I Am Officially Calling Out Olive Garden!!!

Don't get me wrong. I've always been a girl always on the hunt for a good bargain and value. I'm not going to bash the Olive Garden's All-You-Can-Eat Salad & Breadsticks. It has fed me (and millions of others, I'm sure) quite well during tough times.

HOWEVER... I have a few bones to pick with you, Olive Garden.

First of all, you have accosted the airwaves recently stating that you as a company send your chefs to the Tuscan province in Italy in some 11th century estate to train them in the art of Italian cuisine...

REALLY?!? Really, Olive Garden? Do you expect me to believe this? After the horrendously bland and over-creamed dishes I have tried to eat when visiting relatives suggested your restaurant for a family meal together in the 80s and 90s?

Fine. Even if I did believe it and it were truly true, that would be VERY COOL of you, and you would be better than many Italian restaurants run by true Italian nationals with their family recipes, faded and tattered, in hand who could only afford to hire and train a local chef with prior Mexican and Chinese restaurant experience. And yet, ask a local foodie for "decent" Italian food in their area, and the words "Olive Garden" will NEVER slip through their lips.

Olive Garden - 0.
Moonlighting Fooditor - 1.

Second of all, you have now assaulted the airwaves with a new promotion of your "ROLLATINI" entree...

I'm sorry, what the hell is a rollatini, and is that Italian? Lo and behold, "rollatini" IS an Italian word. Mea culpa. That's LATIN for "My bad." When I first saw this commercial, I thought you made up the word to try to fool us ignorant masses that you serve food that must be Italian because the words end with "INI." But you got me on this one.

Olive Garden - 1.
Moonlighting Fooditor - 1.

And yet, after a lengthy discussion with other foodies and friends, you, Olive Garden, still lose the authenticity game for your LAZY NAMING CONVENTIONS, such as Chicken CON BROCCOLI. You couldn't even TRY to be KIND OF Italian by calling it "Pollo con Broccoli" or how about a literal translation, "Pollo con Broccolo?" Make it even the SLIGHTEST BIT MYSTERIOUS to your customers, whom you apparently consider less than intelligent enough to be able to figure out what "Pollo con Broccolo" could possibly translate to??

Olive Garden - 1.
Moonlighting Fooditor - 2.

I win. You just wait for my blog about the Italian cuisine recently enjoyed at Fabio Viviani's Cafe Firenze (coming soon!!).

But I promise you will still probably see me one day in the near future for All-You-Can-Eat breadsticks and salad. No hard feelings.