There are so many other choices, and I'm no food snob...only way I'd end up there is if I was traveling and had little choice.....
I haven't been there in about 6 years and have probably been there 3 to 5 times in my life. It's fine. Exactly what you'd expect. Mediocre. Wouldn't go there unless, like you said, it was one of a few options... but I wouldn't leave there disgusted.
Given OG's declining sales (and the pattern for some time) Â
and the concerted effort by the group that owns them to bolster their image through advertising and menu changes, I'm going to say that even those normal folks don't have too many good things to say about it.
But outside the comforts of the Tri-State, it can be a shining beacon of hope.
I've managed to get around a fair bit of this country, and I've seen this statement repeated often. I've yet to find a place that didn't have at least a few good restaurants, and even if you were going to eat in a chain, would OG really rank anywhere near the top of the list?
problem with them is that they DROWN (along with a lot of other places) their foods in cheeses and butters and oils and shit.
i just don't like when my foot swims in shit.
Additionally PORTIONS is the biggest issue at any/all places... you feel guilty for not eating everything you spent money on, but they give you 3 person's worth of fucking food.
Portion control food all the way . I don't understand why people bitch about it; there isn't a team of trained culinary geniuses sending this stuff out behind the scenes. I dealt with chains like this. The soup comes in frozen drums , the deserts are defrosted with a sauce drizzled on top, they are making a killing. It is what it is.
I used to go there with my friends when I was in college Â
And both times I just ordered the chicken Caesar salad. It was fine.
Leave it to the idiots at my office in north jersey to invite the VP and other big wigs up from Atlanta to visit and where do they take them? Olive Garden.
I don't think they like the vp that much...
Depends on how much you like salt and corn syrup Â
Yes. Not saying the food is inedible but to say one is a "snob" for thinking it's bad just shows unsophisticated you re.
Literally precisely what a snob would say... Like, completely.
Associating my alleged lack of sophistication with an inability to hate Olive Garden. Note, my post never said it was very good. I said it was mediocre. But not hating it means a lack of sophistication according to you.
Thanks for my proving my point that it takes a snob with an Olive Garden breadstick up their ass to elevate their self-worth by hating a mediocre chain restaurant. You're so sophisticated!
Actually I have been to the local one maybe 6-7 times Â
Over the past few years. My kids LOVE it, and as for me? Well it was phucquing delicious every single time, and cheap as shit. We'll head there after shopping at the mall now and then.
So why don't I go back that often?
- It's always completely JAM-PACKED with people, with always a wait for a table
- Just looking at that plate, I am SURE that each dish is probably 9,700 calories and loaded with MSG, {INSERT BAD INGREDIENT HERE], {INSERT OTHER BAD INGREDIENT HERE], {INSERT BAD ANOTHER INGREDIENT HERE], {INSERT YES EVEN ANOTHER BAD INGREDIENT HERE] and you will probably grow a 3rd eye if you eat it too often.
but jcn pretty much nailed it.
It's parent organization sees continual declining revenue and knows it needs to change and in fact is making some changes. Pretty much right now.
I haven't eaten their in years but when I did years ago it was OK. I gave a neighbor 2 years ago a gift certificate…I wonder if they hate me for it ;)
Initially they set up the restaurant as American people think a italian restaurant should be not as one actually is in real life.
So the concept is sort of like a average if you could produce of all American Italian restaurants.
So that was the initial model. It seems now it is failing and being rethought. It worked very handily for quite a few years however.
But yes, JCN was correct in his initial comment.
RE: RE: There's no reason to value Olive Garden up here Â
But outside the comforts of the Tri-State, it can be a shining beacon of hope.
I've managed to get around a fair bit of this country, and I've seen this statement repeated often. I've yet to find a place that didn't have at least a few good restaurants, and even if you were going to eat in a chain, would OG really rank anywhere near the top of the list?
I might trust it more than taking a shot on an italian joint in Des Moines, but that's just one example. Some people don't want to put guess work into picking a place to eat, especially when they're on the move.
But let's just be perfectly honest here, if you pay $11.99 ($15.99 in Times Square) for 7 frozen ravioli with mediocre sauce dumped on them, you're a buffoon.
MCDonald's restaurants have seen significant declines recently in America.
They missed their earnings and took a big hit. Americans just are not eating their like they used to. You may say…well my MCD is crowded, but this is a nationwide same store sales thing.
Used to be they were quite popular here.
Now it is Chipotle. Years and years ago MCD actually owned controlling interest in C but sold it. Now I bet they wished they had it back big time.
So Olive Garden now has to change. Yours may do great business overall same store sales…not so much.
2 of the people who who claimed you don't have to be a snob to hate Olive Garden with a passion justified by saying
1) Someone who doesn't lacks sophistication
2) The other (jcn) humble-bragged about traveling all over the country and seeing places where it's hated, too.
when they cook their pasta. They do this to save wear and tear on their cookware. I read this in the NY Times. The one time I walked into one, was in Louisville while visiting relatives. It looked like a place where appetites go to die.As a doc,however, I love these places. Keeps me in business
but there's no reason to pay for not very good food unless there are no choices. I'm not a food snob, there are several chains that I enjoy ... Chili's, Cheesecake Factory, etc. The thing I really cannot understand is that the 2 items that are borderline inedible are the breadsticks and salad, and incredibly these are the 2 things that get the most kudos here. It just absolutely astonishes me.
good for you food. It is the nationwide trend in fast food and in supermarket foods.
Krogers killed earning largely on the additions of their organic food brands.
Chipolte is off a bit this week as their increases did not match the prospectus but they are still trading at a outrageous multiple as they are growing so fast.
Fast food is modifying to this selectively as are restaurant chains.
The more a food or meal appears healthy is the more its business is growing.
Whole foods stock is still down year over year but it is not that it has become unpopular but that walmart has gotten into organics as well. And something I have noticed which may help whole food eventually….Walmart is now carrying whole foods branded food stuffs, tomato sauces stuff like that.
Organics healthy is becoming mainstream.
Olive garden does not have that reputation right now but that could be changed.
I do trade a bit in this area so it is why I am pretty current. Trading Kroger and Vitamin cottage(a smaller competitor to WFM) just recently.
when they cook their pasta. They do this to save wear and tear on their cookware. I read this in the NY Times. The one time I walked into one, was in Louisville while visiting relatives. It looked like a place where appetites go to die.As a doc,however, I love these places. Keeps me in business
They also don't finish the pasta in sauce, which is Pasta 101. Which surprises me, because of you'd think their fine Italian culinary school in Tuscany would have covered that.
is pretty bad in my experience. What kills me is that there are people waiting in line for that food. There are plenty of better options. I don't get the appeal.
As some know huge into nutrition and working out. That said? Maybe it's just my local one but seriously, I don't eat it often at all but that food was BLAMMO every time I ate there. Can't remember the breadsticks though... lol. Plus they had decent beer on tap. Beer is my main vice.
As far as contemporary chains go... Texas Roadhouse?? Holy SHIT that place is the phucquing BOMB.
Maybe my taste sucks because I eat mostly healthy? So that when I do get out any old shit will do? Could be I guess.
See. This is my point. How anyone could possibly LIKE these tastless whitebread, no crust, greasy,salt crusted concoctions is beyond me. There are so many examples of good bread in the tri-state area ... this is NOT ONE!
That's my name for all of those restaurants. Applebees, Red Lobster, Friday's, Uno's, etc... ALL of them just overseason the shit out of most of their dishes.
Olive Garden arguably has better tasting food than most of those chains, but it has always really shocked me that Olive Garden ever caught on. What town doesn't have an Italian restaurant better than Olive Garden?
They're all good for emergency meals. I usually wind up getting a couple of gift cards to those chains at Xmas, otherwise, I'd never set foot in one.
Oh - and Red Lobster IS THE WORST. Fucking disgusting. You can literally suck on a salt-drenched clove of garlic and get the same experience.
The point is that with OG or Chili's or whatever, you know exactly what you're getting for good or ill. If you're in an unfamiliar area, there are probably good restaurants around but you don't know which ones they are. Recommendations are no sure thing - I'll never forget a childhood trip to California. We spent a couple of days in Anaheim going to Disneyworld. One night, we decided to get a pizza. Being New Yorkers, my parents wouldn't eat chain pizza on a dare, so dad goes to the front desk to ask around for a good local joint. The clerk raves about some place, tells him it's the best pizza in town. Another hotel worker chimes in to agree. So, we went there....and to this day it is the most repulsive pizza I've ever tasted in my life. Those little square school cafeteria pizzas are better.
Chains aren't fine dining, but they usually ARE reliably mediocre.
"Meh, an easy, affordable meal out every now and then. Wouldn't make a habit of eating it though." -Normal people
"It's delicious" -Filthy
There are so many other choices, and I'm no food snob...only way I'd end up there is if I was traveling and had little choice.....
There are so many other choices, and I'm no food snob...only way I'd end up there is if I was traveling and had little choice.....
I haven't been there in about 6 years and have probably been there 3 to 5 times in my life. It's fine. Exactly what you'd expect. Mediocre. Wouldn't go there unless, like you said, it was one of a few options... but I wouldn't leave there disgusted.
Yes. Not saying the food is inedible but to say one is a "snob" for thinking it's bad just shows unsophisticated you re.
I've managed to get around a fair bit of this country, and I've seen this statement repeated often. I've yet to find a place that didn't have at least a few good restaurants, and even if you were going to eat in a chain, would OG really rank anywhere near the top of the list?
i just don't like when my foot swims in shit.
Additionally PORTIONS is the biggest issue at any/all places... you feel guilty for not eating everything you spent money on, but they give you 3 person's worth of fucking food.
/rant off
The secret is that they are also hellaciously salty.
Leave it to the idiots at my office in north jersey to invite the VP and other big wigs up from Atlanta to visit and where do they take them? Olive Garden.
I don't think they like the vp that much...
Quote:
.
Yes. Not saying the food is inedible but to say one is a "snob" for thinking it's bad just shows unsophisticated you re.
Literally precisely what a snob would say... Like, completely.
Associating my alleged lack of sophistication with an inability to hate Olive Garden. Note, my post never said it was very good. I said it was mediocre. But not hating it means a lack of sophistication according to you.
Thanks for my proving my point that it takes a snob with an Olive Garden breadstick up their ass to elevate their self-worth by hating a mediocre chain restaurant. You're so sophisticated!
So why don't I go back that often?
- It's always completely JAM-PACKED with people, with always a wait for a table
- Just looking at that plate, I am SURE that each dish is probably 9,700 calories and loaded with MSG, {INSERT BAD INGREDIENT HERE], {INSERT OTHER BAD INGREDIENT HERE], {INSERT BAD ANOTHER INGREDIENT HERE], {INSERT YES EVEN ANOTHER BAD INGREDIENT HERE] and you will probably grow a 3rd eye if you eat it too often.
It's parent organization sees continual declining revenue and knows it needs to change and in fact is making some changes. Pretty much right now.
I haven't eaten their in years but when I did years ago it was OK. I gave a neighbor 2 years ago a gift certificate…I wonder if they hate me for it ;)
Initially they set up the restaurant as American people think a italian restaurant should be not as one actually is in real life.
So the concept is sort of like a average if you could produce of all American Italian restaurants.
So that was the initial model. It seems now it is failing and being rethought. It worked very handily for quite a few years however.
But yes, JCN was correct in his initial comment.
Quote:
But outside the comforts of the Tri-State, it can be a shining beacon of hope.
I've managed to get around a fair bit of this country, and I've seen this statement repeated often. I've yet to find a place that didn't have at least a few good restaurants, and even if you were going to eat in a chain, would OG really rank anywhere near the top of the list?
I might trust it more than taking a shot on an italian joint in Des Moines, but that's just one example. Some people don't want to put guess work into picking a place to eat, especially when they're on the move.
They missed their earnings and took a big hit. Americans just are not eating their like they used to. You may say…well my MCD is crowded, but this is a nationwide same store sales thing.
Used to be they were quite popular here.
Now it is Chipotle. Years and years ago MCD actually owned controlling interest in C but sold it. Now I bet they wished they had it back big time.
So Olive Garden now has to change. Yours may do great business overall same store sales…not so much.
1) Someone who doesn't lacks sophistication
2) The other (jcn) humble-bragged about traveling all over the country and seeing places where it's hated, too.
Nice arguments, guys!
Cam in MO : 1:40 pm : link : reply
Best Italian food in manhattan.
Krogers killed earning largely on the additions of their organic food brands.
Chipolte is off a bit this week as their increases did not match the prospectus but they are still trading at a outrageous multiple as they are growing so fast.
Fast food is modifying to this selectively as are restaurant chains.
The more a food or meal appears healthy is the more its business is growing.
Whole foods stock is still down year over year but it is not that it has become unpopular but that walmart has gotten into organics as well. And something I have noticed which may help whole food eventually….Walmart is now carrying whole foods branded food stuffs, tomato sauces stuff like that.
Organics healthy is becoming mainstream.
Olive garden does not have that reputation right now but that could be changed.
I do trade a bit in this area so it is why I am pretty current. Trading Kroger and Vitamin cottage(a smaller competitor to WFM) just recently.
Maybe you should order the alfredo dipping sauce, boss. Life changing.
They also don't finish the pasta in sauce, which is Pasta 101. Which surprises me, because of you'd think their fine Italian culinary school in Tuscany would have covered that.
healthy right now sells and it may be a permanent change to fast food restaurants and supermarkets. Appears it will be.
As far as contemporary chains go... Texas Roadhouse?? Holy SHIT that place is the phucquing BOMB.
Maybe my taste sucks because I eat mostly healthy? So that when I do get out any old shit will do? Could be I guess.
See. This is my point. How anyone could possibly LIKE these tastless whitebread, no crust, greasy,salt crusted concoctions is beyond me. There are so many examples of good bread in the tri-state area ... this is NOT ONE!
Olive Garden arguably has better tasting food than most of those chains, but it has always really shocked me that Olive Garden ever caught on. What town doesn't have an Italian restaurant better than Olive Garden?
They're all good for emergency meals. I usually wind up getting a couple of gift cards to those chains at Xmas, otherwise, I'd never set foot in one.
Oh - and Red Lobster IS THE WORST. Fucking disgusting. You can literally suck on a salt-drenched clove of garlic and get the same experience.
Chains aren't fine dining, but they usually ARE reliably mediocre.
Yuma, Arizona