Your Olive Garden as fine dining memories

[Lance Uppercut]

So the Often repeated joke is that Olive Garden is remembered by many in their youth as a really nice restaurant.

I'm not hating on Olive Garden, it's fine and restaurants like that have a place, and it hits the spot sometimes.

But it made me think of "What's my personal Olive Garden"?

For me, my parents were first gen immigrants. I'm not saying we were poor or low income, but we didn't go out much for dinner unless it was an Asian restaurant. Usually Korean or Korean-Chinese.

So for me, when it was a special occasion like a birthday, we'd go to Carrow's and I thought it was the best. It was my favorite "special occasion restaurant". I still remember going there at what felt like really late at night, but in retrospect might have just be like 9:00. Eating my food, and then playing on their seated arcade machine in the waiting area playing Fatal Fury.

[Ultimo Gallos]

The rare times we ate out when I was a kid it was either a local seafood place or a local italian place.

I never ate at an Olive Garden until about 10 years ago.

[Spider2024]

Went there once, enjoyed it. Don't even remember what I ate as an entree, but the breadsticks are indeed really good.

There aren't too many Olive Gardens in or around the Boston area. In fact, there's a very similar chain more prevalent in the north east known as Bertucci's. They're quite good.

[Giul T.]

One time I went alone to treat myself, and to remember memories, this was just before the pandemic. I had an absolutely lovely time eating some of my old favorites and just relaxing by myself.

[Doo Doo is a Ratings Expert]

They treat you like family there, you can't really say that about many other restaurants.

[chazraps]

If a restaurant had this as an optional beverage, I thought it was the epitome of class:

[Push R Truth]

Was in college with a friend who was from a dead town in SW Iowa and the first time I saw his family pick him up at school they talked like going to Arby's for his birthday was an experience. I asked him about it after witnessing this great mystery and he was like "Arby's was this mythical deli you'd see on TV. His family wanted to experience a real deli just once."

I remember going to his place for his bachelor party and the entire town just felt... wrong? The town on it's surface looked nice and quaint, but most businesses had been dead 20+ years. There was an absurd amount of churches for the towns population. That place was weird. It's like all the houses were transported from the 1950's but all the depression was transported from the 1930's. We had a meal at the local diner and I wanted black pepper for my hashbrowns and the waitress acted like I was some sort of spice god that could eat lava because I put a couple shakes on the taters.

I remember thinking "that Arby's shit makes sense now".

**************************

My own personal "Olive Garden" was actually... The Olive Garden. Free Refills on Raspberry Ice Tea and all you could eat breadsticks? Teenage me thought it was the pinnacle of fine food! They had table cloths! It had to be a ritzy place!

[DZ: WF Legacy]

I didn't go to OG much, but for my family, Red Lobster was that kind of place. We would dress nicer when going there, even. Nothing crazy, but I would wear like a button-up t-shirt and a good pair of pants. It is definitely different these days. I can remember getting those grilled wooden plank sea scallops and being blown away by how good they were. I had never had anything like it before living in the mid-west. I had them a few years ago, and you know what? Still excellent.

[Sephiroth]

We went to Tavern on the Green for my grandmothers birthday when I was very little. I barely remember it. My dad described the food as underwhelming. I only got enthused when my parents told me a scene from Ghostbusters was filmed there.

[James Fabiano]

I'll be the one to say it...

I met Virgil there.

And that's as true as a lot of Virgil's tales.

[chrom]

Despite seeing commercials for it, I never went to one until last year as there wasn't one near me. If we went to the nearest city that had it, we often went to Cracker Barrel which was next to it.

I enjoyed it and the food and service they gave.

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Virgil once invited Eric Bischoff to dine with him there:

[Sponsored by Groose Wipes]

Did a date night there last year. It was not amazing but it was still a nice meal/time that didn't break the bank too hard. I don't hate Olive Garden, you just got to go in knowing you're getting more mainstream Italian and less authentic.

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

I'm 37 and I've never been to Olive Garden. Honestly, I've only been anywhere even close to "fine dining" a handful of times in my life and most of those are at the Keg or Red Lobster or some chain like that. Eating out anywhere that isn't a straight up greasy spoon or the local pub has always been a pretty big treat to me.

[saneiac]

When I was young and living in Wisconsin, my absolute favorite place to eat was ChiChi’s Mexican Restaurant. I went back to it once after several years of living in the south, and it was awful. Everything on the plate looked and tasted like plastic.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Jan 22, 2024 14:58:17 GMT -5 chazraps said:

If a restaurant had this as an optional beverage, I thought it was the epitome of class:

They’re not easy to find, but they’re still kicking around a bit here in Canada.

[tirtefaa]

We occasionally get gift cards to go there, so for what you get it's pretty good.

Limitless soup, salad and breadsticks for like $9 now, that's pretty darn impressive. I only eat about two bowls, which is more than enough. The pasta e fagioli is very yummy as long as they don't dump too much pasta in there. Then I use the breadsticks to wipe the bowl clean.

Only thing I don't like about Olive Garden is their bathroom soap, which is super oily and doesn't come off your hands easy enough.

[mystermystery]

My family and I went to the Oliver Garden either following my high school or college graduation ceremony.

Honestly can't remember which one.

[Heart of fools gold]

Growing up Olive Garden was a staple in our families restaurant rotation. Because my mom loved it and back in the late 90s early 00s it was cheap and easy way to feed 7 kids, mom&dad and our maternal grandparents, with all the unlimited breadsticks, soup and salad.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Jan 22, 2024 18:48:36 GMT -5 The Summer of Muskrat XVII said:

I'm 37 and I've never been to Olive Garden. Honestly, I've only been anywhere even close to "fine dining" a handful of times in my life and most of those are at the Keg or Red Lobster or some chain like that. Eating out anywhere that isn't a straight up greasy spoon or the local pub has always been a pretty big treat to me.

You're not missing much. The Keg is way, way, way overpriced for the quality of the beef, I'm allergic to shellfish, but I'm in Alberta, I think you're in Manitoba, so that's two landlocked provinces, so it sucks.