I Love Olive Garden...........

[Pooh Girl 71]

I didn't like Olive Garden once upon a time. That all changed when I ordered the Chicken Scampi. OMG that stuff is wonderful!! Tons of garlic which I adore.

I also love Red Lobster

I am going to have to go out to lunch tomorrow lol

 

[apagano]

Oh boy....I must be the only Dis'er that does not like Olive Garden!

You are not alone. I'm half Italian, born and raised in New York City. Most of my friends back home would not be caught dead in an Olive Garden. I have eaten at Olive Gardens before. It's fine if it's the only Italian restaurant in your town, but it's no match for homemade Italian food or the dishes at a real Italian restaurant.

Actually, Olive Garden is a great test to find out if a city is worth living in. If you ask around and people tell you that the best Italian restaurant in town is the Olive Garden, then run for your life!

 

[Pin Wizard]

I love the Olive Garden! I'll take the salad, the soup, and angel hair pasta with marinara and meatballs, please. Their meatballs are great! Not a big deal, but the last time I went to our "neighborhood italian restaurant," I sent the meatballs back. They were disgusting! Pressed meat and tasted gross. Olive Garden, here I come!

 

[100%Disney]

Mishetta I am sorry that your Mother has cancer, I know what it's like to think that the great cook in the family will always be there. For us it was my Great Grandmother, very southern cooking, country fried steak with milk gravy, corn bread from a cast iron pan, pinto beans, turnip greens, heck even her hamburgers were great. She did teach me to cook, in fact I am now the cook since she's gone, my Mother says that my food rivals that of my Great Grandmother's, I don't know, I miss her. Oh, by the way I love Red Lobster, the only thing I ever get is the shrimp pasta. YUM!!!

 

[BethR]

What is interesting about this discussion of loving or hating Olive Garden and Red Lobster is that fact that they are owned by the same chain. Bahama Breeze is also included in this group.

Love them or hate them, they sure seem to know how to get people into their restaurants. The last 3 times that we ATTEMPTED to go to Red Lobster, there was at least a 45 minute wait - and once it was 90 minutes. This is for 4 people - not a large group. And this has been our experience at Olive Garden too. They all must be doing SOMETHING right!

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

Our local mom and pop Italian places are awful around here! They seem to be afraid to use garlic or any other spices. I sent back lasagne recently because it was beyond bland. The chicken scampi I love at OG has tons of garlic. Go figure.

 

[Lars624]

I like both restaurants!
Red Lobster's bisquits are delicious!!
The capellini pomodora & the seafood alfredo at Olive Garden are my favorites.

 

[Dan Murphy]

A great restaurant, have not been there in a long time though. Maybe on my list now.

 

[Mishetta]

Anyone know what Bahama Breeze is like? We wanted to try it one day but it wasn't open for lunch. What type of food?

And to 100%Disney, yes it's hard to know that my mom won't be around for long, not only for her cooking though...for so many other reasons! So sorry about your Grandma too.

 

[BethR]

Mishetta,

I am so sorry, I missed the part about your DM's cancer.
I cannot imagine thinking that one day my mom will not be here - let alone thinking that she will not be around long.

{{{HUGS}}} to you. And a prayer for you and your mom too!

 

[Saffron]

I've never been to Olive Garden. I know they have them around here, there are a couple of them I think? I've just never been.

 

[Christine]

Mishetta,
I absolutely LOVED Bahama Breeze (have eaten there twice). I could not believe that it was owned by Olive Garden/Red Lobster chain. I only tolerate Olive Garden about once a year. I find their food to be just so-so. It is certainly edible and they make a nice presentation of it, but it is nothing to rave about.

As far as Red Lobster, I've never cared for any of their seafood dishes. But, I've grown up around the eastern shore and southern Maryland and the Red Lobster's ingredients just pale in comparison. I mean, the shrimp just tastes like it has been frozen for about 6 months. But, those cheese biscuits are darned good!
Christine

 

[Steve H.]

I'm with you Mishetta -- raised Italian, there's nothing like a home-cooked Italian meal (I make my Mom and Grandma's manicotti recipe now -- it's one of our family's favorites)

Lucky for us, we also have a very, very good family-owned Italian restaurant down the streeet. I do like Olive Garden from time to time, but comparing them to authentic Italian food seems to me to be comparing apples to oranges (just like comparing Red Lobster, who I love, to seafood from places like Cape Cod is no comparison as well )

 

[becka]

I like the Olive Garden but the last few times we have eaten there I have not been too impressed. The last year or so we have done the take-out there and it usually is not near as good as when you eat in but I don't know why. This last time I ordered the seafood alfredo which I normally love and it looked like they had taken the garlic out or just forgot to put it in. Maybe I will have to try that chicken scampi since I love garlic.

 

[aprincessmom]

Oh boy....I must be the only Dis'er that does not like Olive Garden! But maybe it's because we're 100% Italian & no Italian food tastes better than what we make at home??

I've never eaten there but the reason you cited is the reason I've never been tempted to try it. Very few Italian restaurants meet my "Nana" test. I tend to avoid eating Italian as a rule because I'm partial to my family's way of preparation.

just like comparing Red Lobster, who I love, to seafood from places like Cape Cod is no comparison as well

I'm also not a Red Lobster fan for the same reason. Grew up on the Cape. Nothing like fresh steamers that you just dug up that morning. Hard to get used to anything else

Mishetta -- sorry about your mom. Do make sure you get those recipes down. When my Nana died one of the best things we had were all those recipes that had only resided in her head. A bunch of us grandchildren would visit with her and make her best dishes while she gave us the instructions from memory. Now we all know how and we can each have a little bit of her with us at meal time.

 

[Steve H.]

Originally posted by aprincessmom
When my Nana died one of the best things we had were all those recipes that had only resided in her head. A bunch of us grandchildren would visit with her and make her best dishes while she gave us the instructions from memory. Now we all know how and we can each have a little bit of her with us at meal time.

Sounds just like when I was a kid. I remember my Mom and Aunt literally chasing my Great-Grandma around her kitchen while she was cooking, grabbing all the ingredients and measuring them before she threw them in a dish! It was the only way they could come up with recipes for some of her dishes, because my Great-Grandma never had a recipe for anything.

I'm really glad they did so.

Mishetta -- I forgot to mention it on my last post, but sorry to hear about your Mom too.

 

[Disney845]

I like Olive Garden a lot, but was really sad to hear last time I went that they no longer serve the Venetian Sunset....I mean they still have champagne and pinapple juice...what is the problem???? Oh well, anyways I just make them at home now!!! I also love their breadsticks with the alfredo dipping sauce, the toasted ravioli, and the stuffed chicken parmigian.



Mishetta- Bahama Breeze is nice. The atmosphere is good, and the food is ok. It is fairly spicey stuff. Stuff like jerk chicken, and meats on skewers. They have a fairly extensive tropical drink menu. One of the appetizers are little envelopes of pastry stuffed with meat and seasoning. They look like miniature pasties. They are very good!!

 

[Diane]

I love the Olive Garden and go there as often as I can. It’s only 15-20 minutes from home, and I usually pass it on the way to/from work. I like the soup (minestrone is my favorite), salad and breadsticks, fried mozzerella, chicken parmigiana, and lasagna. Every dessert I’ve tried there is good (black tie mousse cake, Ghiradelli cheesecake, and a couple of others), but the tiramisu is my favorite. I like to go with a friend, get a split of Asti, share a meal (like the Tour of Italy), and then share a dessert.

 

[phins_jazy]

Chicken con Brocolli is my all time favorite there. And lucky for me it's just down the street. Going there for DH's birthday on Fri.

 

[Soccer Princess]

They have great Chicken Alfredo...yummy! Being the obsessive bread lover that I am, I must say their breadsticks get an A!