My little thing about red-lobster and olive garden - Page 2

I work in high-volume so there are many shoes to be filled, and those shoes are filled by idiot feet. One guy works in the garde manger and he assembles sandwiches. He was talking about the steaks we mass-produce here (and granted, when you cook 1500 in five hours, there will be a few overcooked) and says he's too picky about steaks and won't eat them. Then he says the best he's ever had was at an Outback. I told him to keep that to himself, and to not tell any of the chefs, or he might be reprimanded.

Actually, I went into a Maggiano's once when I was dragged into it, and my friend ordered a minestrone soup. Get this---- it was BROKEN. Yes, it is IMPOSSIBLE to break a broth, but the soup was broken. I assume they had added additional fat.... in any case that was one sign. We had a friendly server, but he did not come by the table for 15 minutes when we first sat down (I had to go to the bar to order drinks). I ordered some veggie pasta thing, and when it was delivered it was the ugliest looking item I've ever seen. I asked for the "chef" to come out and he says they always look that way. I told him that he should never ever serve something that immediately resembles vomit. I would not eat it. THe server at the table also said he would not eat it. The chef offered dessert, I said no, thank you, I can make my own dessert far better than the IQF brownies in their freezer. We did not have to pay our tab, but we left hungry and went to a tiny locally owned sandwich and soup place and had a great lunch.

THANK YOU! I feel vindicated!

We have a Maggiano's here in Vegas that is horrible, but people will claim it is the best italian in town.

I don't know how some restaurants get their good reputations.

We have one in Short Pump Shopping Center here in the Richmond area. My comment earlier needs to be retracted since we did try to eat there and.... No walk-in diners until 9pm and the food didn't look nearly as good as I remembered it. Most of my experience with them stems from Oak Brook, IL and Buckhead Atlanta. This is a good example when the powers that be let things get away from them and begin to shift focus.

Anyhow I can't make myself say that OG is that good. It's more just a personal and ethnic position. It wasn't too long ago that as an Italian the only time you ate Italian food at a place other than your own home was when you went to relatives or home for a visit.

Having worked at Buca, I have to admit that for a major chain, they came closer to some of my families cooking than any other place in my life. Like I said as an Italian ya just didn't go out for Italian food.

I think we now tolerate many places just out of sheer convenience but OG is not one that I can tollerate more than once a decade. Also for me, RL is just too much like a fishy Mickey D's.

Ya want to enjoy lobster? Make it an event and go to a really nice place, order a COLD water tail or pick it out of the tank, sitback, order a nice bottle of wine and ENJOY!!!!! Cheap food is exactly that. Cheap

There was a saying out there Rochester NY way how did it go? Cheap food isn't good and good food isn't cheap...But it's always worth the wait.:)

Red Lobster serves entree's?? LOL Just kidding..... I have a son who loves fried seafood, so when we have gone, I eat the caesars salad and a bizzillon of their cheddar biscuits and am no longer hungry for the main course...... it definately isn't gourmet (and usually overcooked) but it is better than McDonald's (and if you let a kid pick the restaurant, you could end up there). LOL

At Olive Garden I absolutely love their alfredo sauce!! That is the best flavor in the building imo. Oh, and their berry Sangria is tasty too, imo. We always get a pitcher of that. Other than their alfredo, I have never been to ecstatic about anything else they serve.

I get a kick how they try to push a certain wine in the beginning before you even order!!

I have been having similar problems with olive garden and other over-priced Italian restaurants. I’ve found it much cheaper and easier to just cook at home instead. Italian is one of the easier things to cook, especially if u have a good cookbook.

btw Right now I’m using Maria Liberati’s book ‘the basic art of Italian cooking’ and I love it.

I have to concur: if you've seen one, you have not necessarily seen 'em all.

 

My sons love Dead Lobster. It is their restaurant of choice if cost is no object. It is the only seafood place in the area since our McGrath's closed down.

 

The service at our Orem, UT location has always been great. I took my sons there to celebrate some occasion or another, and it was their first visit to a seafood place. It was fun watching my oldest son try to figure out how to disassemble a lobster, then have a cute waitress patiently show him how. And when I later took our 16-year-old there, the server spoiled him shamelessly and made him quite a happy camper. He still talks about the evening. And those dang cheddar biscuits... we always leave with a bag of them for later.

 

As for Olive Garden, I have no idea how long since I've been there. There are too many Italian restaurants nearby where they speak Italian in the kitchen.

I just read this entire thread---it does go back a ways, after all, and I had no recollection of it.

 

I'm curious about those who keep referring to RL as cheap. Are you kidding? It's the most expensive (read overpriced) seafood in the country, considering what you're getting.

 

I generally avoid it. Well, the fact is, we don't go out to eat all that often, and try to avoid all chain restaurants. Last time (which was as far back as this thread is old, IIRC) I was dragged there for lunch by guys I hang out with. Ordered the lobster salad, figuring how bad could it be. Well, for 18 bucks I'd have expected more that three small pieces of overcooked lobster hiding in a bowl of chopped up lettuce.