Are you the guy on the commercial that brings his big Italian family to Olive Garden?

I have tried OG a few times, but for me they put way too much salt in their foods. I do not have high blood pressure or hypertension, but just looking at their nutrition listing it is hard to not push or even exceed the limits for the recommended daily value in just one meal at OG.

One typical meal, a Chicken Parmigiana dinner (3380mg of sodium), with 2 breadsticks (800 mg) and a salad with one dressing (1930 mg), adds up to over 6100 mg of salt, that�s almost 160 percent more than is recommended for the entire day, also not to mention 76 grams of fat.

I know there are some lower sodium selections on their menu, but for me I would rather eat healthier foods, but YMMV.

Mr. Elliott.

Mr.Elliott has pointed out the real tragedy behind these chain restaurants. Many Americans only have access to these types of establishments and are eating meals dangerously high in fat, carbs and sodium on a regular basis. It sets a terrible example for children as well and sets them on the road to obesity. I find it ironic that in many towns across the country the freshest ingredients (fruits, vegetables etc) are grown and readily available but are seldom used by the chains, who normally practice centralized buying from large food service companies like Sysco or Railton. That's why I feel OG and chains in general are not good for America, and makes me grateful for all the wonderful restaurants using fresh, local produce and meats in my hometown of Chicago.

I don't disagree about your premise linking FF chains and obesity although I feel the blame lies squarely on their patrons who wield their overactive forks and not on the chains per se.

But I digress.

Just a heads-up that BA Railton disappeared 25+ years ago after they were swallowed up by what is now US Foodservice in the mid 80's.

Most folks would never have heard of Railton. Were you involved in the Foodservice business back in the 80's??

OG sucks.

Why do people travel to NYC, only to eat in OG in Times Square?

They also have access to their own kitchens where they can prepare healthy, wholesome food for themselves and their families. Education is what is needed IMO.

+1 here Jchiguy

A recent article in the New York Times highlighted a problem with young people signing up to enlist in the Army, they are seeing a larger proportion of heavier and out of shape recruits than in the past, which the Army feels is caused by their eating habits and lack of exercise. The Army has had to alter its training procedures and reduce the amount of long hikes with back packs early in their basic training and institute aerobics just to get these recruits into shape.

As an example, in my neighborhood where I have lived for over 30 years, we always saw the neighborhood kids out in the street after school playing football, soccer or basketball weather permitting. But in the past few years we hardy ever see any kids playing street games anymore, we have about the same number of school age kids as we have had in the past, but where are they now, at home sitting on the couch playing video games on their TV�s exercising their thumbs.

And my wife and I have also noticed that these kids today are noticeably chubbier than they were 20 years ago.

Mr. Elliott

What about hobos riding the rails in the Great Depression, who opened a can of beans? When I worked on my M.A., once a week I bought dried beans, half a ham, a carton of powdered milk, a loaf of bread, lettuce, and a few frozen vegetables. Probably some oranges.

And then there were people from the early days of the Republic, when most people lived on farms. Weight takes care of itself when you plow a field, can vegetables, and make do.

If one has the money to go to fast food places, one has the money to open a can of beans. And spinach. And even to buy oranges (which once were available for many famliies only at Christmas).

But the thread is about Olive Garden. I don't see how OG can contribute much, if at all, to the obesity epidemic. I have tried the place twice--the second time only because other people wanted to go there. If anyone gains weight at an OG, that person probably deserve a medal of valor.

Uh, no. My brother who thinks he is Italian, paled in horror when I gave him an Olive Garden gift card one year. A few years later, I gave him the OG gift envelope, with a different card inside just for kicks.

Sorry Skepticallie, I have to disagree with you on this.

In my previous post I gave the salt and fat content for a Chicken Parmigiana dinner at OG, (3380mg of sodium), with 2 breadsticks (800 mg) and a salad with one dressing (1930 mg), adds up to over 6100 mg of salt, that�s almost 160 percent more than is recommended for the entire day and contained 76 grams of fat.

I forgot to mention almost 21 grams of saturated fat, this is all for one dinner.

Here are the fat and saturated fat values for some typical meals at OG.

Chicken Scampi, 53 grams of fat, 20 grams of saturated fat
Braised Short Ribs, 58/26
Pork Milanese, 87/37
Angel Hair Pasta with Alfredo Sauce, 59/36
Braised beef and Tortellini, 53/22
Spaghetti and Meatballs, 50/20

Add a fresh Garden Salad with 2 breadsticks 30/4.5 and finish it off with a Lemon Cr�me Cake, 35/16.

Tell me these are healthy dinners. Next time you are at OG or any other chain restaurants like Red Lobster, Ruby Tuesdays, Applebees, etc, look around and see how many people are chubby or even overweight, I will think you will find a sizable percentage of customers there are.

It doesn�t take many of these meals at OG or other restaurants to put on weight, As I posted previously, there are meals at OG that are much more healthier than what I have posted, but the average person orders by their stomachs, not what is healthier for them.

Mr. Elliott

Got it.

I was making a joke about whether one might reasonably be interested in the meal in the first place--thus my comment about deserving a medal of valor if anyone gained weight there.

Hey, it's the best I can do.

^

I can't resist resurrecting this thread from time to time when we're all getting along so well.

I ate at OG yesterday for the first time in a couple years. We had no major complaints, but we were starved. We got stuck in traffic for 2 hours on our way to a Lady Vols game and had to postpone lunch til after the slaughter at around 4:00 PM.

OG was not the first choice but when a local favorite was not yet open for dinner, it was the first place I passed.

Mrs BV had gorgonzola & pear ravioli with shrimp - very nice flavor. I had mussels, clams and shrimp in a rather watery red sauce over pasta. The seafood was fine. I picked out the garlic and a little pasta and it was okay. As always, the salad was crisp & well dressed and I ordered a second bowl and finished it all by myself. Lemon cream cake and limoncello for dessert. A couple glasses of the house red. I've had worse. I managed all this and kept within my Weight Watchers points for the day.

I still give the place a C+. It could move up to a B with a better sauce and fewer unruly kids in the dining room.

I am almost embarrassed to say that OG has become our 'go-to' restaurant on date/movie night. We can sneak in and sit at bar, enjoy a glass of wine (or two), have our meal, and get to movie without feeling fleeced & still be able to pay sitter. Our OG favorite is lunch potion of Capellini Pomodoro with whole wheat pasta and add grilled chicken. We defiantly try to steer clear of cream/Alfredo sauce, though the pork with asiago tortellini (that was on menu until recently) was HUGE guilty pleasure. I will gladly take unused OG gift cards off your hands.

Hey, nothing wrong with that! Enjoy!

And welcome to FlyerTalk!!

He's right. You don't have worry about OG. We doesn't have any complaints that I ate fondue & Tour of Italy, too. I don't have any problems at all. The lunch time was so delicious! I loves to eat Tour of Italy. Next time I'll have a order baked ziti.