This should probably go green - it's been, what, a week since the last Olive Garden thread?

My local place is better but people who won't eat there are snobs and it's my only option for Italian and they don't cook anything just reheat it in bags and the breadsticks are good and it's overpriced and local mom-and-pop places aren't necessarily any better and...

The "Italian inspired" part reminded me of an Italian restaurant I ate at in Nashua, New Hampshire. The place was supposedly Tuscan and the menu had to fit meals into that theme. One traditional "Tuscan" meal was turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Now I know Tuscany is in New England.

They also won't serve Dom Capers.

UCIP?

"Pesto" sounds like one of them things what them TV magic queers eat.

I don't get the hatred for things that aren't "authentic". Just concern yourself with whether it tastes good or not. If I wanted authentic Itallian food, I'd go to Italy.

They serve food there?

What exactly is happening in the picture attached to TFA?

Are they pumping in the carp semen they use as their soup base?

What is capers, precious?

I will admit that I sometimes crave their minestrone soup, their salad dressing, & their breadsticks. I'll go on binges where I'll eat that for lunch for a week straight and then I'm over them for about 6 months or so.

But I can understand their corporate thinking. When your main consumer group is the retirement home down the road, you don't get a lot of leeway with flavors. I run into that whenever I try a new Indian restaurant. I love Southern Indian food and I like it spicy, but I have to practically BEG them not to skimp on the spices. I'm not a cowardly American--break out the cumin, cardamom, & fenugreek, already!

It kills me that the hideous salad bowl they use is now something of an albatross around the restaurant chain's neck.

oldebayer: Once I was staying with my aunt and she found the home-made pesto I had in the refrigerator. She told me my mayonnaise had gotten moldy so she'd thrown it out.

Another time, I was ripening a nice camembert atop the refrigerator, and she gave it a sniff and tossed it, telling me that if you leave cheese out like that it will spoil.

I feel your pain. I had half a pound of ghee in my fridge when my mother-in-law was visiting. She thought it was chicken grease and threw it away.

sigdiamond2000: [eater.com image 500x375]

What exactly is happening in the picture attached to TFA?

Are they pumping in the carp semen they use as their soup base?

That's the Alfredo tanker making its daily delivery.

brigid_fitch: oldebayer: Once I was staying with my aunt and she found the home-made pesto I had in the refrigerator. She told me my mayonnaise had gotten moldy so she'd thrown it out.

Another time, I was ripening a nice camembert atop the refrigerator, and she gave it a sniff and tossed it, telling me that if you leave cheese out like that it will spoil.

I feel your pain. I had half a pound of ghee in my fridge when my mother-in-law was visiting. She thought it was chicken grease and threw it away.

That's a stabbing.

sigdiamond2000: "Pesto" sounds like one of them things what them TV magic queers eat.

Oh, I know. Its a very complex dish: Olive oil, basil, pine nuts, garlic. Place in blender. Put on pasta.

brigid_fitch, oldebayer

My mother used to keep something on her kitchen counter that looked like a bowl of dirty water with a layer of thick layer of mold on top. I forget the name. It may have been African. You were supposed to drink the water. If I were the kind of person to clean other people's kitchens without asking I would have considered it overripe trash.

I live too close to Boston's North End to ever eat at the Olive Garden....

(Do they even have olives anywhere in the menu-- FALSE ADVERTISING!!!)

Now, if they served Red Lobster cheddar biscuits? HOMERUN!

What's that?
It's a caper.
No, it's a rat turd.
It's a caper.
It's a rat turd!

oldebayer: Another time, I was ripening a nice camembert atop the refrigerator, and she gave it a sniff and tossed it, telling me that if you leave cheese out like that it will spoil.

Of course, this sort of thing is pretty relative. Most people would probably throw out cheese that actually had live maggots visibly writhing around in it, but that's how you know that Casu Marzu is ready.

Speaking as a half-Italian who is much closer to the Italian side of the family...

I don't hate The Olive Garden. It's fine for what it is. Don't expect it to be the model of authenticity and it won't disappoint. But with that said: New York tourists! When you come here, please please please don't eat at the one in Times Square over someplace local. I know that people like to keep things familiar and I get that. But you can have Olive Garden at home. Branch out.

/sorry, pet peeve peave

Cagey B: kombucha

That was it. Thanks. All I remembered was it probably had a "boo" sound and that wasn't enough to look it up.

But they have no plans on cutting back the salt I'm sure

Just don't eat there. Problem solved.

what_now: Just don't eat there. Problem solved.

BUT THEN HOW WILL EVERYONE KNOW WHAT MY OPINIONS ARE?!?!?!?

shivashakti: serial_crusher: I don't get the hatred for things that aren't "authentic". Just concern yourself with whether it tastes good or not. If I wanted authentic Itallian food, I'd go to Italy.

I don't care if it's "authentic" Italian or not. I just want it to be real food and not made in some laboratory, then put into a bag to be reheated at the restaurant.

Either make it by hand, with real ingredients, there at the restaurant or don't bother. Olive Garden is overpriced fast food.

Agreed. I wasn't saying Olive Garden is good per say, just that lack of authenticity is not what makes it bad.
Shiat was great when I was in college and would eat far more than $6.29 worth of unlimited soup salad and breadsticks, but I haven't been there since.

Bukharin: I had a dream I was in the mob. The boss looked and sounded exactly like a 1970's James Caan (rocking a wicked jew-fro.) We were in the middle of a turf war, so he laid down 2 rules.

1- No more than 3 of us could gather on the street at any time to avoid becoming a target.

2- We werent allowed to ever eat at an Olive Garden.

I lol'd. It's funny 'cause it's true.

Headso: The chemically taste of preservatives comes out strong in those sauces they use.

Tastes better than anything I ever had at the DFAC. You know, it was crime on Surf & Turf Fridays to see them burn all that meat and cook the crab legs until they were rubber. Savages! Goddamn savages!

Free food! Wait, what's that "meal deduction"? We actually pay for that crap? AHHHHHHHHHH

/Wasn't that bad. Can't really screw up breakfast. Though, they sure as hell tried.

Osomatic: This should probably go green - it's been, what, a week since the last Olive Garden thread?

My local place is better but people who won't eat there are snobs and it's my only option for Italian and they don't cook anything just reheat it in bags and the breadsticks are good and it's overpriced and local mom-and-pop places aren't necessarily any better and...

lol

plus, capers are POISON!!! no wonder they wont serve them

Someone once told me that depending on what you order, it goes into one of several microwaves. They only microwave certain items in each oven, but everything hot is brought in frozen and microwaved. Nothing is fresh. Is this true?

imapirate: Someone once told me that depending on what you order, it goes into one of several microwaves. They only microwave certain items in each oven, but everything hot is brought in frozen and microwaved. Nothing is fresh. Is this true?

You can't really re-heat pasta, so I'm sure that's fresh enough (although way overcooked).

The sauces? No idea. I'd like they'd have the sauces prepared at a warehouse, shipped by the gallon, then kept simmering in a huge pot.

brigid_fitch: I will admit that I sometimes crave their minestrone soup, their salad dressing, & their breadsticks. I'll go on binges where I'll eat that for lunch for a week straight and then I'm over them for about 6 months or so.

But I can understand their corporate thinking. When your main consumer group is the retirement home down the road, you don't get a lot of leeway with flavors. I run into that whenever I try a new Indian restaurant. I love Southern Indian food and I like it spicy, but I have to practically BEG them not to skimp on the spices. I'm not a cowardly American--break out the cumin, cardamom, & fenugreek, already!

Actually, that is true. Good chain restaurants listen to their customers and provide a sense of stability and continuity. I think the food channels and the celebrity chefs pushing for authenticity do not realize that what works for a single restaurant with a foodie clients do not work for the regular joe who wants not to worry about the farking dishes for one night.

It's good interstate food when traveling, but I only get the salad and soups. It's consistent.
Sure, there's probably a fantastic place at Exit XXX, but if you randomly pick a mom/pop place while traveling, it's going to be hit or miss--mostly miss. Great food, No..a safe bet yes.

muck4doo: If I want real Italian I'll go to Pizza Hut.

You rube! Those of us with refined palates only eat Italian food prepared by the finest Chefs from Italy. This Boyardee fellow, for example... now there's a guy who can cook authentic!

Jim from Saint Paul: Why is this on the Entertainment tab?

This