. No one sees you at home downloading music.”

“Oh, so if they don’t see you stealing it’s not a crime. You’re some “citizen” of the month!”

“I won’t download anymore music. Is that better?”

“I don’t care. Look, if you’re going to be such a stick in the mud, we’ll each get our own unlimited soup.”

“Fine, that’s best.

“But I don’t care what you say. We’re just getting one salad, I can never finish half of it.”

We ordered our meal. The waitress seemed pissed that we were such cheapo customers, and assumed she was going to get a small tip. We each ate three bowls of soup. But I wouldn’t touch the salad, which only made Sophia act like more of a temptress.

“Try it. Just take a bite.”

“No”

“Stop being such a wimp.”

Which was the exact same thing Eve told Adam.

“OK, I’ll try it. Just a second. Wait…. OK..”

I tried the salad. Sophia shook her head in disbelief.

“Did you just wait until the waitress walked away before you ate one tiny piece of lettuce, so she wouldn’t see you eating it?”

“No.”

“Yes you did!”

“Fine. I don’t like to be humiliated. What if she said something. What if a spotlight went on us and voice came on saying: “Look over here everyone. This couple is stealing an unlimited salad because they were too cheap to order two unlimited salads like they were supposed to.”"

“You need help. Serious help. Why don’t you blog about THIS tonight?”

“About what?”

“About how you were afraid of eating the salad because the nineteeen year old waitress might see you and look down at you?”

“I’m not going to do that.”

“Wimp.”

HAPPY NOW, SOPHIA?

By the way, the soup and salad (we never finished out first bowl of salad) at Olive Garden were pretty good.

So, here’s my revised list:

The Cheesecake Factory
Olive Garden
Denny’s
Coco’s
El Torito
TGI Friday’s
Chili’s
Souplantation
Bennigan’s
Outback Steakhouse
Fuddrucker’s
Benihana
Applebee’s
Red Lobster
Pizza Hut

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100 Comments so far
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Question: why go to a Chinese restaurant for sushi?

Love this post, Neil. Coming from Texas originally Olive Garden was huge. I have to say I like it, but I don’t have alot of experience in fine dining anyway.

That family celebrating the bratty kid’s birthday is actually there all the time. They work for Olive Garden and there’s one in every restaurant.

It seems to me that the guiding principle behind chain restaurants is that if something is bad, you just have to give people more of it to make it better.

Okay, obviously you’re joking about a chain called “Souplantation.” C’mon - seriously. You’re kidding, right?

My thoughts exactly, Jenny. Souplantation? Really?

I am sure there must be an Olive Garden in the Boston area, but for the life of me I don’t think I have seen one in the city centre. This, I believe, is a good thing, and a point in Boston’s favour.

I hate the Cheesecake factory because they are so snotty and pretentious over subpar dinners.

The cheesecake is okay, but I’ve had better.

I went to undergrad in upstate NY and The Olive Garden was THE gourment restaurant in the area. In comparison to dorm food, I guess it would be considered gourmet.

Fuddrucker’s? Is that for real?

The Olive Garden actually has a seedy underbelly. I dated a guy who worked at one in Peoria, IL. It was basically a covert drug operation, fronting as a bad Italian restaurant. Junkies were ALWAYS coming in wanting to share to unlimited soup and salad.

if there is a next time and you find yourself in a ‘ten minute wait’, the proper protocol is to hang a quick right and sit at the bar and drink your face off

Mrs. Balabusta and I had a similar experience last night at the KOSHER Italian place. I ordered a coffee, but she did not. They brought one cup and a little pot of coffee to the table. After I finished my cup, there was still enough for at least one more in the pot. Mrs. B. wanted my cup so she could pour her own. I tried to refuse. What if they found out? Maybe they’d charge me for TWO cups?? In the end I relented and gave her my cup, but I fear I can never go back there again.

Anne, we actually went out for Chinese food, but they served sushi there as well.

BTW Neil ate my sushi. So I guess it wasn’t that good, huh?

Dude –
I’m pretty sure I live 1/2 block away from said kosher Chinese restaurant. You should’ve told me and I would’ve poppped my drunk self (I had a friends bday party in the afternoon) in to say Hi!

Fudrucker’s and Souplantation are real alright…The lines are usually out the door at Souplantation (a cafeteria style/all you can eat,soup and salad bar). Maybe you guys should stick with In and Out Burger…are they Kosher?

I was trapped in a small town in Southeastern Minnesota for FIVE YEARS. Leashed to a beeper with a 13 mile range. ALL they had were chain restaurants. They’re fine for re-fueling, but offer nothing in terms of a “dining experience.”

Like in this example, quantity is a substitute for quality. Waitstaff know nothing about the food, and the owner is some faceless executive.

Thank goodness I’m back home in NY.
Namaste.
~HDJ

“The group was extremely intelligent”

Hahahaha! Had you fooled. Most of my conversations start out with “Please don’t poop on the floor. Mommy hates it when you poop on the floor.”

“Cockshaker” is a step up. Trust me.

And I agree on the kosher sushi. Bleah.

(Does “bleah” qualify as an extremely intelligent comment?)

the soup salad and breadsticks are the only good things about that place.

Wow, I was comparing my sophistication to yours…now that I know you aren’t where the hell does that leave me. I guess it’s because I like the Olive garden, their bread sticks rule.

My sister thinks the Olive Garden is the greatest restaurant ever. She also has brain cancer. Coincidence? I think not.

My wife and I went to Oliva Garden. Once. On a gift card. Enough said.

Dude, Fuddrucker’s is so real. They have those totally awesome trivia TV games there. And I was all burning shit up trivia-wise, until I got to a question about Star Trek, but then my friend starts shouting “It’s dilithium crystals! It’s dilithium crystals!” What a fucking relief that was.

Anyway, there was this restaurant that I always swore was a chain in Upstate NY, but I only saw one of them. It was called Rolling Rock. Is that a chain? Is this the wrong forum to investigate this?

i’ve never been to an El Torito, Coco’s, or Souplantation. N/A in the DC area. but yeah, I liked olive garden in college, but that’s cuz it was cheap.

You don’t know “humiliating” until you’ve ordered a Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘N Fruity from one of my favorite chain restaurants, IHop.

Ashbloem — You can find boston areas Olive Gardnes here: http://tinyurl.com/78q4w. Enjoy!

Everyone else can search by zip code. They make it so convenient and classy to find a restaurant near you, like your own personal concierge: http://www.olivegarden.com/

Anne — you and your black humor! By the way, I completely blocked out the “Sizzler” and “Marie Callender’s” two of my parents all-time favorites.

Subgirl — maybe because it’s LA, but I didn’t think Olive Garden was all that cheap. It was at least ten bucks for a bowl of spaghetti.

Scotch — Actually, local and regional chain restaurants can sometimes be interesting, like this one in upstate NY — especially if they have pies. I didn’t realize Souplantation is regional. I think it’s called something else out East, something like Sweet Tomatos.

Annie — I specifically didn’t mention IHOP even though it is technically a chain restaurant because I consider it in a league of it’s own. Although their food is pretty awful (except for breakfast), I have a great fondness for IHOP. I live two blocks from one and go there all the time. Maybe they just don’t pretend to be anything other than what they are — a place for pancakes and that jug of coffee they give you. And they are open 24 hours, which is cool in itself. They would beat the crap out of a Denny’s any day of the week.

I see Chuck E. Cheeses is not on your list. It’s HELL, I tell you! HELL! I thought it odd the first time I went in there and found that they serve alcohol. Five minutes passed and suddenly it became crystal clear.
And I STOLE PEPPEROCINI PEPPERS FROM MY HUSBAND’S SALAD PLATE AT RUBY TUESDAY’S THIS WEEKEND!!! They specifically have their ~No Sharing~ policy outlined on their menu. Right next to their capital punishment policy. Enlightening!
~L.

What in the name of Satan is a “Fudrucker’s?” I won’t even elaborate on what act I think it sounds like it might be.

In Champaign, IL, Olive Garden is the place you take a first date. This is mainly because you have to drive there from the UIUC campus, thus emphasizing that you have a car. Also, some of the waitstaff are pretty strung out and might not card you when you order cheap wine. You might get laid if you can afford not to share an unlimited soup and salad.

i’ve never even heard of most of those places, guess i’m alot more unsophisticated than your blogging friends. i also don’t have a zip code.

i think i went to the olive garden once. it’s a hazy memory. i did have a guy recently suggest he take me out to a “nice” dinner. his suggestion? the olive garden.

yeah, no. i didn’t take him up on his offer.

i am with you on that list. i firmly believe that the cheesecake factory is responsible for obesity in america. those portions!

There are definitely worse chain restaurants than The Olive Garden. Especially considering they serve magnum sized bottles of wine, which - trust me - lends a whole new hilarity to any dining experience.

Ms. Sizzle, BLASPHEMY! Good night I love me some chain restaurants. There is some comfort in being able to order something you know you’ll like, such as a 4.5-pound meatloaf slice with a mountain of friend onions on top. Cheesecake Factory responsible for obesity in America . . . sheesh . . .

Kosher places are weird. There’s a kosher “pizza”/middle eastern place on the Lower East Side that got closed down for, like, two whole days (smirk) for health violations. The place was always pretty disheveled looking, but was packed to the gills with the Orthodox “power lunch” crowd every day. I wonder– are dirt and mouse droppings considered kosher?

“Try it. Just take a bite.”

“No”

“Stop being such a wimp.”

Which was the exact same thing Eve told Adam

a) that was classic.

b) I actually enjoy Olive Garden and Red Lobster and they are always packed.

Neil’s a wimp….haha

and i agree with the entire list….

thanks for looking out yet again neil

That was a Revenge of Chinese, Neil: they recieved your letter.

IHOP: lunched there once, on exotic trip to New Jersey; ordered seafood puncakes - and got basic sweet batter pancakes with shrimps immersed. Although the waitstaff were pretty nice: after paying and escaping in a hurry, trying to suppress puking reflex, we discovered we left the wallet and pair of glasses on the table; we were able to recover them 3 days afterwords.

Elvira — No this was the most goyish kosher restaurant you’ve ever seen. It was elegantly decorated and you would never even know it was a kosher restaurant until the Chinese waiter started doing that Russian “bottle dance” on top of the tables.

You think there might be a chain restaurant idea in that?

I come from a family that loves the chain restaurants… it’s one of my dirty little secrets.

the olive garden near del amo? do you live in the south bay? that’s awesome cuz i grew up there! and incidentally, I’ve only been to an olive garden twice and my best memory is of their breadsticks.

oh, and fuddruckers rules. perfect place to go if you want a burger larger than your head.

Dan-E, Sophia lives (and I used to) in Redondo Beach. Next time you’re out here, let’s go surfing, dude! (On the internet, I mean. I never go into the water. Too cold!)

The Cheesecake factory has the worst cheesecake in the world. Blech.

I like Friday’s and Chili’s though - good bad for you fried stuff…

How Souplantation isn’t first on your list is a conundrum that I will take to my grave.

That place is capital G, r-o-s-s.

Friday’s desserts are actually pretty good. I HATE The Olive Garden. The Cheesecake Factory makes me happy because they serve Strawberry Shortcake for dessert. (I must be the only person in the USA who orders that from a place called The Cheesecake Factory.)

i love the olive garden for this reason:

one time, at the “og” of tuscaloosa, al, i underaged drank with a best friend . . . and we smoked and cried about things that mean the world to you when you are 22 and you think that you will live forever.

I love the square vibrating thing. That’s my favorite part.

I would agree with almost everything on your list except the outback…which as far steak chain restaurants go, it isn’t too bad (and yes I know how good steak can be, I am former Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse junkie)but I don’t know about LA, but no way should you ever put the Cheesecake Factory in the same grouping as those other restaurants. I live in large metro area, and even after 15 years in the same location, you still can’t get a table without an hour wait at the Cheesecake Factory, no matter what day of the week it is.

And oh yea, the Olive Garden, it does suck. Yuck!

That was hilarious! ALthough I do love Olive Garden, maybe I have just been to the better ones… ROFL

now all those places you listed are “fine dining” here. but thank you for the entertaining look at your lunch conversation!

Denny’s should be much lower on that list…only pimps(real live street working ones) and prostitutes love Denny’s. At least go to IHOP.

Intelligent people are so boring.

I loved this post. I’ve heard about Applebee’s but know none of the joints you mention apart Pizza Hut. It’s yucky. They make strong challenging teeth here. I tried the knife and quit because i was afrid the pizza would fly and hit someone in the face causing a PHD (Permanent Head Damage).

BTW, Thanks for stopping by my new home. Bring a plant next time you come!

Fitèna

I completely understand - I’m a total wimp about little rules. Like, I get nervous using someone else’s card at Blockbuster. Really.

I shall enlighten you all about Olive Garden, for I am wise and also I ate there about once a week for two years straight in high school.

1. Olive Garden is more expensive in bigger cities. I come from Upstate NY, but when I saw the menu prices in NYC my eyeballs nearly fell out. Yeesh. Where I grew up you can get the lunch combo of soup, salad, breadsticks for under $8. Or you can go super(souper?) cheap and just order soup for $4 and eat all the free breadsticks.

2. The waitstaff will get fired if they don’t sell a minimum amount of booze. That’s why USC frowned when you declined the wine. Booze quota. Came into effect probably six years ago.

I like it for lunch but its definitely not Real Italian food.

I’m still not seeing what the hell is wrong w/Olive Garden??!
It’s a basic salad.
It’s a basic soup.
It’s a basic pasta.
It’s usually a rather strong Cosmopolitan, which makes all of the above THAT MUCH BETTER.
In my humble opinion of course. Besides, my redneck, truckdriving, cowboy daddy loves it! (so you see I have to stand up for it)…..all right. I’ll leave.

I found your blog through Colleen’s blog (communicatrix) and I’m not much of a comment poster, but I’m kind of obsessed with Olive Garden right now, I actually ate there for lunch today, so then when I read this post, I had to comment because I have a question and I need to know the answer. Please:

WHICH SOUP DID YOU EAT?

Thanks,
Erik

Erik, excellent question. There were three choices — minestrone, some sort of beef with vegetables that tasted just like the minestrone, but with beef, and a creamy sausage one that was the worst.

Next time, go for the one with the beef. It was pretty good.

Neal, first off, if I could edit my last comment, I would spell “there” correctly. Second, I think you’re so wrong on the creamy sausage soup! It kinda makes me feel sick, I’ll admit, but still, it’s totally superior to the other two.

I was actually having a conversation about chain restaurants, the Olive Garden specifically, just last night. I just can’t justify eating at a place like that when I live in NYC,the food capital of the world. There are so many exceptional places to go. However, where I’m from in the Midwest, the Olive Garden is a great dinner out. It’s the place to be, along with Appleby’s and TGIFriday’s.

A blogger meet in Los Angeles and I didn’t know about it… That’s what I get for getting backlogged on my feeds.

Dude, that list HAS to be upside down. No way can you hate Chili’s MORE than TGI Fridays! TGI is like half a notch not-worse than Applebees. Ugh!!!

But hey, to each their own, right?

Neal - I am also a card-carrying member of the “Olive Garden Wimp Club.” I have a very hard time bringing myself to share the food that I believe I am not supposed to be sharing. Must be that staunch Catholic upbringing (I have been bearing the burden of redeeming Woman from Eve’s temptation of Adam ever since I was born.)

This said, I am not a big fan of chain restaurants. I find it very weird that they always look alike, no matter what city or region they are located. Eating is a fine art in my book (I am French, hehe), and it’s not something that should be governed by some anonymous and dictatorial corporate entity. I encourage everyone to try to discover local, independently owned, and fine little restaurants located around the place where they live.

[...] This Olive Garden looks exactly the same as the last one we visited. [...]

Olive Garden catches a lot of flack, but I have to say, there’s really nothing wrong with it. The food is really good in some cases, downright great in some others. I may be biased because my husband and I met and fell in love while working at the Olive Garden, but we each worked there about 3 years and never got sick of it. And I may be just easy to please because I grew up in a hick town in Missouri where we had to run over a quail with our pickup trucks if we wanted to eat. But I still say the OG is some good eatin.

I ENJOYED YOUR COMMENTS QUITE AMUSING.I HAVE WORKED IN THE OLIVE GARDEN AND WAS QUITE IMPRESSED WITH THIER GENUINE COMMITMENT TO 100% CUSTOMER’S SATISFACTION. FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ENJOY DINING IN NYC AND EVEN TRYING TO COMPARE IT TO OG. ASK IF YOU CAN SEE THE KITCHEN. I GUARANTEEYOU WOULD NEVER EAT OUT IN NYC AGAIN. THEKITCHENIS VERY CLEAN AT OG. ATLEAST I KNOW I WON’T GET SICK.

Olive garden is an exceptional concept.Darden is on the stock exchange ,and doing well. And sanitation is job 1 in the front lines of the kitchen . job standards and requirements , are strict and to the letter on health standards,and beyond!the’re are strict standards for training,how to handel hot ,and how to handel cooling foods.Holding temps are monitered with thermometers,as well as cooling and reheating proceedures.A Cullinary managers is in place to monitor all employees in production.

well dude, you have a point, some olive garden restaraunts are real crappy, but i live in canada, in vancouver, and the one up here is REALLY good, its not like the other ones, its really good, the food is also really good too…not all olive gardens are like that.

also, the one in new york city is excellent as well.

Your a moron and your stingy. Why would you go to a restaurant when your not hungry? BTW it’s not the Truth about the OG. It’s your opinion, so it would be your truth.

We go to Outback Steakhouse all the time because it’s one of the only restaurants on the planet that serves a decent gluten-free menu. (My 3-y.o. has Celiac Disease.) It’s pretty good.

The Olive Garden in Eugene Oregon is in my opinion, really good.neither husband or I drink and never once have they seemed dissapointed or annoyed that we said no to the wine.
also we’ve never had to wait a long time to go in we have went there expecting to, but we never have waited very long, and if anything isn’t to your likeing they will replace it and then give you free desserts without any hassle.
one time we went there and it took a little while longer for our dinner to come-seriously not that long and the manager came out and apologized, we had not even realized that it was taking longer than normal we said “no you’re fine” and we got free deserts.
buy the way the soup and salad combo is only six bucks and it’s pretty good.
I like the mussels di napoli -it’s an appetizer but I eat it with breadsticks
they are good dipped in the broth it’s about 9 bucks and you’d get more than you expected.
I agree many items are overpriced but there are a lot of good lunch options at least.
they have always been really generous with us, I believe in turn from the way we treat them.
Just like most places, if you treat them well they will treat you well

Just by chance, I will be in Eugene Oregon next month! I will definitely stop in. Do they take coupons?

I can’t believe you get the whole–you can’t share the all you can eat salad and soup thing! No one gets it! You are amazing!

Seems that your list is made for people like me that eat out with the wife and do enjoy all the restaurants on your list. yes they are all chains but who cares, they are priced right for us and do create a atmosphere of enjoyment. If we were in the bucks we probably would go else were but being who we are we find these restaurantsas many others to fit our life style. If you got the bucks you don’t have to visit these places and save the list for us.

hey man, i definately dig the fuddruckers. being from wisconsin however, makes for some serious bingefatty-eating.

their burgers are bomb as hell.

I hate to be a party pooper, but you really didn’t try any of the food. I’m no Olive Garden fan myself but at least I based my opinion on an actual sampling of the menu!

Thanks, eyebrows. But where are all these Olive Garden defenders coming from?

It looks like some of the posters are defenders, as is their right. But many of them are just people who have actually tried some of the dishes. You can’t get a good impression of the scope of a menu when you just try the boring soup and salad. Ya know?

Hello, Olive Garden employee here. The reason your server may have seemed disappointed when you didn’t choose to try wine is that Olive Garden corporate eats, sleeps, and breathes wine sales. Come on, what other drink can cost $9/glass? Every night our managers set wine goals and check to see if we have met them at the end of the day. The only time my manager ever gave me praise was when I tripled the set wine goal for the night. Wine sales=profit, profit comes from sending your servers to the table with a bottle of wine to suggest.

The unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks is $6.95 a person for lunch and $8.95 for dinner. It has been the same price for fifteen years and the server does loads of work (soup and salad requires TONS more work than serving any other meal) for a lame check total (and usually, a god-awful tip). Don’t be cheap, if you want salad AND soup, pay the measly $2 more per person. Olive Garden is not a high class restaurant, but a lot of college kids are trying to pay their bills by serving there. Lame ass. I’m guessing you have never been a server.

Hey, at least it sounds like you guys got some service and food at your local OG’s. We went to one at 9pm on Saturday, was told the wait was 20 minutes. We waited for 50 minutes (with 2 very hungry children) before asking if there was a problem, only to discover our pager number had been written down wrong! We could have waited all night and no one would have called us! We were seated and continued to wait another 15 minutes with no one addressing us at our table…no water, doughy breadsticks, or salad. So we left. I will not go back to another OG.

Yes we are threatened dailywith losing our jobs if we dont’ sell enough crappy wine. I have seen people get fired for that one thing. We are wine salespeople/soup and salad hustlers. People protest this! Also protest the politicians who are in the corporations’ back pockets and allow some people to only get paid two dollars an hour! Supposedly we make the rest in tips… but cheapasses come in and run us into the ground with soup and salad refills and then leave a dollar,.. so we really don’t make enough to live on. Thanks, it’s assholes like you that don’t tip, that perpetuate poverty among single mothers who can not do anything but wait tables for a living because they didn’t learn any useful skills before the man who lied to them and told them to have kids, up and left and never has to pay child support because the government doesn’t pursue deadbeat fathers if it’s too difficult because he’s out of state and doesn’t work but commits crime and sells drugs for a living. Shitheads! Why don’t you think about that, and leave a decent tip. It’s customary and YOU FUCKING KNOW IT.

we went to your restaurant in bloomingdale il we wlked in there were 2 men and 2 very young girls they asked how many we told them 2 we were never seated after 1/2 hour we left.i gather you do not want customers in your restaurant.very sad

The Fudruckers in Annapolis (20 years ago) had a dead cow hanging from a hook behind a window as you walk in. You can still find this place across from the Annapolis mall, without the cow. What you say no dead cow in the peoples republic of Maryland…

You could have both ordered the soup and salad combo, and both would have had unlimited soup and salad for $5.95 each. Why do people think its ok to steal? Olive Garden works on an honor system. Some people just aren’t very honest. So sad…

Are you serious? You went to the Olive Garden and expected..what? Anyone with half a brain knows what to expect from a corporate giant in the food industry. Too many of your cynical observations gave you away as to what kind of critical pessimistic, nitpicker you seem to be. For instance, how did you know the birthday boy was “bratty”? And as for the hostess, do you honestly think that a teenager who’s working for minimum wage at the OG is really putting that much thought into table availability times for the HORDES of people who inundate those places daily? 99.9% of the people who go to the OG regularly (who are incidentally NOT on a fact-finding mission) just want to hear that they will be seated “soon” and then they take their place with the other cattle and wait patiently (or sometimes not) until they are called. What’s going to be your next revelation? maybe the fact that NOT EVERYTHING IS A DOLLAR AT THE DOLLAR STORE?? Horrors!! The Og is just what it is. I had never even been there before I started working there as I don’t tend to frequent chain type establishments but if you wanna make a buttload o’ money off of people who don’t know any better, I gotta tell ya’-this is the place. No offense, but I think your rant just kind of states what a lot of people think is pretty obvious…

This is the Hotel Reality - Check In Please!

I don’t know what people expect when they got o a restaurant.
I expect to eat and have a drink with my meal. I realize that if you go at a peak time, you will have to wait.
I get the impression that those who are down on a place because they try to make a profit, would be better off at McDonald’s (they make loads of money) and they would probably want to bring their own bottle of Skrew Kappa or Riunite in a brown paper bag and pour it into their water glass - no servers to oversee the sneaky deed.
Don’t be offended by a place of business that tries in its own way to be successful.
Just don’t go back.
Both Parties will be happier!

sigh @ you… first of all…if you’re going to write a blog, atleast attempt to be responsible and dont lie or exagerate to make a point. the soup is not more than 3.95 by itself in any price bracket throughout the country and the salad is 4.95. the soup&salad is 6.95 at the most for lunch, lower when on promotion. the og has tried hard to maintain this extremely low price because it knows its guests value it and it wants something for everyone. and do you go to buffets and pay for one person…grab a plate and give it to your friends? cheap ass….

[...] December 5, 2005, I described my first experience eating at The Olive Garden. It was a relatively minor post in my oeuvre. The “plot” revolved around a moral discussion [...]

[...] even tried it once to see what all the fuss was about and said “Humph.” Another blogger tried it to years ago, took a few cheap shots, and is now paying the price: In the course of the post, I made a few jabs [...]

just want to say that if you have ever left less than five dollars as a tip you should have stayed home because clearly you cant afford to dine out anyway. especially on a soup salad combo at o.g. thats ridiculous!

I work there and that is cheap!

I’m form Columbus, Ohio and Olive Garden is what most here know it for: faux Italian food on the cheap with a salad bowl that feeds four people…if I want high dining, I frequent Mitchels, Hyde Park or Ruth Chris…

I work for the Olive garden as a server and I just want to tell you… you are a total douche bag, who is cheap and pretentious. Get a life, you broke loser.

I’m so happy to be so far away from chain restaurants. In a chain restaurant, there’s no owner to get to know, who greets you with a big smile when you come back. There’s no cat curled up on your chair when you pull it out (Move over Tartine!). When I’m lobely, I go see Antoine at L-homme Tranquil, so he will give me a big open-armed hug and then kiss each one of my cold cheeks. We do the same ritual:

Antoine: What will you have as a little aperitif?
Moi: Oh, you tell me.
Antoine: Certainly. I have a nice little Muscat that you will love.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

I commend you on your bloghonesty (it just seemed like it should be one word), and the supreme sacrifice you made in going to the Olive Garden. I must admit that I too am waaaay too worried about what the 19-year-old waitress thinks of me. Geez, And I’m 50!

My goodness, you need to get a job as a server at the OG and see what it is like. I think your outlook may be different. Also children (the supposedly bratty boy) do have a place in our society. I wonder how you grew up? Please do us all a favor and stay in your trendy little urban lifestyle, don’t have any kids and stay out of places you don’t want to go. We don’t want you there anyway. I’m sure the girl serving you has more sense than you but she has to work. What did you expect the olive garden to import servers from Italy for you? Get a life.

i work at the olive garden and it’s not great, although some dishes are pretty good. but dude it’s $6 for unlimited soup AND salad for lunch, and if someone asked me if they could share it I would consider them cheap redneck bastards and definitely say no.

I’ve worked at Olive Garden and so has my husband and we still eat there every week and never once were we threatened with losing our jobs if we didn’t sell enough alcohol. Some of the OG servers sell a lot of alcohol, some don’t sell any. Tell me any restaurant that doesn’t at least want to sell alcohol? And if you say, “No, thanks, not interested,” and just order water instead, it’s brought to you with no problem and no hesitation.

I’ve also eaten Italian food in Italy many, many times as I used to live there and I’ll tell you this…Olive Garden is better. It’s tastier. At least most of the dishes are. The salmon at Olive Garden could be better and so could the salad and breadsticks, and they could give you more mashed potatoes with the Stuffed Chicken Marsala, but the rest of the food is terrific.

And anyone who complains about the wait just has himself/herself to blame. Almost all Olive Gardens have “call ahead seating” so the wait is greatly minimized. Just phone them and tell them what time you’re coming in and your name will be added to the list before you even arrive.

And Olive Garden is clean. While the wait staff is not pressured to sell wine, they do have to be clean and well-groomed and they have to wash their hands every hour.

Mitchell’s in Columbus, Ohio? That’s just nothing but a waaaaaay overpriced steakhouse! LOL

I just left Olive Garden after working there for 2 years. Don’t worry, the server wouldn’t care if she saw you eating the salad, she already thinks your cheap. I agree the food is no good. People come for it’s quantity, not quality. Everyone stuffs themselves with the soup and salad and breadsticks and by the time their average size meals come out, they are stuffed. What I did notice about your blog: you mentioned everything wrong with the OG that is really out of anyones control. It’s not OG’s fault the family next to you was loud, nor that the hostess made up her own number. (by the way, there is more than one table that can get up at a time so they are not going to add a minute to each wait time. It is an estimate) I thought I hated that place, but here I am sticking up for it! Ironic. But really, I think everything you judged that place on (besides the half ass food) was not something that would make the whole resturant a bad place, like the paintings on the wall. And about the servers, do you really think the managers are going to waste so much time trying to find only italian people to greet the guests?

As a manager in the restaurant biz, and a former one for OG, i can tell you that wine, for ANY restaurant, is the LOWEST profitable item on a menu. it always amazes me how much people “know” about the restaurant biz. we get emails all the time from chest pounding idiots all that completely expect the world for a 10.00 plate of food.

yes you are. i see you. you know who you are too. were creatures of habit. more on that later. SHUT UP AND EAT IT!!! (Gosh it feels good to say that!)

anyone one know what the most profitable item is in EVERY restraunt?!!!! come on “know it all’s”… if you guessed wine, you’re wrong. if you guesses any alcohol, wrong again. if you guessed ANY food item, bzzzzz! If you guessed soda pop, you win a free refill!!!!! thats right sugarpants. soda pop. a bottle of wine holds about 3.5/4 glasses of wine. if you see a bottle of wine on a menu for 30.00, they probably paid 7/10.00 for it. they net 20 bucks and they’re paying the bills. but a box of soda is about 48.00. (that could vary depending on where you live.) in a box, which is a syrup concentrate that mixes (actually called “brixing”) at the fountain,(…where a person presses the cup against the lever and it pours into glass) holds 500 20oz servings. do the math and you’ll find that a glass of soda “costs” .096. now look at your check the next time you go out to eat. you fav place to eat is probably charging you 2/2.25 a glass. so they’re making 1000.00 or more on a box of coke! “Oh, well you’re not figuring in refills”. alas, you still don’t know it all. the industry says you’ll only have 1.6 glasses of sodypop when you dine. moreover, when you add ice to the 20oz glass, we are really only pouring about 11/12ozs.

why do you think your local filling station can sell you a 55gallon drum of soda for .79. so go ahead sugarmuffin take the extra little sip before you top off. *wink wink* no one is looking. no, the truth is, no one cares. they’re ripping your head off!

alas, why? why? why does your manager want you to sell wine? dumb dumb managers are told those things. the ones who are drones and are forbidden to look at a P&L because they’re incompetent and the information will blind them. the pee brain cannot handle it. so, why? because it’s about the money!

“wait, bigrollie, you just said it wasn’t about the money.”

but it is! get drunk on beer; argue with your buddies about your favortite sports team. get buzzed on liquor; fight, throw up, sleep with people you don’t know or your brothers wife (she was always hot) etc. get loopy on the vino; love, peace, happy, my cheeks are fuzzy, everybody sing a song. and my brothers wife is still hot. and he is looking at my wife the same way. why? we are all happy. gosh billy, you’re so smart. did you do good in school today? of course you did. hello server guy. i know you forgot the breadstix and that i ordered salmon and you brought me a roast beef sandwich from arby’s. but thats ok. i love you. come, sit with us. oh you’re closing? ok we’ll take the bill. (a fight ensues with all parties grabbing FOR the bill. heck, give us the table next to us as well. we love them.)

gosh everybody. i just love you all so much! [i]lets come back to olive garden next week and do it again![/i] no billy, you can only have soda. but you can have as much of it as you like.

so folks, you see, it’s not about the money they make on the wine as it is the experience. we, as humans, are not only creatures of habit, we like to go where we are happy.

no i do not work for og anymore. i left them 5 years ago. yes im tired of all the people that think they know this buisness. yes, wine is probably the LEAST profitable item on any menu. followed closely by steak and specialty seafood like lobster and fish.

moreover, does sophistication require you to be cheap? sharing ssb??! really?

and some of you people out there that wait excessivly long past your quote time, at some point, it becomes your own fault. if they tell you 20 mins and you dont drop in at the host stand at 25, you’re on your own after that. the kids are 16-18 years old. theyve never seen you or do they know you.

things that piss off restaraunt people:

1. you expecting them to remember you.
2. coming in and getting a table while waiting for the rest of your party is still coming. like a half hour from now. you selfish ass! you’re taking up a table that is making (or not because you’re sitting there) money. the waiting area is UP FRONT!
3. getting made because you took a table waiting for your other party to show. all the while, your other party was seated on the other side of the restaurant. if you just would have stayed where you were supposed to, you’d have your party. i know, i know, you told the girl up front you were waiting for a blonde woman with a black shirt on.
the stupid birthday song. everyone hates it. including the receipiant.
4. we dont like this table, can we have that one over there? then get pissed when no one greeted you for 15 mins because you sat yourself in a section with no server. if you would have sat where you were taken, you’d be eating by now.
i could go on and on……

I worked in the restaurant business for years as well. I know all the frustrations that go along with it. But the bottom line to all servers, managers, and cooks is THE CUSTOMERS ARE WHY YOU HAVE A JOB, so treat them well. If you don’t like having to actually serve people in a SERVICE ORIENTED business, then shut the fuck up and find another industry that suits your needs better.

Yeah, this is an old blog post, but this person annoyed me.

ahhh yes. that maybe why we have a job. but it doesn’t make us like them or excuse ridiculous request from dumb people. true, we deal with it. and i will continue to get paid for doing so. but i hope people read it and look introspectivly and say, “dang, i had no idea i sucked that bad.”

your particularly venomous response connotes i hit you close to home. maybe you suck.

Ah yes, the old “struck a nerve” deflection. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. Because I worked for so long as a server, I treat them like gold, and tip likewise, even if the service was lacking. However, being in the restaurant business, I also know the shitty attitudes of many people who work in the industry. Customer service is a lost art form and one that most businesses are sadly lacking in. I found your post to be a telling reflection on the attitudes of many in the restaurant business. And the way you delivered your message will do anything but cause people to realize (how did you so eloquently put it?) that they suck. If anything, you’re just fueling the fire of their high maintenance asshole-y attitude toward servers and managers.

If you wish to stand atop a soap box and scold the masses, perhaps you should do it in a manner that might actually be astutely persuasive.

Hay you get the all you can eat soup & salad and bread sticks for 5.99 not just the soup or salad. What a clown, get a grip and even a life and a job. Lady your a joke.

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