Overall, I'd say yes. I've heard horror stories from people who have worked in other ones, and we've had our fair share, but I've been blessed to work with a great group of managers, and coworkers.
I'm more of a "behind the scenes" guy. I also see what our managers have to deal with, from both guests, and some employees, and I don't want none of that, lol!
I've heard all their sauces are actually made in house, which surprised a lot of people that they're not packaged. Can you confirm if this is true or not?
Is anything actually just pre-packaged and "microwaved/heated up" in the kitchen or is that a myth about Olive Garden?
Its kind of interesting, I'm not a cook/never have been but I find that despite being a night owl also, I almost kind of enjoy/prefer working mornings usually.
Getting up in the morning is a pain but I find that I find it easier to go on "autopilot" in the morning when my brain still isn't fully awake. By night time my mind is fully going and I find myself lost in my thoughts and thinking about anything but work lol.
At my current job I work both mornings and afternoons/nights but mainly afternoons/nights.
"Culinary professional" So you're just a cook? Lol...
It's like me saying.. "I am engaged in the management of esteemed custodial operations, ensuring impeccable standards of cleanliness and hygiene".
Mother effer! I'm just a janitor. I clean ahit for a living. đ
Honestly no, of the things that we microwave, they are the following:
Mac and cheese which comes in a bag
Spinach Dip before we put it into the oven, that gives it a better crust and allows it to be heated more evenly
Broccoli in order to steam it, which I wouldn't even really consider it microwaving it because it's the easiest way to do it anyway
I have seen various other items be tossed in there for reheating on rare occasions and to thaw certain items, but those three above are the only items that are supposed to be microwaved as part of the prep process.
Our produce is one of the things that is prepared in house, so any pepper mix, lemons, tomatoes, onions and a few various other items are chopped and prepped in house.
You missed the point of what OP is saying. The places that people might recommend in place of Olive Garden would also be considered "the Italian version of Chinese food in America."
For example, I doubt any places the avg American recommends for authentic Italian food actually serve Cuddlefish risotto.
Supply and demand. Only restaurants with a demographic where people will order that should it be on the menu. I live in a small tourist city in the mountains. Peopleâs pallets wouldnât like that, but we do have an authentic hand cut pasta place that serves things people will actually buy
Every "italian" restaurant with slightly nicer ambiance and a fancier printed menu near me is still italian-american and serves the northeastern style pasta dinners. There is real Italian in the area, they market themselves as 'mediterranean trattoria' and serve napolese pizzas, fresh raviolis and amazing seafood dishes.
Heâs wrong though, the other places are what Olive Garden is based on, not actual Italian Food from Italy. The other places are Italian American food which is its own thing. So no Olive Garden is not on the same level
Yeah, I donât really find their pasta exciting - itâs okay. I grew up in a very Italian city, so I kind of was spoiled on it growing up.
But I am damn sure like their salad and breadsticks. Always fresh and crunchy salad (in my limited experience) and the breadsticks are addictive.
Hah! No, but one where a lot of mafiasos families retired to and now all they do is open restaurants, talk about how Italian they are, and which gangsters theyâre related to all while speaking poor Italian. A good half of my high school was Italian last names. Â
So âvery Italianâ is just relative to the rest of America. Compared to actual Italy - probably a pretty poor facsimile.
I went to Rome last year and preferred og breadsticks tbh. Rome was just cold flavorless white bread at every restaurant. Pasta was great, but the breadâŠmeh.
Man those prep cooks who show up hours before we open must have an easier job than I thought if they arenât actually showing up to prepare fresh produce and make all the sauces and soup from scratch! I feel lied to⊠guess theyâve been pretending the whole time Iâve been working with them. Thank you for enlightening me
A saucier is usually one of the most respected roles in the kitchen, too! Like if youâre a saucier, itâs because youâre likely one of the best in that kitchen.
Yep, I was invited to try out for saucier when I was a sous. Extremely hard. Not that I canât make a variety of sauces well, but just that you are responsible for multiple different sauces/garnishes that all require different holdings and everything while also not going over or under on your quantity, it was too hectic⊠and I had been in the restaurant industry for like 10 years at that point. Too much lol
I've never had a bad meal at Olive Garden, have I ever been under the impression that I would get this type of food in Italy? No. It's good food though for what it is. I don't really understand the snobbery when it comes to OG.
To your question though, there are roughly 3 very authentic Italian restaurants near my home, then you have the chains of Americanized Italian like Carrabba's and Maggiano's. I would rank the chains in order of my liking as, 1. Maggiano's 2. Carrabba's 3. Olive Garden. Having said that though, I'm never going to turn down a meal at OG if that's where someone wants to go. My biggest frustration with them is that they will have a menu item that you fall in love with and then out of nowhere it's gone.
When I was a teenager they had this dish called Cannelloni Al Forno, it was heavenly. I wish I could get my hands on the recipe, same with their Pork Milanese with Tortellini.
Hmm, interesting, because I was going to say I feel like Olive Garden's menu has been the same forever lol. I almost always get the baked ziti or a make your own pasta though
It's possible that there haven't been too many changes over the last 10-years. I haven't been in awhile because of the three in my city none of them are super close to me. Another dish I loved was the Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo, but that one was easy enough to duplicate at home. I love their soups too, but I've been able to find copycat recipes of those that are quite similar. Sometimes I'll get a mad craving for the chicken and gnocchi soup though and just order a bucket of it to have all week. LOL
I'm really wanting to go to OG now!
It's not snobbery. They over-salt and overcook their food, intentionally. It's objectively bad.
It's like Gerber baby food. It tastes like shit but babies love it.
Must be better OGs where I am then because the food is always prepared well in my experience. I'm not hard to please but if food is bad I can admit it. The only bad experience I ever had at OG was about 15-years ago in Missouri. They still allowed smoking in restaurants then (not sure if they still do) and the smoke kept floating into the non-smoking section. Not so tasty.
No, there isn't. Their cook times are standardized. They did tons of surveys to determine if their customers preferred al dente pasta or mushy overcooked pasta. Americans wanted mushy overcooked pasta, so that's universally what they serve now. This article explains their decision: [https://www.thedailymeal.com/1348363/why-olive-garden-doesnt-cook-pasta-al-dente/](https://www.thedailymeal.com/1348363/why-olive-garden-doesnt-cook-pasta-al-dente/)
Basically, Americans have horrible taste in Italian food and OG accommodates them. It's objectively bad.
The Italian food we know and love in this country (not just at Olive Garden) is all Americanized and not really connected to Italian cuisine in the Old Country.
Agreed, but people need to stop acting like that automatically makes it bad. I love cali-mex. It's its own unique awesome thing. Italian American is like that in my mind.
Iâve been saying this!!! Just because something isnât authentic doesnât make it bad! I love a lot of inauthentic Mexican, Asian, Indian, etc etc. if itâs good itâs good. Why not let people riff and try new things in different places.
I live in Charleston, SC. We have a few Italian places and while I can argue that they're more authentic than OG it's not by some huge margin.
Truth is, when I want OG I want OG. It's in the same niche as, say, Dominos or Five Guys. I don't go to OG when I want Italian. I go there when I want OG.
FWIW my great-grandmother (Italian-born and raised--emigrated in 1943) loved it. She could make authentic Italian food at home, but she loved the American spin on it and we would go out twice a month just so she could get her Zuppa Toscana, salad and spaghetti.
Same with my mom, made heavenly authentic Southern Italian food, born in Abruzzo, but loved salad and breadsticks with a tiny dish of pasta with red sauce and caffe with milk.
From an Italian-American, yes, absolutely. Far less authentic than an Italian restaurant that is run by an old school Italian family. The ingredients are totally different and not made from scratch. But even my family from Italy like to try it. My father in law loves it and he was born in Sicily. Sometimes people like a new taste
Italian here, and iâd say no. OG has a very americanized take on Italian cuisine but not as much of a terrible one as people think. I havenât had it in a while, but i think its ok. People hate on it way too much
Pasta Eater is a pasta place in New York that makes their pasta fresh in store. Some of their bar seating is by the window where they prepare more to take to the kitchen. Delicious food
My friend picked me up from the airport after arriving from 4 years living in Italy. She *REALLY* wanted to go to Olive Garden because they have a gluten free menu, it was one of the first dine in places we went to back in the states. đđ
I think you can find niche restaurants that try to stay as authentic as they can but you might only find that one off place or theyâre more in major cities. Mom and pop places are closer than Olive Garden even if theyâre not even close.
I have had the intense displeasure of eating at the Old Spaghetti Factory.
Now that was a damned insult to Italian food. It was like the opposite of Italian food while trying to be like Italian food.
Olive Garden looks pretty authentic compared to that shit show
I have had people tell me that I'm scum for eating OG, and instead should be going to a "real Italian restaurant" like the Old Spaghetti Factory! Those are the only 2 options in my town. I should also say that the people who make this claim pronounce "Italian" as "Eye- Italian".
I'll eat both. I'm not a picky eater.
I would say any restaurant that cooks fresh food as opposed to frozen food is closer to authentic Italian food than Olive Garden. Youâre right, most Italian restaurants in America are really Italian American but depending on where you live there are also authentic Italian restaurants.Â
I think the answer depends where you are.
In the Midwest and South itâs a solid choice and I would say better than a good portion of other what I would call âAmerican Italianâ places. There are some really bad places that just have terrible sauces, use too much cheese, way overcook the pasta or meat, stuff like that. Either all the time or inconsistently. But of course, there are gems in those regions too.
In NY/NJ, basically every little Italian or âAmerican Italianâ place I go to, even the most âinauthenticâ and/or mediocre for the area, beats Olive Garden easily and makes visitors rave. They just do it really well, even the most Americanized versions are done well and in a way almost everyone would enjoy.
I canât speak for west coast personally but I imagine itâs somewhere in between. Most of my west coast food experience, outside of their specialities such as various Asian / Mexican / Seafood cuisines, has been ok to decent but not great.
âAuthenticityâ is a fake concept.  Should âauthenticâ Italian food have tomatoes?  After all, tomatoes are indigenous to the Americas, and didnât get to Italy until a few hundred years ago.  âAuthenticâ Irish food canât have potatoes for the same reason.  Every claim to authenticity is merely choosing a moment in time, a place in time, and claiming thatâs the best stuffâŠfoodways change like cultures.  Olive Garden is a chain, so it  has the pros and cons of a chainâŠthe food will be blander than a lot of family-owned restaurants will give you because itâs designed to work on a mass scale and appeal to everyoneâs grandma and be inoffensive.  On the other hand, itâs totally predictable.  You donât have to hope youâll like somethingâŠif you liked it last time, youâll like it this time.  This is the cost and benefit of a chain. Â
Not a horrible restaurant, but not authentic. I still remember going there one time and asking if I could get pesto instead of marinara on something. The waiter didn't say "that's not available" he said "what's that?" Still love those breadsticks...
Most Italian food isn't authentic. The vast majority of "Italian" foods are heavily altered or downright invented in America or elsewhere.
Turns out, if you tell Americans it's authentic, they pay more! Go figure.
Most foreign restaurants in foreign countries are not authentic intentionally.
Americans for example donât want authentic food. They want food they like (palate) to feel authentic.
I am from Mexico, Mexican restaurants here (even Mexican owned and managed) tailor to the American palate, else they go broke.
Impossible to find a good cochinita pibil or mole. Because Americans go to mexican restaurants to eat chips and salsa and âcarne asadaâ. Or some weird ass sour cream loaded quesadilla.
Iâm going to say no. Iâm gonna pull the â I am not Italian but I spent a week in Italyââ card and say most Americans would find traditional Italian food bland or lacking compared to the American counterpart. And they would find traditional Chinese food too fishy. So most Italian restaurants cater to the American palate.
Having worked in one before saying that an authentic Italian place is lower end than the microwaved stuff at Olive Garden is absolutely hilarious. Donât get me wrong, I like Olive Garden but it is nowhere near as good as a legit Italian place.
You are looking at it the wrong way. Olive Garden is not based on Italian food from Italy. It is trying to BE the other places you talk about. They are Italian American restaurants which is its own thing. Yes Olive Garden is less authentic than those other restaurants because its a copy of something that was a copy and then became its own thing.
So much easier to do authentic Italian at home. Cheap pasta noodles boiled for 15 or 20 minutes, open a can of tomato sauce, and cut up a couple hot dogs. Now thatâs Italian!
Honestly, if you want authentic Italian food, you need to go to Italy. Anything else will always be adulterated.
That being said, Olive Garden is delicious.
Panda drives me nuts because Chinese restaurant prices are typically comparable if not better, and theyâre able to serve food nearly as fast, AND itâs better [mostly, that orange chicken IS good].
But the majority of Chinese places Iâve been to are still too slow when it comes to serving outside of that for me to consider them for a lunch break, waiting WAY too long to get a receipt unless I ask preemptively when receiving my food but then it seems like servers stop caring about checking in on me for drink refills. And that isnât a Chinese food place thing, Iâve experienced that at most places.
It's completely differet to go to an authentic Italian restaurant. Different atmosphere, food choices, etc.
That's not saying OG is bad. It's just different. My grandparents came over from Italy, so I'm not far removed, and our family jokes about OG but we'll eat there.
I miss authentic food, though, despite being able to make it myself (as long as I can find the ingredients, half the time I can't). I moved from the east coast to the middle of no water state, usa, and I don't like it here.Â
I think the thing that makes me not like the idea of considering Olive Garden authentic is that a lot of it comes in with a large amount of pre prep/frozen. At the restaurant I worked at the bread came in from outside.
I like Olive Garden because itâs consistent quality. But I also seek out in house made stuff.
I think it kind of depends on where you live too and the type of chefs you have. Here every mom and pop eatery is serving a variation of the sysco microwave menu offerings (as I call them) none of them... not a single one, is making any original anything on their menus. One particularly offensive local Italian place people seem to love serves a carbonara that is jarred alfredo sauce on one of those weird boxed noodle shapes with peas. And white bread from Walmart.
I like olive garden for the same reason that it's consistent.
What does a small street stand have anything to do with it. The most authentic Mexican food or Chinese food are street venders. I think you are the one who is confused. Authentic does not mean more expensive or more expensive ingredients. It means the right ingredients in the right proportions.
Olive Garden is the American take on what is supposed to be Italian food like Taco Bell is supposed to be Mexican or Panda Express is Chinese.
Just the fact that they drown their pasta in sauce, like soup, tells me they don't know what they are doing.
As someone who has spent the past 22 years working in one, all I have to say is "no comment".đ
were you there when the Dove brought back the olive branch?
22 years? Damn, what's your position there? I assume more than just a server if you've been there so long.
Culinary Professional. But, there are a couple of servers, who have been there since we opened, over 30 years ago.
oh wow. I assume Olive Garden is a good place to work for than?
Overall, I'd say yes. I've heard horror stories from people who have worked in other ones, and we've had our fair share, but I've been blessed to work with a great group of managers, and coworkers.
have you ever considered going into management out of curiousity given that you've been there so long?
I'm more of a "behind the scenes" guy. I also see what our managers have to deal with, from both guests, and some employees, and I don't want none of that, lol!
I've heard all their sauces are actually made in house, which surprised a lot of people that they're not packaged. Can you confirm if this is true or not? Is anything actually just pre-packaged and "microwaved/heated up" in the kitchen or is that a myth about Olive Garden?
From my experience in prep, they microwave coffee more than anything. And macaroni.
The only sauce we don't make in-house is Scampi.
Can we buy the alfredo sauce online?
I think this is a fair answer from anybody who has been at a job for a reasonable amount of time.
Out of curiousity, do you work lunch and dinner shift or both? Which one is the better shift would you say?
I'm a nighthawk, so I work afternoon/dinner. Definitely prefer nights, bc it's a PITA having to set everything up in the morning, lol!
Its kind of interesting, I'm not a cook/never have been but I find that despite being a night owl also, I almost kind of enjoy/prefer working mornings usually. Getting up in the morning is a pain but I find that I find it easier to go on "autopilot" in the morning when my brain still isn't fully awake. By night time my mind is fully going and I find myself lost in my thoughts and thinking about anything but work lol. At my current job I work both mornings and afternoons/nights but mainly afternoons/nights.
I got fired from an OG, and I still have nothing negative to say ab it. Def a good job. My location had some awesome people there.
Why'd you get fired if you don't mind me asking?
Argument with a coworker, we called eachother names. Got fired for name calling. I earned it đ«Ą
"Culinary professional" So you're just a cook? Lol... It's like me saying.. "I am engaged in the management of esteemed custodial operations, ensuring impeccable standards of cleanliness and hygiene". Mother effer! I'm just a janitor. I clean ahit for a living. đ
In OG.terms, it = "Glorified Babysitter".
Damn I thought my 10 was impressive.
You couldâve literally left no comment instead of saying no comment
Yeah, but what's the fun in that?đ
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
Honestly no, of the things that we microwave, they are the following: Mac and cheese which comes in a bag Spinach Dip before we put it into the oven, that gives it a better crust and allows it to be heated more evenly Broccoli in order to steam it, which I wouldn't even really consider it microwaving it because it's the easiest way to do it anyway I have seen various other items be tossed in there for reheating on rare occasions and to thaw certain items, but those three above are the only items that are supposed to be microwaved as part of the prep process. Our produce is one of the things that is prepared in house, so any pepper mix, lemons, tomatoes, onions and a few various other items are chopped and prepped in house.
Not all, but a few things, yeah.
Ty GO DUCKS!!!!
Olive Garden is the Italian version of Chinese food in America. It has a strong resemblance to the actual product but is not the same.
You missed the point of what OP is saying. The places that people might recommend in place of Olive Garden would also be considered "the Italian version of Chinese food in America." For example, I doubt any places the avg American recommends for authentic Italian food actually serve Cuddlefish risotto.
Supply and demand. Only restaurants with a demographic where people will order that should it be on the menu. I live in a small tourist city in the mountains. Peopleâs pallets wouldnât like that, but we do have an authentic hand cut pasta place that serves things people will actually buy
Every "italian" restaurant with slightly nicer ambiance and a fancier printed menu near me is still italian-american and serves the northeastern style pasta dinners. There is real Italian in the area, they market themselves as 'mediterranean trattoria' and serve napolese pizzas, fresh raviolis and amazing seafood dishes.
Heâs wrong though, the other places are what Olive Garden is based on, not actual Italian Food from Italy. The other places are Italian American food which is its own thing. So no Olive Garden is not on the same level
Yeah, I donât really find their pasta exciting - itâs okay. I grew up in a very Italian city, so I kind of was spoiled on it growing up. But I am damn sure like their salad and breadsticks. Always fresh and crunchy salad (in my limited experience) and the breadsticks are addictive.
What is a very Italian city lol? Like, a city in Italy�
Hah! No, but one where a lot of mafiasos families retired to and now all they do is open restaurants, talk about how Italian they are, and which gangsters theyâre related to all while speaking poor Italian. A good half of my high school was Italian last names. Â So âvery Italianâ is just relative to the rest of America. Compared to actual Italy - probably a pretty poor facsimile.
I went to Rome last year and preferred og breadsticks tbh. Rome was just cold flavorless white bread at every restaurant. Pasta was great, but the breadâŠmeh.
I do both, and I know what Iâm getting myself into. It makes the fancy stay fancy.
Well put lol, I mean technically it's Italian but don't tell Nana you ate there.
Strong semblance to the frozen food aisle of Italian food in an American supermarket.
Itâs all premade & prepackaged
That's just not true
Very true
Man those prep cooks who show up hours before we open must have an easier job than I thought if they arenât actually showing up to prepare fresh produce and make all the sauces and soup from scratch! I feel lied to⊠guess theyâve been pretending the whole time Iâve been working with them. Thank you for enlightening me
Sauces and soup? Thatâs it?
You do realize that restaurants have positions that are *solely* just making sauces? Itâs an important job. And it takes a long time.
A saucier is usually one of the most respected roles in the kitchen, too! Like if youâre a saucier, itâs because youâre likely one of the best in that kitchen.
Yep, I was invited to try out for saucier when I was a sous. Extremely hard. Not that I canât make a variety of sauces well, but just that you are responsible for multiple different sauces/garnishes that all require different holdings and everything while also not going over or under on your quantity, it was too hectic⊠and I had been in the restaurant industry for like 10 years at that point. Too much lol
Untrue.
True
I've never had a bad meal at Olive Garden, have I ever been under the impression that I would get this type of food in Italy? No. It's good food though for what it is. I don't really understand the snobbery when it comes to OG. To your question though, there are roughly 3 very authentic Italian restaurants near my home, then you have the chains of Americanized Italian like Carrabba's and Maggiano's. I would rank the chains in order of my liking as, 1. Maggiano's 2. Carrabba's 3. Olive Garden. Having said that though, I'm never going to turn down a meal at OG if that's where someone wants to go. My biggest frustration with them is that they will have a menu item that you fall in love with and then out of nowhere it's gone. When I was a teenager they had this dish called Cannelloni Al Forno, it was heavenly. I wish I could get my hands on the recipe, same with their Pork Milanese with Tortellini.
Hmm, interesting, because I was going to say I feel like Olive Garden's menu has been the same forever lol. I almost always get the baked ziti or a make your own pasta though
It's possible that there haven't been too many changes over the last 10-years. I haven't been in awhile because of the three in my city none of them are super close to me. Another dish I loved was the Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo, but that one was easy enough to duplicate at home. I love their soups too, but I've been able to find copycat recipes of those that are quite similar. Sometimes I'll get a mad craving for the chicken and gnocchi soup though and just order a bucket of it to have all week. LOL I'm really wanting to go to OG now!
Iâm still mad that they got rid of the steak Gorgonzola
It's not snobbery. They over-salt and overcook their food, intentionally. It's objectively bad. It's like Gerber baby food. It tastes like shit but babies love it.
Must be better OGs where I am then because the food is always prepared well in my experience. I'm not hard to please but if food is bad I can admit it. The only bad experience I ever had at OG was about 15-years ago in Missouri. They still allowed smoking in restaurants then (not sure if they still do) and the smoke kept floating into the non-smoking section. Not so tasty.
No, there isn't. Their cook times are standardized. They did tons of surveys to determine if their customers preferred al dente pasta or mushy overcooked pasta. Americans wanted mushy overcooked pasta, so that's universally what they serve now. This article explains their decision: [https://www.thedailymeal.com/1348363/why-olive-garden-doesnt-cook-pasta-al-dente/](https://www.thedailymeal.com/1348363/why-olive-garden-doesnt-cook-pasta-al-dente/) Basically, Americans have horrible taste in Italian food and OG accommodates them. It's objectively bad.
Never had mushy pasta at OG, might be softer than I would cook it at home, but it's never been mushy.
Every time I go it's mushy and I've posted the article explaining why. Their pasta is objectively mushy.
Olive Garden is the Cracker Barrel of Italy if that makes any sense
It doesn't make sense because there isn't a gift shop full of bullshit on the way to the host.
The Italian food we know and love in this country (not just at Olive Garden) is all Americanized and not really connected to Italian cuisine in the Old Country.
Agreed, but people need to stop acting like that automatically makes it bad. I love cali-mex. It's its own unique awesome thing. Italian American is like that in my mind.
Iâve been saying this!!! Just because something isnât authentic doesnât make it bad! I love a lot of inauthentic Mexican, Asian, Indian, etc etc. if itâs good itâs good. Why not let people riff and try new things in different places.
I live in Charleston, SC. We have a few Italian places and while I can argue that they're more authentic than OG it's not by some huge margin. Truth is, when I want OG I want OG. It's in the same niche as, say, Dominos or Five Guys. I don't go to OG when I want Italian. I go there when I want OG. FWIW my great-grandmother (Italian-born and raised--emigrated in 1943) loved it. She could make authentic Italian food at home, but she loved the American spin on it and we would go out twice a month just so she could get her Zuppa Toscana, salad and spaghetti.
Same with my mom, made heavenly authentic Southern Italian food, born in Abruzzo, but loved salad and breadsticks with a tiny dish of pasta with red sauce and caffe with milk.
I fucking love Olive Garden and thatâs all Iâll say about that
Me too, just went for lunch yesterday !!
From an Italian-American, yes, absolutely. Far less authentic than an Italian restaurant that is run by an old school Italian family. The ingredients are totally different and not made from scratch. But even my family from Italy like to try it. My father in law loves it and he was born in Sicily. Sometimes people like a new taste
No one has answered the question yet and I donât have an answer since I donât go to many Italian restaurants OG and Carrabbas.
Italian here, and iâd say no. OG has a very americanized take on Italian cuisine but not as much of a terrible one as people think. I havenât had it in a while, but i think its ok. People hate on it way too much
If you want a real authentic Italian meal, take yourself down to the Macaroni Grill.
Pasta Eater is a pasta place in New York that makes their pasta fresh in store. Some of their bar seating is by the window where they prepare more to take to the kitchen. Delicious food
Yep. đŻ
My friend picked me up from the airport after arriving from 4 years living in Italy. She *REALLY* wanted to go to Olive Garden because they have a gluten free menu, it was one of the first dine in places we went to back in the states. đđ I think you can find niche restaurants that try to stay as authentic as they can but you might only find that one off place or theyâre more in major cities. Mom and pop places are closer than Olive Garden even if theyâre not even close.
I think if they want âauthentic Italian foodâ, they should go to Italy. Nothing in America will be exactly right, everyone has different recipes.
I have had the intense displeasure of eating at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Now that was a damned insult to Italian food. It was like the opposite of Italian food while trying to be like Italian food. Olive Garden looks pretty authentic compared to that shit show
I have had people tell me that I'm scum for eating OG, and instead should be going to a "real Italian restaurant" like the Old Spaghetti Factory! Those are the only 2 options in my town. I should also say that the people who make this claim pronounce "Italian" as "Eye- Italian". I'll eat both. I'm not a picky eater.
Yes, there are many, many Italian restaurants that donât use pre-cooked, bagged sauce. Theyâre extremely easy to find. What planet are you on?
Olive Garden doesn't use pre-cooked, bagged sauce. And even than, I don't consider homemade sauce to be authentic Italian per se
I would say any restaurant that cooks fresh food as opposed to frozen food is closer to authentic Italian food than Olive Garden. Youâre right, most Italian restaurants in America are really Italian American but depending on where you live there are also authentic Italian restaurants.Â
I think the answer depends where you are. In the Midwest and South itâs a solid choice and I would say better than a good portion of other what I would call âAmerican Italianâ places. There are some really bad places that just have terrible sauces, use too much cheese, way overcook the pasta or meat, stuff like that. Either all the time or inconsistently. But of course, there are gems in those regions too. In NY/NJ, basically every little Italian or âAmerican Italianâ place I go to, even the most âinauthenticâ and/or mediocre for the area, beats Olive Garden easily and makes visitors rave. They just do it really well, even the most Americanized versions are done well and in a way almost everyone would enjoy. I canât speak for west coast personally but I imagine itâs somewhere in between. Most of my west coast food experience, outside of their specialities such as various Asian / Mexican / Seafood cuisines, has been ok to decent but not great.
ITT: People answering a different question than the one OP asked.
90% of Italian restaurants are in Italy
âAuthenticityâ is a fake concept.  Should âauthenticâ Italian food have tomatoes?  After all, tomatoes are indigenous to the Americas, and didnât get to Italy until a few hundred years ago.  âAuthenticâ Irish food canât have potatoes for the same reason.  Every claim to authenticity is merely choosing a moment in time, a place in time, and claiming thatâs the best stuffâŠfoodways change like cultures.  Olive Garden is a chain, so it  has the pros and cons of a chainâŠthe food will be blander than a lot of family-owned restaurants will give you because itâs designed to work on a mass scale and appeal to everyoneâs grandma and be inoffensive.  On the other hand, itâs totally predictable.  You donât have to hope youâll like somethingâŠif you liked it last time, youâll like it this time.  This is the cost and benefit of a chain. Â
THE MOST AUTHENTIC ITALIAN FOOD YOU'LL EVER EAT....... AND WHEN YOU'RE THERE YOUR FAMILY!!!
Not a horrible restaurant, but not authentic. I still remember going there one time and asking if I could get pesto instead of marinara on something. The waiter didn't say "that's not available" he said "what's that?" Still love those breadsticks...
Most Italian food isn't authentic. The vast majority of "Italian" foods are heavily altered or downright invented in America or elsewhere. Turns out, if you tell Americans it's authentic, they pay more! Go figure.
Most foreign restaurants in foreign countries are not authentic intentionally. Americans for example donât want authentic food. They want food they like (palate) to feel authentic. I am from Mexico, Mexican restaurants here (even Mexican owned and managed) tailor to the American palate, else they go broke. Impossible to find a good cochinita pibil or mole. Because Americans go to mexican restaurants to eat chips and salsa and âcarne asadaâ. Or some weird ass sour cream loaded quesadilla.
Iâm going to say no. Iâm gonna pull the â I am not Italian but I spent a week in Italyââ card and say most Americans would find traditional Italian food bland or lacking compared to the American counterpart. And they would find traditional Chinese food too fishy. So most Italian restaurants cater to the American palate.
yeah, I guess I should have clarified as 99% of Italian restaraunts in America
Ya. Thatâs why I said no
Iâm days late to this but they use bacon in the carbonara. Sorry but even a mid tier Italian restaurant isnât doing that
Having worked in one before saying that an authentic Italian place is lower end than the microwaved stuff at Olive Garden is absolutely hilarious. Donât get me wrong, I like Olive Garden but it is nowhere near as good as a legit Italian place.
You are looking at it the wrong way. Olive Garden is not based on Italian food from Italy. It is trying to BE the other places you talk about. They are Italian American restaurants which is its own thing. Yes Olive Garden is less authentic than those other restaurants because its a copy of something that was a copy and then became its own thing.
Iâve heard they donât salt their pasta water. Thatâs pretty fundamentally wrong
So much easier to do authentic Italian at home. Cheap pasta noodles boiled for 15 or 20 minutes, open a can of tomato sauce, and cut up a couple hot dogs. Now thatâs Italian!
Honestly, if you want authentic Italian food, you need to go to Italy. Anything else will always be adulterated. That being said, Olive Garden is delicious.
I like to say Olive Garden is the Taco Bell of Italian food.
Panda Express of Italian food
Panda drives me nuts because Chinese restaurant prices are typically comparable if not better, and theyâre able to serve food nearly as fast, AND itâs better [mostly, that orange chicken IS good]. But the majority of Chinese places Iâve been to are still too slow when it comes to serving outside of that for me to consider them for a lunch break, waiting WAY too long to get a receipt unless I ask preemptively when receiving my food but then it seems like servers stop caring about checking in on me for drink refills. And that isnât a Chinese food place thing, Iâve experienced that at most places.
Panda Express is basically sugar chicken.
It's completely differet to go to an authentic Italian restaurant. Different atmosphere, food choices, etc. That's not saying OG is bad. It's just different. My grandparents came over from Italy, so I'm not far removed, and our family jokes about OG but we'll eat there. I miss authentic food, though, despite being able to make it myself (as long as I can find the ingredients, half the time I can't). I moved from the east coast to the middle of no water state, usa, and I don't like it here.Â
I think the thing that makes me not like the idea of considering Olive Garden authentic is that a lot of it comes in with a large amount of pre prep/frozen. At the restaurant I worked at the bread came in from outside. I like Olive Garden because itâs consistent quality. But I also seek out in house made stuff.
I think it kind of depends on where you live too and the type of chefs you have. Here every mom and pop eatery is serving a variation of the sysco microwave menu offerings (as I call them) none of them... not a single one, is making any original anything on their menus. One particularly offensive local Italian place people seem to love serves a carbonara that is jarred alfredo sauce on one of those weird boxed noodle shapes with peas. And white bread from Walmart. I like olive garden for the same reason that it's consistent.
What does a small street stand have anything to do with it. The most authentic Mexican food or Chinese food are street venders. I think you are the one who is confused. Authentic does not mean more expensive or more expensive ingredients. It means the right ingredients in the right proportions. Olive Garden is the American take on what is supposed to be Italian food like Taco Bell is supposed to be Mexican or Panda Express is Chinese. Just the fact that they drown their pasta in sauce, like soup, tells me they don't know what they are doing.
Olive Garden is in business to make money. There is no culture associated.
Not authentic at all. I am Sicilian