Olive Garden [merged threads]
 

I live in a semi-remote, semi-rural community. The county population is about 105,000. The largest town is no more than 25,000. But, an interstate runs through it, and there is a mall and 3 Walmarts and a fair number of chain and non-chain restaurants. There are quite a few motels. They aren't overly full except when the local track is hosting a semi-annual Nascar race.

Currently, the exit down from the mall is being developed. It will have a Best Buy, a Target, one or two more stores of equal size and prominence, and a bunch of smaller ones. The town has been courting Olive Garden as a tenant. We have plenty of competitors; Ruby Tuesday, Applebees, Logans, Red Lobster, O'Charleys, etc. In 4 years, I have seen no chain restaurant fold. The few good non-chains struggle for business. Several have closed in the last month, while you have to wait 2 hours on a Friday night for a table at Outback.

Olive Garden Corporate looks like it will pass unless they can get major concessions from the local government (free rent, subsidies, no property tax). A petition has been started by a local radio show to demonstrate just how much citizens want OG (I know there are many OG detractors on this board. Personally, I'm ok with the place and any further variety will please me).

I don't know if they can be swayed, even with petitions or concessions. But, I have an idea. AL is the fattest or 2nd fattest state in the union. I think OG is underestimating demand based on population. We're few, but the average citizen will not be satisfied with a single bowl of spaghetti. No, these bloated 'bamians will be ordering triple entrees with double dessert. And the bottomless salad will go untouched. They don't even need to stock the bowls.

I think we should get as many locals together for a photo shoot and send that to Olive Garden. They cannot fail to be impressed. I'm just worried that people won't see my suggestion in the light that's it's being made and will think that I'm just making fun of their obesity problem. And, I'm worried that I might get sat on.

Should I send a letter to the editor or keep my mouth shut?

Olive Garden is insult to Italian cuisine. Do what you can to get rid of them.

Have you been there? It's good.

Nothing wrong with Olive Garden at all.

And yes I own shares of Darden.

Americans love to eat out and variety is some kind of spice.

Olive Garden is so well received that they can ask for and get all the concessions they are after.

Their soup, salad and breadstick lunch can't be beat. ^

It's not like the OP lives in NYC; it's unlikely that his town will ever see (much less support) a decent real italian restaurant anyway.

There are entire states in the USA without a decent real italian restaurant - for them, Olive Garden is probably as good as it's gonna get.

I think Red Lobster and Olive Garden are owned by the same corporation....

Couldn't agree more! Just because OG is the only Italian restaurant in many places, doesn't make it good. Sorry, BamaVol, but if I were you, I'd count my blessings that OG doesn't want to open there. With any luck, you might get a better Italian restaurant, maybe even one that isn't part of a chain.

We've had 3 in 4 years. None lasted more than a year. I ate at one a month after it opened. The waiter was a 16 year old with a toothpick in his mouth! It took tremendous self-control not to slap it out of his face. The food was utter ..... I'm thinking of several problems.

1. Without the training you get from a corporate chain, most independents have no idea how to run a restaurant.

2. Local citizens are interested in quantity, not quality. All you can eat would go over well, but the only way to make money doing that here is to serve slop. Charging for quantity and quality is not an option due to the (generally) low incomes.

3. There are no local citizens of Italian heritage. One of my doctors (a fellow damn-yankee) says he's met one other It-Am besides me in 14 years of practice. He and I talk about delis and pizza when I have an appointment. We'd both frequent a good Italian restaurant, but it would take more than us to keep it going.

As I said, I don't have a problem with OG food, in fact I love the soup/salad/breadsticks lunch. And I grew up in a 2nd generation It-Am home, eating the family recipes hand written (some in Italian) my whole life and have generally lived in and around major cities (Boston, San Francisco, Denver) where good Italian food could be found. So, regardless of what your opinion of OG is, people here want one.

I just want to know how much hate mail I should expect when I point out the perpetual hunger that exists here, and the resulting average 44 inch waistline. Really.

People here are so fat ...

Ed: How fat are they?

They're so fat, that there's one small store for short and thin people. All the other stores sizes start at XL.

Why does that NOT surprise me? :D

Exactly, Sbarro's it ain't! :D

You described I81 south of Wilkes-Barre Pa. They built this huge boxstore development and put one of every national chain restaurant in and around.

I used to frequent an independent beer-pub that in addition to brewing some really good beer, offered some pretty good meals. I remember an evening having a Cajun rib-eye, a fresh dinner salad and homemade garlic mash potatoes with a couple of good Stouts and the bill was less than $25 bucks. An equal meal at the Outback would have been closer to $35.

Unfortunately the place closed a few months after the mall was completed as they couldn't compete with Olive Garden and the rest.

I'm still searching for a good local restaurant in the area.

try courting mac grill or maggiano's.

Sounds like the perfect opportunity for a MR! :D

Around dinnertime, pick an airport (ATL or BHM) and catch a flight to a large city with lots of OG's! By the time you arrive, the waiting list should be reduced from 2 hours to 1 hour and you'll probably be famished! :)

OT - Check out the Community board - I just posted an ATL Do yesterday and would love to have you join us!

I dunno...the guys that franchise the Macaroni Grills in Southern California really doesn't know what he's doing. The food is REALLY subpar, especially compared to the Macaroni Grills in the Chicagoland area. BUT, the Olive Gardens in the Chicagoland area totally SUCK, but they are VERY good out here in Southern California. Go figure. So in Illinois, go Mac Grill. In So Cal, fo OG.

As for people that hate the Italian franchises...have you been to more than one location? Just like any chain with more than one location, you can't judge the entire chain by just one experience. Like the people who say they went to Morton's and had the "worst steak ever..." I've been to many, many Morton's and have had many, many amazing steaks, and maybe one or two "okay" steaks. If I based all my opinions on the one or two "okay" steaks, I might have not gone back.

Off-Topic: My favorite dish at OG is the Chicken Marsala with angel hair pasta. At a Chicago suburb, they didn't heat through the sauce enough, SO IT WAS LIKE DRINKING BAD WINE with my chicken! I had to instruct them to reheat the sauce so that the alcohol burns off and the manager says, "But we've been doing it the other way for years!" Oy! No, not suppposed to get drunk off of the Chicken Marasala!!!

As for Maggiano's...great food consistantly in all locations that I've visited. Probably the safest bet. ;)

I can't see giving these guys huge breaks to come into a community but then again I can't see living in Alabama either...

from

http://www.redlobster.com/company/fact_sheet.asp

(Red Lobster is a)
Subsidiary of:
Darden Restaurants, Inc. of Orlando, Florida, which, through its subsidiaries, also operates Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill and Seasons 52 restaurants.

Don't take this the wrong way but y'all aren't the market for a MAGU (Maggiano's). They generally target upper-middle class markets (tyson's corner, buckhead, DFW metro) with a high-level disposable income. They are just arond the par of a Cheesecake Factory localle.

Bama, I was ROTFLMAO reading your post! :D :D ^ ^

I didn't realize you're an It-Am. So am I and grwoing up on home made gravy and pasta (especially ravioli) I can't help but be super critical of Italian restaurants and food sold commercially. It still amazes me to this day that people eat spahetti-o's from a can. :eek:

Since you've got an Outback which is successful, I'd suggest putting your effort into getting their sister chain Carrabbas to put up a store. Much, much, much better than any OG I've ever eaten in, and cleaner than most.

One of my sons got food poisoning at Outback last month. I'd like to give them the ER bill, not a subsidy for another ptomaine palace.

I hope you let them know about it. I'm curious, what was their response if you did?

I did this on the advice of one of the ER doctors. The response was that no one else had reported a problem, but they would look into it. I told them the date and time as well as what he ordered. I was interested in helping them prevent further problems. I did not ask for anything. I'm not a fan of their restaurants and my son still can't look at a steak 3-4 weeks later.

BamaVol,

When you figure out how to lure whoever you decide on, give us a call in south Baldwin County and let us know how you did it. We're short on Italian, Chinese and just about anything else that isn't fried. I'm not a big fan of OG, but would welcome one just for the variety and for the chance that it might encourage other places to open a store down here.

From several replies on this thread, I take this to mean that us dumb, fat, trailer trash in the South aren't fortunate enough to be able to eat out at an overpriced, snotty "real Italian" restaurant only found in such upscale locales as New York City? :rolleyes:

Gee, last time I ate at a "real Italian" restaurant in NYC, I got half the food for the same price as Olive Garden (leaving me hungry after my meal, and I'm not a fatass BTW) served by a Mexican. You snotty New Yorkers can keep your "real Italian" crappy restaurants.

JS,
Don't let them get to you. All that snow makes them weird after a while... :)

Was in Greenville last week and ate at a Macaroni Grill out by the airport. Not one of the better MG meals I've had, but they could have been having a bad night. Also ate a nice piece of salmon at a place called "California something or other". Some nice choices for chains in Greenville. Any suggestions on local places there?

I think you meant "we dumb, fat, trailer trash in the South." :confused:

Also, "Mexican-American."

Don't mention it. I'm glad to help. :)

No, that's not what he meant... ^

How do you know it was a Mexican-American and not a Mexican?

I remember one year the Arizona Repulsive (oops.. I mean Republic) newspaper had OG as it's "best italian restaurant" in one year's "Best of Phoenix" issue. Oh please! I think we know how that listing got in there.

Anyway, if you want a better chain italian restaurant, Buca di Beppo is much better than OG.

To me, OG is as much of an italian restaurant as Pizza Hut is.

\rec

I have never eaten there. I have eaten at Carraba's on Woodruff Rd three times. It's delicious. One thing, though, and this is probably true of all restaurant of this type, but if you like mixed drinks, watch out -- they're around $7 each, and a double is double price. :td:

Personally, I prefer Waffle House. It's edible and cheap, and there are hundreds of locations, all open 24/7. :D

Wise decision. I've learned never to slap someone in the face who's chewing on a toothpick unless I have a desire for a toothpick impaled in my palm. ;)

I agree. Maggiano's targets the Yuppie crowd and you're not likely to see a Maggiano's outside of a fairly major and upscale urban area.
Back to the topic, when Olive Garden first hit the scene many years ago, we'd visit quite often but finally burned out on the concept. Somebody dragged me into an OG a few months ago and I was pleasantly surprised with how much they've improved and upscaled their menu.
OG's still not a place I'll visit on a regular basis but I'll also not avoid it as I have in the past.

This is my first posting in this forum however my eye caught the Olive Garden in the title.

I absolutely adore the Olive Garden Salad dressing - truly the best dressing I have had anywhere. ^ ^ ^ ^ :)

As a restaurant I have found them very consistent and very reasonable. There are far worse places, especially chain restaurants I could name in the US.

The "italianity" of the Olive Garden is highly questionable IMHO, but I always found the food quite decent for a chain restaurant and I've never been disappointed.

Yes, I've been there.

It's an insult to Italian food.

Or, it's Italian food for people who don't know what real Italian food tastes like :D :D :D

Uhhh, no JS.

I'm a first generation Italian that knows what "real" Italian food tastes like. It doesn't have to be from a "snooty NYC" restaurant. A mom & pop shop can serve it up just fine. As a matter of fact, my local pizzaria often will cook up special dishes for me if I just ask. Sometimes I'm too lazy to cook it myself & they're more than happy to do it for me ^^

My how that area has changed! I lived in Simpsonville back in 1983-84 and the best you could hope for was Bennigans, I think out by the Mall. I've driven past that California whatever (it faces 85, right?) and I like the look of the building - that's not necessarily a sign of fine dining, but I'm more encouraged by that than a shack with an old coondog lying on the front steps. A guilty pleasure back in those days was lunch at The Clock (#?). I made it a point never to read the health inpection column in the paper, though. I worked in a plant with a cafeteria and it was there I first tried grits (horrifying the rest of the plant by pouring maple syrup on them) and stromboli (I kid you not) which has never been surpassed by any I've eaten since.

To take this one step further.. Most, if not all, chain Italian places as well as the local pizzarias do not server real Italian food. They serve a version of special holiday meals.

If Italians actually ate Lasagne, baked ziti, or Carbonara regularly, they would have the same high level of cholesterol and heart disease as Americans do.

At home we only ate those high fat & calorie laden foods on holidays - as in once or twice a year at Christmas & Easter.

I seem to remember that it's name is California Dreamin.

The Staxa____ family have a number of restaurants in the area which are pretty decent. Stax's Grill (in the same strip center as Toys 'R Us) was the one I ate at the most when I lived in the area. Stax's Peppermill is more upscale. Stax's Original is more downscale (meat 'n three, good breakfast). I never was a big fan of Stax's Omega.

Also, I really enjoyed the Peddler Steak House (part of a regional chain). Just be aware that the steak being cut in front of your is larger that it appears. If you want a 12 oz steak, tell them. Salad bar was limited but usually fresh. Also try the Texas toast.

I'm sorry to hear about the food poisoning, BamaVol; I know what that's like. I've gotten it twice after eating at Red Lobsters (different restaurants, different grilled meats). While I'm a fan of Outback, that chain seems to be one of the most consistent for undercooking their meats. I have ordered beef medium well (say an 8 on a 1 to 10 scale) on a number of occasions only to have it served medium rare (4) to medium (6); of course, ordering it well done usually results in a very overcooked piece of meat (say a 12). Until the state agencies who regulate restaurants require the use of temperature probes to determine at least minimal doneness, some unlucky souls are occasionally going to get hit with the consequences of undercooking in any of these restaurants who may be using inexperienced cooks. While I don't know that either your son's situation or mine were the result of undercooking, it wouldn't surprise me.

TRRed,

Hard to prove anything, especially since I wasn't present for the meal. But, he and the others present said it was ordered medium and served very bloody.

His older brother has been a grill cook. I always defer to him on the grill. He tests doneness by pressing on the steak and is always correct, but has been doing this for several years. A probe thermometer would be a good substitute for experience I would imagine.

Great Italian food does not need to come from an overpriced, snotty restaurant in Manhattan. Some of the best Italian food I've ever eaten, aside from Mom's of course, comes from small pizzerias where everything is made fresh and only when you order it.

JS, if all you're eating at is the overpriced, snotty Italian resturants when you come to the Metro NYC area, then you're missing out on quite a bit.

And I'll match any of what you refer to as our "crappy restaurants" against any other Italian restaurants in the country. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. :D

Oh my goodness, I ate at Stax Peppermill one time (Pelham Rd & Haywood). It was, without a doubt, the most overpriced, disgusting and inedible snot-food "luxury" dining experience I have ever had. Horrible! :td:

One other thing. The snotty, uptight New Yorkers that you and others run into are usually not native New Yorkers. They move there for the glamour, night life and the money. The city changes them. Native New Yorkers have grown up in that environment and are used to it, so they, shall I see we, don't get sucked into the "NYC" life.

And while I'm here, comparing Italian restaurants in NYC to Italian restaurants in some parts of the country is like comparing BBQ restaurants in some parts of the country to those in NYC. I've eaten in great BBQ places in Atlanta, Birmingham and Memphis, among others. I've also eaten in "Authentic Southern BBQ" restaurants in the NYC area, including my own suburb. And they all can't compare to those Southern BBQ places I've eaten at.

So you see, it goes both ways.