Before I plow into these restaurants, let the record show that I am admitting that I am a harsh critic. In previous years I was a server and I believe that servers and chef’s are probably the hardest people to serve for because they the job’s. A good server knows what excellent service is, and if you are a good server you expect nothing less. A good chef knows how food should taste when it’s executed correctly, and I am sure they expect nothing less as well. Moving on, I always expect for restaurants to be on their “A” game on Valentines Day, sadly I couldn’t say that either one was.
My first stop was Olive Garden. You may be thinking “who would do a review on Olive Garden?” I know, everyone has been their right? You are probably right, but they do have new soups, and always have new features that are available for a limited time. From what I saw they did revamp the menu a bit. Sadly they took away the pizza that you can choose your own toppings, and replaced it with three specialty pizzas. I am upset about this because this is what I and my son would get. We get the regular size pizza and he eat’s the pizza and I get the never ending soup that comes with it. It’s time to be economical here people. Anyway, I decided to treat my son to an early Valentine’s Day dinner so he chooses Olive Garden. Luckily when we got there we were sat right away. I didn’t really like the seating, we were a party of three and we were sat at a round top for six. I bet the six top that was waiting for us to finish was upset. Our waitress was kind, however I am assuming she was either new, or Olive Garden is also revamping their customer service. I say this because going back to the pizza; I asked if it could still be done, a regular sized pepperoni pizza. Knowing that the child’s size was on the kid’s menu and that I was sitting in an Italian restaurant I wouldn’t think that this is an outlandish request. Her reply was that she didn’t know if they could that, so she had to go to the back to check. She came back and reported that they could, so I proceed to order, just as I have for years. I say I would like the regular size pepperoni pizza and instead of it coming with the ramekin of marinara sauce on the side, I would like the alfredo sauce. To which she reply’s AGAIN that she didn’t know if they could do this. Now here is where I got annoyed because not only is this the second time I am hearing it, in what should be a “yes” restaurant, but I know for a fact they have alfredo sauce back there, so it shouldn’t be a question. She again has to leave the table, lucky for her, she obliges. To answer any question you may have about the “yes” restaurant, let me explain. A “yes” restaurant is a restaurant that always tell you “yes” to anything you ask for you dining experience, provided that IT IS POSSIBLE. “Can I substitute this for that?” “Yes” the server replies. “Can I have soup instead of salad?” “Yes” the server replies. “Do you still have the ingredients to make the dish the old way?” “Yes we can do that for you.” OR “Let me check…yes we do.” OR good server’s, if not possible, know the menu well enough to suggest something similar. A good server is very knowledgeable about the menu, wine list etc. Our server, other then those hitches, was very attentive; our drinks were never in need of refilling (something that is a big deal to me). Now, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Olive Garden soups. They have a new one that came out within the last year called Chicken and Gnocchi soup. This one quickly beat out the minestrone as my number two soup there. The chicken in that soup is so tender and full of flavor. It is a really hearty soup and it reminds me of something you would make on a very cold afternoon, and I am usually a sucker for the cream soups. The pizza came and was the same it always has been. I personally really like Olive Garden pizza, the dough is the same dough that they use for their breadsticks so when you get to the bones of the pizza you get the same taste, which is why I like to get the alfredo sauce with it. The gentleman dining with us ordered one of the limited features, I wish I could say that it was done correctly, but it was not. He ordered the Parmesan Crusted Bistecca. The picture looked fabulous. However, he ordered it medium, and when it came, there was no lining of pink at all. I did try the steak and it still was flavorful and not too chewy, but not really juicy or mouth watering as a medium to medium well steak should be. The mashed potatoes looked like the diet version of the picture. I know that we all need portion control, but give me what is on the picture and let me worry about the portion control myself please. Now the question "Will you go back". With chain restaurant's a hiccup in service won't keep people away, they have made their mark on the restaurant industry and have created craveable dishes. Honestly, this one bad visit wouldn't keep me from returning.
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