I've had very good meals at many restaurants here in the US. But the overall quality of the food in many other countries is, I believe, far better. Lots of local restaurants in many small Spanish, French and Italian towns, for example, turn out food that is a quantum leap above the quality of small town restaurants in the US.

And if you thought Olive Garden, etc. were better than the food you were eating while in Italy, you were clearly eating in the wrong places over there. In many trips to Italy (and other than highway rest stops!), I can't remember any bad meals, and few that were mediocre.

There's this wood-fired brick oven pizza place right outside the entrance to Pompeii, for example, where I had the best pizza I have ever had in my life. we got to Pompeii at about 11:20, learned there was no food inside the ruins, and no in-and-out privilege allowed with a ticket, so decided we should eat first. I was not even that hungry. Yet this pizza was some magical concoction of dough, oil, sauce, cheese that I can remember well to this day.