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Business Insider
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
I visited Olive Garden for the first time in nearly 20 years. The meal wasn't perfect, but I can't wait to go back.
I visited an Olive Garden location for the first time in almost 20 years. I ordered four of the "create your own pasta" dishes, which came with soup or salad and breadsticks. Some of the meals were better than others, but overall, I was impressed by the dining experience. When I go to a chain restaurant, I know I can typically expect reasonable prices, decent food, a few crying babies, and a completely full stomach by the time I leave. On a recent trip to Olive Garden, my son and I experienced all of that and more. I hadn't been to the Darden-owned chain in nearly 20 years, so I was excited to see how the experience would stack up against other restaurant chains I've been to recently. Here's how the meal went. The chain is known for serving classic Italian-American fare. The Italian-American restaurant chain opened its first location in Orlando in 1982. It's owned by Darden — the same company that owns brands like Longhorn Steakhouse, Ruth's Chris, and Yard House. Today, there are nearly 900 Olive Garden restaurants around the world. However, my son and I visited a busy location in Long Island, New York. We started with the chain's unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks. Since I hadn't been to an Olive Garden location in nearly 20 years, my son and I decided to order four different "create your own" pasta dishes to get a feel for the chain's offerings. Each meal came with the chain's signature "never-ending" soup or salad and breadsticks. To try a bit of everything, we asked for two servings of salad and two soups — pasta e fagioli and chicken and gnocchi. I wouldn't call the Olive Garden breadsticks memorable, but they were definitely bountiful. We were able to have as many as we wanted, which would have been great if we didn't have so much food coming. Although we enjoyed the bread, I found other parts of the first course to be more memorable. The salad was a bit overdressed and heavy on lettuce, but the croutons were tasty. I was impressed by the soups. Both soups, however, were better than I expected them to be. The chicken and gnocchi soup was rich, creamy, and loaded with an excellent balance of meat, gnocchi, and spinach. I also thought the pasta e fagioli was savory and balanced without being overly salty. After sampling each, my son and I agreed that the latter was the better of the two. When our meals came, I wasn't a fan of the pasta with marinara sauce. I make a decent homemade marinara sauce from scratch using a can of tomato sauce, chopped onions and garlic, salt, sugar, and a basic blend of herbs. The process, not counting the slow simmer, takes less than 10 minutes and is anything but a challenge. So, getting a dull marinara sauce from an Italian-themed restaurant was disappointing. I thought the marinara ($14) tasted like it was poured right from a can, without any additional handiwork by a chef. It was salty and tasted like — well, tomato sauce. The addition of freshly-grated Parmesan, black pepper, and red-pepper flakes helped some, but frankly, I'd choose my own marinara sauce any day of the week. I didn't love the meat sauce, either. Olive Garden's meat sauce ($14) tasted just like the marinara, but included ground beef and Italian sausage. The sauce was a bit too thin for my linking (it wasn't watery, but it wasn't thick, either) and the beef was a bit on the tough side. Without the tomato sauce, I'm willing to bet the meat would have been quite dry. Unless the chain changed up its marinara recipe, I likely wouldn't order either of these dishes again. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the creamy mushroom sauce. I typically detest mushrooms, but in the name of honest journalism, I ate several of the noodles that came in the creamy mushroom sauce ($14). I was pleasantly surprised at how good the taste was, even though I didn't eat any of the sliced mushrooms in the bowl. My son did, however, and said the dish was superb. My tasting of the noodles revealed a rich, creamy, flavor you'd expect from a classic Alfredo sauce, and I can see how anyone who enjoys mushrooms would've found the dish a pleasure. We loved the five-cheese ziti al forno. The five-cheese ziti al forno was more expensive than the other "create your own" pastas we ordered, but it was well worth the $19.30 price tag. It was heavy on cheese but didn't feel overwhelming. Overall, the dish had a flavor that reminded me of vodka sauce, and I loved the fact that it was baked. The fresh parsley sprinkled atop the pasta also added a nice herbal profile. Of the four meals we tried, we took home the least leftovers from this one. Overall, I enjoyed my meal at Olive Garden If you go to an Olive Garden expecting a Michelin-starred experience, you'll leave disappointed. However, if you come expecting food that will be filling, satisfying, and priced fairly, I'll wager that more times than not, you'll be happy with your meal. I never had a strong opinion about Olive Garden, but after visiting for the first time in almost 20 years, I'd definitely consider it on my list of places to return to.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The 'steaks' are high: Local cook competing for $15k in national grilling competition
WALTON COUNTY, FL. (WMBB) – A Santa Rosa Beach resident knows how to bring the heat to the competition. Tasha Mayo from the Destin Longhorn Steakhouse team will compete for a $15,000 grand prize in the eighth annual Longhorn Steakhouse's Steak Master Series. Mayo's expertise and passion put her on the cusp of elite grilling status. LongHorn Steakhouses' Steak Master Series is a national competition that gives LongHorn Grill Masters from across the country the opportunity to test their skills. Mayo is one of the seven finalists, out of thousands of participants, competing for the grand prize and title of Steak Master Series Champion. News 13 Pet Adoption Option: Eileen The grill-off will be on May 15th, in Orlando, FL. 'My team has a great deal of confidence in me. They tell me to go do my thing and bring that trophy home,' Mayo said. Mayo has been with the Longhorn Steakhouse team for five years. Her favorite menu items are Outlaw Ribeye and Crispy Brussels Sprouts. Mayo enjoys working at Longhorn because 'Longhorn takes pride in quality.' Her top grilling tip is 'Never move a steak before your grill marks are set, and evenly cook on both sides.' For more information about LongHorn Steakhouse, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
20-04-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Is Starbucks open or closed on Easter 2025? Here's what you need to know
Sunday is Easter, one of the most important holidays in the Christian faith. Some retail, restaurant and grocery store chains will be closed on April 20 this year in celebration of the holiday, and that will be the case for banks, post offices and shipping services as well. If you are looking to stop somewhere for a quick cup of coffee on Sunday, Starbucks should be an option for you this year. While hours vary by location, most locations should be open on Easter. Customers can check the hours for their local shop using the Starbucks app. Here's what you need to know about which restaurants will be open and closed on Easter in 2025. Are restaurants open on Easter? In addition to Starbucks, the following restaurants are open on April 20: Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. McDonald's Dunkin' Cracker Barrel Wendy's Golden Corral Olive Garden Longhorn Steakhouse Applebee's IHOP KFC Subway Taco Bell Bonefish Grill Firehouse Subs Cheesecake Factory Panera Bread Krispy Kreme Whataburger Longhorn Steakhouse First Watch The follow restaurants are closed on April 20. Chick-fil-A Chipotle Cava Zaxby's Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@
