Olive Garden has never been the finest of Italian cuisine. They were founded and operated by General Mills. They have always had a dumbed down menu to cater to their target market. They were on the same level as Carrabbas, Macaroni Grill, Zios etc... for awhile...but none of those chains are...'the finest of Italian cuisuine' Biaggis, Buca di Beppo, and Maggianos are all better national Italian chains.
I used to work at Olive Garden, their chicken isn't fresh for starters..it's all pre packaged and they simply put it in the oven. Notice the chicken tastes like rubber? The shrimps are tiny and the chicken parm patties are thin little slices, not chunky fresh peices of chicken at most good quality italian restaurants. Only thing I really can say is decent is their salads, food is overpriced as well. The tour of italy is a joke, that's more like a tour of the slums in Italy.
Olive Garden is one of those places that you think is a nice restaurant when you're younger, only to grow up and realize that it's low quality and somewhat trashy. Sort of like a Red Lobster. Some of my favorite Italian spots inside the loop are Patrenella's and Raia's. Both are off of Washington Ave.
What happened? You matured. Honest to goodness I once went out with a girl who lived here in manhattan and thought Olive Garden branch on 23rd street was the not only the best italian, but her favorite restaurant in the city. Still incredible to me years later.
On an unrelated/related note, we were out with some friends recently and trying to decide where to go eat for dinner. Somebody suggested Chile's (which I was pretty enthusiastic about) at which point my wife's friend piped up and said, "Oh yeah let's do Chile's... I love Mexican food!" I had no words.
only time i go to olive garden is when they have their never ending pasta bowl otherwise if I happen to go there i just get the soup/salad/breadsticks unlimited combo and thats it. their breadsticks are still pretty awesome but i still have some friends that will go to olive garden as a primary choice I dont get that since their pastas otherwise are pretty pricey for the portions and more importantly, the quality.
I like Paulie's for Italian. I think there's a few locations around town (at least 2 that I know of). Not too expensive.
Dishes I remember enjoying at the Olive Garden: Ravioli Antoinello (spinach and ricotta stuffed ravioli, topped with bechamel and marinara sauces) Chicken and Artichoke Mostaccioli (sauteed chicken, artichoke, mushrooms and black olives in a fointina cheese sauce) breadsticks and a boat of alfredo sauce (Italian version of biscuits and gravy) Spaghetti Carbonara (bacon, green onions and bechamel sauce) It is unfortunate that only the breadsticks and alfredo remain on the menu. Will the kitchen still make the discontinued dishes?
Loved that place. We used to go there all the time when I was a kid. It was a treat when we were in the Greenspoint area...way back before it became the Gunspoint area.
The only appropriate words would have been stolen from the old Pace Picante commercials... "Get a rope."
I thought they were good when i was in hs in the early 90s. but I was in hs. yes they've fallen and their prices are ridiculous.
Yup, I live literally 5 minutes from both and both are fantastic. Now, if I want one bad ass pizza, it's Candelari's. All. Day. Long.
