The OG rant

Last night Dt and I needed to do a little shopping so we headed to the mall to pick up a few things. Afterwards, we decided to eat at The Olive Garden (commonly referred to as The OG in our house) for dinner because he received a gift card there for Christmas. As we were on our way to the OG, we commented on how long it had been since we'd been there.

Growing up my family didn't eat out much because of my dad's love of cooking, but when we did, we definitely didn't go to the OG. You couldn't pay my father to eat there. Not his idea of a good time. So I didn't go there often but in college, the OG was one of the few restaurants in the small town outside of Clemson so we frequented it every once in a while. There weren't many options back then and a college kid could easily fill up on the salad and breadsticks. But once we graduated and moved to a town bigger than Clemson, there were so many more options for dinner that the OG was never on our radar.

So it had been a while since we had graced the OG with our presence. As we are circling this restaurant on a Wednesday night at 7:30 trying to find parking, I'm amazed at how packed it is! This is really the top pick for all of these people for dinner? We even waited for our table for about twenty mins. On a wednesday night. At the Olive Garden. As we were standing there waiting (which we would not have done without the gift card) I started to wonder what the state of this restaurant said about our society. Because once you stop and think about it, the OG does not have any food worth writing home about. I mean, who doesn't love cheese and a healthy serving of carbs every once in a while? But other than that what does it really offer?  The food is actually pretty greasy and doesn't have any real italian taste to it. Haven't they ever heard of oregano? I've been to Italy and the food there is amazing!!! The fresh tomatoes, and mozzarella, and ricotta, and pasta, it's all heavenly. But Chicken Parmesan is not an authentic Italian dish and is rarely served in Italy (if you are surprised at this notion, don't worry, it blew "The Situation's" mind too).

As I'm coming to this realization throughout our dinner, it is kind of like when the bartender yells last call at 2 a.m. and the lights come on and you realize that the guy you've been flirting with all night doesn't actually look like this

Swoon.

(and if on the off chance he does, stop reading this blog and go make out hang out with him right now). Once you stop to think about it, the OG doesn't really have anything to offer. Once the lights come on and you hear last call you start to realize that the salad is kind of soggy. The breadsticks are kinda stale and hard (come on, admit it). There isn't much flavor to the food. And all of the waitresses are wearing ties. But for some reason, people let the "free" salad and breadsticks cloud their judgement and continue to flock to this establish every night of the week just to wait for a table and overpay for food that is no where near Italian. Yes, the OG has not changed over the last 10 years and I'm just coming to the realization that our society still gushes over this subpar restaurant but it's making me sick. Is anyone else embarrassed that this is a top choice for families for in our country?

I'm sure this will not be the last time I visit an Olive Garden and I'm sure that nothing in our society will change with regards to this restaurant but as for this girl (and her bf), next time I want overpriced, americanized Italian food, I'm going to Carrabba's! ;)