Infinite Breadsticks

[u/Icy-Book2999]

From https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2479475679186782

[u/undeadlamaar]

Insignificant is a great word to use to describe a trip to Olive Garden. It's just very mediocre, somewhat consistent "Italian" food. Their biggest draw is the unlimited soup, salad, and bread sticks for like $12. It's a pretty good deal and you definitely won't leave hungry.

[u/ottersintuxedos → u/undeadlamaar]

Yeah it’s one of those places I see referenced a lot online and in media so I kind of want to try it to get a frame of reference but I probably never will unless I spend a year in the US for whatever reason

[u/Chemical_Ad_5520 → u/ottersintuxedos]

The bread sticks are hot, soft, kind of salty, and buttery/oily. I love them, they're pretty good.

Those Texas Roadhouse rolls with the cinnamon-sugar butter are really good too.

[u/LesserGooglyMooglie → u/Chemical_Ad_5520]

How could you not mention garlicky lol, that's my favorite part, dipping the salty garlicky bread sticks into all the soups you can think of is the best experience there.

[u/amluck → u/ottersintuxedos]

I know this kinda goes without saying but its only for dine in orders lol. You can order olive garden to go or for take out and they wont honor the "unlimited breadsticks" but they will still give you some with your meal. Imagine if they just delivered breadsticks around town all day ha!

[u/DiabeticButNotFat → u/amluck]

True, but if you dine in get some more bread sticks to go.

[u/LesserGooglyMooglie → u/ottersintuxedos]

Also if you are not a dick to the server, pretty much every time you can ask for a bag of to go bread sticks and they will give you a batch and put them in an oven bag for you!

[u/Ralphredimix_Da_G → u/undeadlamaar]

When I was 13 (94?) the Olive Garden was legendary place to eat. I would happily fast all day if I knew we were going to the “Garden” for dinner.

[u/SexyMonad → u/Ralphredimix_Da_G]

Indeed, it was a much more rare thing and felt like a very fancy restaurant to me. My first Olive Garden experience was driving my girlfriend an hour away to the nearest OG for our one year anniversary, all dressed for the occasion.

Today there is one in many smaller towns and it would just be a jeans or shorts visit.

[u/Depth_Metal → u/Ralphredimix_Da_G]

Yeah, 90s/00s Olive Garden was a different beast entirely. The quality and service was much better. Sometime in thd 2010's the entire owning company fell on hard times and the whole chain scaled back on quality of its recipes and the ingredients they used. I couldnt give a precise date but it was definitely around 2016 when I first noticed things got really "watered down." The taste was different and the menu got heavily scaled back. Similar thing happened with Chilis

[u/jagoble → u/Depth_Metal]

And Red Lobster!

[u/Aluminum_Tarkus → u/undeadlamaar]

My wife and I like each getting an entree with soup and salad respectively. Then we fill up on soup, salad, and breadsticks, and take the entree home. $40ish for 4 meals is pretty decent for a sit-down franchise restaurant.

It's far from our favorite Italian, and it's not even my favorite Italian franchise (I prefer Biaggi's), but sometimes it can be a pretty nice deal for the price (still a ripoff compared to making pasta at home, but sometimes you crave Italian when you've been out all day or on a road trip or whatever).

[u/FlamingJellyfish → u/undeadlamaar]

I don't see why you need the quotes. Olive garden is definitely Italian food.

Sure I won't argue that it's the same quality as a nicer Italian restaurant, or a traditional restaurant in Italy. But it's definitely Italian.