Jonathan Gold Reviews the Olive Garden

Kt_did

It's just a place to eat. Get over yourself.

Daphne

Jesus Christ. You all are so worked up. Personally, I don't LOVE Olive Garden, but its an easy quick, moderately affordable solution when I'm craving some breadsticks and egglpant parmesan. Sure, its not mega gourmet awesome delicious, but it takes the edge off and doesn't kill my modest budget or my tastebuds, and I don't have to 'find it' first. Sure, I'm uncultured and middle class, but like most of us, I don't have the time or interesf to seek out hole in the wall places, especially when I have a full family to fee, which includes picky children. And, the writer WAS quite a snob, and I understand his intention was to be humorous. But intent is only half the battle, and you have to have funny content to justify your humorous intent, or you end looking like an ass and ruffling everybody's feathers. Which was probably the point anyway. But yeah. This Jonathan Gold guy is not someone I'd wanna hang out with, if he can't even enjoy a near-decent meal that keeps his fat ass from starving to death. I mean, some people have so little, and you're just mocking them for not being as high class and hip as you. I mean, I'm sure that wasn't the intention, but that was the vibe. Anyway, also, who gives a fuck about authenticity? I just want some breadsticks! -end rant< thanks for reading-

micahrzehnder

1 Like

I don't get it.The problem is that Olive Garden isn't really much cheaper than a SERIOUS Italian restaurant. What is the eggplant parm? $13?You could go to Angellini Osteria and get their famous lasagna for $16. You get unlimited assorted bread, and often a free starter of some kind from the kitchen.The quality of Angellini's food is literally lightyears beyond Olive Garden though, by many rights it one of the best restaurants in the city.But you're saying that extra $3 is enough to justify eating grease-soaked, processed, frozen ingredients as opposed to organic, market fresh ones prepared by one of the city's best chefs?...If Olive Garden was serving eggplant parm plates for $5, I would see your point, but damn man, how can it not be worth the extra $3? Your body will thank you... And even for a family of 5 we'd be talking about an extra $15. Surely that isn't THAT big of a deal when you are going out to eat??I don't know...maybe it is...I'm just wondering, because an extra $3 per person seems incredibly reasonable to me.

anuneducatedpalate

Although the underlying message may be a tiny bit pretentious, the writing certainly isn't. What a pleasure to read!

Commentator

I ate at Olive Garden. Once. If there was an "I survived Olive Garden" T-shirt, I'd buy it.

Dishpr

yeah. this does sound snobby. and it seems unnecessary...and beneath you too. for many americans, OG is a perfectly fine place to eat. it is affordable and accommodating. we can't forget to respect the enjoyment of others.

anon

any other run down half-assed family owned restaurant is worlds better than olive garden and they're all over LA

la_weakly

No, olive garden is pretty terrible if you actually take 5 seconds to find a better Italian spot in LA.

Django Free

Go on vacation in the Tropics on your NOKIA mobile. Enjoy the sweet sounds of Steelpan right in the palm of your hands. No this is not an mp3. It's a new mind buzzing memory game called 'Oh!Oh!Baby!' and you can find it at NOKIA's OVI store now. Soothe your soul and buzz your mind!

John Huan Vu

I've been known to enjoy a meal at Olive Garden every now and then. We all know it's not "great food" but hey, sometimes it's what you want. That said, it's clear to me that most of the people trashing Jonathan Gold here just don't know his work. Please consider the man's writing and what he's known for before you reach for your (utterly lazy and repetitive) insults.

Latonya "Keed" Bunn

My high-school English teacher once told our class that Jack Benny was so well loved because he always made fun of himself, never other people. I think I knew what he meant at the time but am positive I do now.

Rtf

It's probably fair to say that Jack Benny (and your teacher) were blessed with quite a bit more self-awareness than Mr. Gold.

LAmoon

I'm glad Gold wrote a review of Olive Garden. It affirms my near twenty year personal boycott of the branch that is about five minutes from my home and office. The branch whose parking lot is nearly always full as I drive by scratching my head, wondering if they have improved their menu. Because of the several times I did eat at Olive Garden their pasta was rubbery and their white sauce was pasty, bland and devoid of, hello? Olive oil? I did like their Italian vinaigrette, however, I will give them that - tart and vinegary rather than overly sweet.

Still, to my liking, Olive Garden simply wasn't worth the money (or any money) when far better Italian fare could be eaten at so many more affordable, authentic, mom & pop Italian restaurants (this was when I lived in the Philadelphia area where the true Italian-Americans didn't need to be "trained in the Tuscany tradition.") Now that I live in Texas, I've learned to cook my own rather than suffer through Olive Garden's offerings. After reading Gold's review? I'll keep doing more of the same.

samofson

Jabba the Gold strikes the Olive Garden! Snobbery sneers at the middle class. But as a liberal journalist, doesn't he just LOVE the bourgeoisie and despise the rich (a group I doubt he will ever be a member of)?

Gregory Thomas

My Buddha, you can't be serious! He writes about good food and bad food, good and bad food that has nothing to do with socioeconomic classes. And please look up the definition of bourgeoisie before you spout off any more nonsense.

samofson

It's a synonym for middle-class in most dictionaries, and therefore rather mean-spirited.

BTW, I always find it delicious when elitists, attempting to show their superior intellect in a condescending way, prove how fatuous they truly are.

samofson

Dictionary.com:

World English Dictionarybourgeoisie (ˌbʊəʒwɑːˈziː) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide] — n1. the middle classes

Okay, Professor? Ridiculing places patronized by the middle class by some slob on an expense account, is what you might call "mean spirited".

sportsfanDC

The comments here are almost as abrasive as the ones on this food blog, which criticized pro athletes for eating at the Olive Garden while in NYC:http://www.thepostgame.com/blo...Clearly, the OG has its fans.

CANCERCUREDNOSURGERY

BETTER THAN OLIVE !

The book "A CURE 4 CANCER" see website www.HomeCookingCures.com by author JOLLIE HARRIS III

This incredible Food Program and the Feed God's Sheep Missionary Church Sanctuary helps children, veterans, elderly homeless and men women and children of all races.

All natural program actually has cured cancer and many other diseases, see the website or call for details 888-432-5368

I really believe he could help many of the people on your website in a totally natural way. Please post his website and information for any one who needs help.. Consultation is FREE.

DaniE.

You are a pretentious a-hole. You have probably seriously diminished someones restaurant career, during horrible economic times no less, because you felt the need to pull an April Fools prank? If you knew anything of how a Corporate Restaurant worked, you would know these people work hard for their money, from the busser on up to the Manager, with little to NO creative control. You mock a waiters friendly banter? You sir, are the one with no class. Also, everyone knows the Derby is quite overrated.

Guest

Diminished someones career? haha somehow I think the Olive Garden will recover.

DaniE.

No doubt, the Olive Garden will continue to flourish. However, a restaurant manager, and probably that waiter this idiot decided to mock for his friendly behavior will have their asses handed to them by a corporate DM. People need their jobs, and YES, some people have careers at Olive Garden, and other restaurant chains. Don't be such an elitest.

Guest

you spelled elitist wrong.

Michael L.

I don't mind chain restaurants or anything, but I can see how someone with actual tastes would wrinkle their nose at it, especially a place like Olive Garden that seems so incredibly sloppy and lazy in its formula.

It's like going from filet mignon to Pedigree Meaty Chunks.

Guest

Sure is a whole lotta butthurt in here. OG is not good food. No chain has good food, because they all buy prepackaged crap from the cheapest supplier they can. It's how they stay in business: pre-made, frozen & thawed mass produced overprocessed crap, assembled on a plate by a college student with a pictographic instruction glued to the wall.

Honestly, I almost envy you people. I wish I was dumb and tasteless enough to eat this schlock and call it "fine dining" in my head. But alas, I am cursed to know what food is supposed to actually taste like and thus I must cook it myself or pay more than $15/plate at a restaurant with an actual chef, rather than a host of kids playing paint-by-number with freshly un-packaged food product objects.

W00p

I'll say, some of OG's food is decent, but for the most part it's crap and appeals to the lowest common denominator.

I dated a girl and her idea of "good" Italian food was OG, which is a travesty because we have a bunch of awesome, authentic Italian places here in St. Louis.

stephanie bullard

You can't just generalize like that. "NO chain has good food," "they ALL buy prepackaged crap." I've been to plenty of non-chain restaurants that are crap. And I don't think anyone thinks OG is "fine dining."

Rojaleo

Stephanie: that you have been to plenty of non-chain restaurants that are crap doesn't refute the previous poster's point. If he had said, "Only chain restaurants have bad food and use prepackaged crap," then you would at least actually disagree with him. That some non-chain restaurants have bad food and use prepackaged crap has nothing to do with the assertion that chain restaurants have bad food and use prepackaged crap, except that some non-chain restaurant owners have just decided, "Well, the prevalence of Olive Garden/Chili's/Ruby Tuesday's/Applebee's/etc... must mean that people are willing to pay money for prepackaged crap, so why should I bother giving them anything else?" I realize that this sort of logical reasoning might be tough for someone who rises up in defense of chain restaurants, but give it a try.

Rubberman

When I am forced to eat at the OG (usually when visiting my less culinary astute in-laws), I find that several glasses of almost-palatable chianti soon makes my taste buds go to sleep, and I can pretend to enjoy the experience. Unfortunately, since I am usually the one stuck with the check, that is soon overcome...

Rojaleo

The last time I was forced to go to OG, the wine was rancid, so I couldn't even dull my tastebuds. It was like drinking vinegar, and the 16 year-old waiting on us clearly couldn't tell the difference.

not a snob ass hole

What an assGo pick on some over priced hole that snobs fight to get in to over pay for some trendy crap just to throw it up later. Remember food is just pre-potty. Like you!

Rojaleo

What a great defense of OG! If you're going to shit it out, you might as well put shit in. Brilliant. Moron.

Guest

Moran is the correct spelling

Rameniac

people, it was for APRIL FOOL'S. fantastic, entertaining read as usual, mr. gold.

Hey Jon - you're a worthless piece of shit and maybe if your fat ass spent less time eating at fancy restaurants and looking down on us "little people" and instead got on a treadmill you wouldn't be about 80lbs overweight. You're a loser and we're better than you. I wish you the worst in life for thinking the Olive Garden is below you - dirt is above you.

Oh, my family and I went to the Olive Garden today and it was delicious ! !

My thanks to Greg at Red Eye ....

Rojaleo

I believe he also said he enjoys "Sichuan restaurants, Korean dives and regional Mexican food," which would generally be little hole in the wall places. But I wouldn't expect someone who enjoys the OG to actually read the article or understand it. Please stick a breadstick in your mouth the next time you feel like opening it.

samofson

How pathetic are you to attack every anti-gold post. Get a job instead of wasting your time. I hear the Olive Garden's hiring, but I doubt you'd qualify.

OC_F1fan

You have horrible taste in food to have said the food at Olive Garden was delicious like that.

Guest

If by "little people" you mean little brain and little imagination you are correct.

Guest

I feel bad for your family having to go with you to the olive garden.

Cresencio Deleon

Hahahhaha... Really, this fat and repulsing excuse for a human that looks like a child molester must have some set of cojones on him to actually believe that he is superior in any way to people that enjoy chain restaurants. Seriously buddy, cut your disgusting hair and get a life.

OC_F1fan

Your hate & animosity is aimed in the wrong direction. He had every right to do a scathing review of Olive Garden because: the only reason he was there was because his co-workers took him there as an April Fool's Day joke and it's the most corporate & Americanized Italian restaurant there is. Their food has nothing in common with authentic Italian pasta food.

Guest

Was your wedding catered by Chili's?

Mandrich1989

Jon...You are an asshole. You should have done a review of Soup Plantation where the focus is on building salads so your fat ass could take a break from your excessive caloric intake...does David Crosby know you're running around LA impersonating him? You are a butt plug.

Christine

Really? What a jerk this guy is. Just read this review on a fluke...will NEVER read another thing this ass writes.

James Hunt

What a dick Jonathan Gold is. I'm sorry people out there have real jobs, and don't live in your world.

Rojaleo

Um, I have a real job and because I have to work for my money, I don't spend it on crap like the OG. So spare me the "only real people eat at OG" crap.