You may recall an Olive Garden post I started a few years back. A neighboring town was snubbed when OG decided the local population did not merit a restaurant.

That changed eventually and one was built. It does a lot of business. In the 7 years I have lived here, 2 locally owned restaurants featuring Italian food have opened. The first closed within 6 months. I ate there once. The waiter was a 17 year old kid who showed up to take my order with a toothpick sticking out of his mouth. The service was slow and sloppy and the food was Chef Boyardee bland.

The second might not have lasted 6 months either. The menu was huge and featured Italian and Greek food. The portions were huge, prices were ridiculously low and the food was excellent. But everyone who ate there was cheated on the bill. Little things, like a drink not ordered or dessert $1 higher than the menu price or tax at an inflated rate. I cannot comprehend their business model and wish they had run an honest business and simply slimmed down portions and raised prices. I'll miss them and the likelihood that Greek food will appear on a local menu again in 10 years is minute. Someone else will try Italian. I hope they get it right. Meanwhile, we have a dozen chain restaurants. The other options are barbeque, Mexican and fried catfish places. Mrs BV and I eat dinner every Friday night at a locally owned Mexican place. The atmosphere is perfect, the food is good, the staff knows us and we spend less than $40 with drinks and a generous tip.

Every once in a while, we want something different and that doesn't mean barbeque or fried catfish. So far, we haven't gotten sick. The price is reasonable, the atmosphere is ok (maybe a little too crowded), the service is decent and the food and drink is ok. At least so far, the waiter hasn't belched the winelist or charged me $50 for extra bread.