Does anyone really like...

I love the bread sticks and salad! I think the salad is delicious and I love the bannana peppers.

I also dig their lasagna, it's sometimes better than others...
 
Come to think of it, my friends must be the wrong type of white people. I don't remember anyone ever wanting to go to Olive Garden. The please everyone place is always the best local Mexican restaurant these days.
 
Never understood the name. I thought olives grew on trees which would be in an orchard, not a garden.

The place does not thrill me and I have never sought one out but I don't fuss when family wants to go there which is the only time that I have ever gone.
 
cowman said:
I would honestly rather go to a Fazolis. Sure it's fast food but I'll have an easier time finding something I like on the menu and I won't feel like I just paid a fortune for what is really just some pasta in a sauce.
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Breadsticks are about the same, too. More fat and garlic is all... and who doesn't want more fat and garlic? :) LOL
 
cowman said:
Come to think of it, my friends must be the wrong type of white people. I don't remember anyone ever wanting to go to Olive Garden. The please everyone place is always the best local Mexican restaurant these days.
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No sir, those are the exact RIGHT sort of white people... mexican food, plenty of green chile, margaritas, cervezas, chillin'...

The ones who go to Olive Garden usually *like* going to malls beforehand. Many even drive mini-vans because they LIKE them. No bueno. :) :) :)
 
I have friend who likes Olive Garden and I like the friend so I go once every few months. OTOH, she also likes Stevie Ray Vaughn and Joe Bonamassa so Olive Garden is bearable. I get the Caesar Salad with chicken.

Cheers
 
I don't go there on purpose, but sometimes it's the least worse option. I once had a coworker tell me she had googled to find one! There's an effort I would never expect. Too bad she didn't put as much expert into her actual work :(

Can't say I've had anything other than the Soup (Italian Sausage) and Salad combo... hard to foul that up.
 
CMongoose said:
Am I the only person who has never been to an Olive Garden?
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Do they even have them up here?

Everskyward said:
I don't mind Olive Garden, but after reading some of the threads here, I'm not as sophisticated or particular, foodwise, as many. Count me in as one of the bored suburbanites.
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I used to not be a restaurant snob, but I think that's because most of the places around were chains where I lived before. When I moved up to western Mass, it was the exact opposite... primarily locally owned restaurants with most of their ingredients actually grown locally. Lots of places even listed the farm where the meat or veggies on the menu came from. Needless to say, I got really spoiled, really fast.

Unfortunately I'm closer into Boston now where chains are more prevalent, but thankfully there's still enough good local spots to get higher quality food.

So, yeah, I guess I'm more particular foodwise than I once was.
 
I can be pretty adventurous about food, but I don't often go out to eat simply for entertainment, unless it's to meet friends. I'm usually fine with whatever restaurant they pick.

But I spent quite a bit of time on the road, and restaurants were just places to eat, not places for special events. I was more likely to choose a local place, but many of the people I flew with preferred chains so I went along.
 
It's wretched. . .I did have a pretty meal meal at Carrabbas, but it's a chain, and I don't usually eat at chains; I might have just lucked out that one time?

We hit OG in Jacksonville as a last resort a few years back - gummy pasta, sugary marinara, rubber shrimp, etc.
 
denverpilot said:
I don't think most folks mind it... I was just wondering if there's any real humans out there who like it. As in, "Ooh, I want to go to Olive Garden!" :)
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My father in law loves it. Wants to go there every time we visit.
 
Justin M said:
My father in law loves it. Wants to go there every time we visit.
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We found one!!!!

Wow!

Condolences too. I know what it's like to have to do stuff the FIL wants to do. Haha. May mine RIP. We miss him now.
 
Justin M said:
My father in law loves it. Wants to go there every time we visit.
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My dad fell in love with Denny's the first time he came to the U.S. Unfortunately the first time we happened on a roadside Denny's on a highway, which was uncharacteristically good. But now ever since he's tried to recreate that experience... so we have to go to Denny's each time he's here, with less than stellar results.

Same with him trying to get KFC in the U.S - the thing is, in South Africa KFC is actually quite good. It's fried in Canola oil, not that eclectic mix of Soybean oil and WD40 that they use over here. And it's generally fresh (you wait). So he kept wanting to try it until we got it once... don't think he'll make that mistake again. (Did KFC always used to taste like that over here or was there a time when it used to be better?)
 
cowman said:
I would honestly rather go to a Fazolis. Sure it's fast food but I'll have an easier time finding something I like on the menu and I won't feel like I just paid a fortune for what is really just some pasta in a sauce.
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Fazolis still isn't that good. Their breadsticks are better than Olive Garden's though
 
deonb said:
My dad fell in love with Denny's the first time he came to the U.S. Unfortunately the first time we happened on a roadside Denny's on a highway, which was uncharacteristically good. But now ever since he's tried to recreate that experience... so we have to go to Denny's each time he's here, with less than stellar results.

Same with him trying to get KFC in the U.S - the thing is, in South Africa KFC is actually quite good. It's fried in Canola oil, not that eclectic mix of Soybean oil and WD40 that they use over here. And it's generally fresh (you wait). So he kept wanting to try it until we got it once... don't think he'll make that mistake again. (Did KFC always used to taste like that over here or was there a time when it used to be better?)
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LOL! That's an awesome story.

I'm kinda weird in that I like Waffle House's hash browns. And they're amazingly consistent nationwide wherever a Waffle House can be found. When I travelled a lot, and if the customer wasn't the sort who wanted to be wined and dined on the boss's credit card, I'd often see if a WH was nearby for at least one meal.

(Haha - my boss's boss once had to tell me to spend more money when I was on those trips... most of the other field engineers at the time were hunting for a steak place whenever they went out, and my numbers were making some bean counters question theirs. So I did spend a bit more after that. Dumb green kid -- I was apparently messing up a good thing. Haha. I probably also didn't drink heavily back then, and we had at least one of those... haha... that dude wasn't spending a lot either, but his idea of a road dinner was curling up with a six-pack and a large pizza all for himself and a Pay Per View movie in his hotel room... and of all the goofy things, mostly IRS related, I'm sure... Pay Per View was paid by us, but a $50 steak dinner for one, with drinks, was reimbursable in the big cities. Customer dinners, obviously we had to document who was there, etc... for taxes, but they still coughed up the cash for huge dinners for one. Maybe even pushing the underside of $100 on dinner for one, easy, in NY or California. I'm a cheapskate, I never totally got over that. But I learned to spend enough to keep the other engineers out of hot water!)
 
denverpilot said:
I don't think most folks mind it... I was just wondering if there's any real humans out there who like it. As in, "Ooh, I want to go to Olive Garden!" :)
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Ex wife #2. And as someone who still has family in Sicily, it was an affront.
 
Tantalum said:
Olive Garden and Red Lobster are on my "do not land there" lists after more than a couple underwhelming experiences. I'm not a food snob either, but with all the breweries and eateries around San Diego you are better off going to one of them, the food will be lovingly and well put together with a good atmosphere for the same price
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Been to Stone yet?
 
EDIT: "back" area, not bad area
 
Tantalum said:
Stone is awesome. Really like that bad area with the gardens and they have a great menu for food
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Yeah, me to.. I grew up in that area. I definitely like what they've done there.. My favorite thing on their menu is the ruination garlic cheddar soup.. MMMMMM
 
Now I am thinking we need to get some of the west coast POA folks together at Stone.. It's not too far a drive from CRQ, MYF or RNM
 
Olive Garden ain't bad for beer and the salad. Beyond that, it stinks, like Red Lobster and a few other places listed here.

My sister's first career was as a health inspector. She explained that Red Lobster and Olive Garden are basically serving you Stouffer's frozen meals, right out of a microwave or boil-in bag. I'm sure there are a few exceptions on the menu, but very little of it is actually prepared onsite.
 
Tantalum said:
Olive Garden and Red Lobster are on my "do not land there" lists after more than a couple underwhelming experiences. I'm not a food snob either, but with all the breweries and eateries around San Diego you are better off going to one of them, the food will be lovingly and well put together with a good atmosphere for the same price
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Why anyone would go to a major chain restaurant in San Diego is beyond me.
 
I never go to OG voluntarily, but think I went there once because people from work wanted to meet there. Take note of the caloric content of their dishes. Absolutely off the chart, especially their "salad". They entice people to go there with high calorie, high fat, high Sodium meals.
 
We don't eat at Olive Garden often, but I have always found it to be pretty decent. We actually ate there last week for the first time in a few years, and my food was quite delicious. Is it the best, most authentic Italian food, no, but it's pretty tasty IMO. The one's near hear are usually quite pleasant and have friendly staff. As far as chains go, I prefer Zio's, but OG ain't bad. I worked at Johnny Carino's in college and it's hard for me to go back.

Is it crazy that we drove 40 miles to eat there??? I'm honestly surprised that folks think it's so terrible. I guess if you live in a town where your only dinner options are Subway (located in a gas station), McDonalds (located inside of Wal-Mart), Pizza Hut, one café, and one mom and pop Mexican joint, your standards aren't all that high.
 
jkaduk said:
Why anyone would go to a major chain restaurant in San Diego is beyond me.
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There is a huge element of truth to your question. There are neighborhood coneys where I can get a much better burger than the bland offerings of Mickey's or the other fast food places. I'll take the former unless I'm totally desperate and starving.
 
Anthony said:
[Olive Garden entices] people to go there with high calorie, high fat, high Sodium meals.
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Nearly all restaurants entice people with high calorie, high fat, high sodium, high sugar meals.
 
Anthony said:
I never go to OG voluntarily, but think I went there once because people from work wanted to meet there. Take note of the caloric content of their dishes. Absolutely off the chart, especially their "salad". They entice people to go there with high calorie, high fat, high Sodium meals.
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Interesting. I thought the chicken breast could have used a little more salt. Seriously.
 
jkaduk said:
Why anyone would go to a major chain restaurant in San Diego is beyond me.
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Exactly ... altho Anthony's is "almost" a chain ... and I saw that they're closing/moving the one down by Star of India/Midway.
Used to go to Chart House near Del Mar/Solana Beach but I see that it's been gone a while now, too. Another chain but was good then. The Chart House in Colorado is (was) not so great.
 
GeorgeC said:
Nearly all restaurants entice people with high calorie, high fat, high sodium, high sugar meals.
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That is true, but some are worse than others, but point taken.
 
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