Who wants Olive Garden?

[China]

I had Olive Garden on my recent trip to Scotland:

 

 

Pretty good seafood restaurant in Oban.

[BleedBNG]

Went to Olive Garden for the first time last year and will never go again. Service and food sucks for the price, and I couldn't believe when I ordered a kids spaghetti for my grandson, the noodles or pasta were that flat twisty crap instead of spaghetti noodles, and the sauce was just watered ketchup.

[China]

Olive Garden offering Lifetime Pasta Passes, but only for 50 diners willing to fork over enough dough

 

Imagine never paying for another bowl of Cavatappi with Five Cheese Marinara ever again.

 

That is, in fact, a reality for 50 lucky Olive Garden fans, as the restaurant chain has announced plans to offer its very first Lifetime Pasta Passes during this year’s Never Ending Pasta Pass promotion.

 

“Olive Garden has always been known for Italian Generosity and making everyone feel like family, which is why we introduced our Pasta Pass five years ago,” said Jennifer Arguello, executive vice president of marketing for Olive Garden, in a press release. “With the introduction of our new Lifetime Pasta Pass, we’re excited to be a part of our biggest fans’ memories around the table for years to come.”

 

The Lifetime Pasta Passes — which are, essentially, exactly what they sound like — will entitle 50 lucky recipients to unlimited pasta, soup, salad and breadsticks for their entire lifetimes.

 

The passes, however, will only be available to those fast enough to purchase the original Never Ending Pasta Passes. Here’s how it works: On Aug. 15 at 2 p.m. EST sharp, the original Never Ending Pasta Passes will go on sale at www.PastaPass.com for $100 apiece (plus tax) and only for 30 minutes, or until sold out. The first 50 to complete their transactions will be offered the opportunity to opt-in for the Lifetime Pasta Passes for an additional $400, plus tax.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Olive Garden fires Indiana restaurant manager who allegedly provided customer with a 'server that wasn't black'

 

Olive Garden has confirmed an investigation into an alleged incident of racial discrimination against two of its staff members at a restaurant in Evansville, Ind.

 

Amira Donahue, a hostess at the restaurant, told WEHT that she observed the incident break out on Saturday after a female customer requested a cup of hot water from “a server that wasn’t black” — a request which Donahue says the manager honored.

 

“[The customer] stood in the middle of the restaurant and started screaming at me in front of all of the customers,” Donahue told WEHT, adding that she believed the manager’s decision to provide another server was a “bad decision.”

 

During the incident, Donahue added that the customer began making comments to a different employee about Donahue herself, saying she should “go work at a strip club” and referring to her as “the other one,” while also inquiring whether or not she was “black” or “from America.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Malapropismic Depository]

What did Olive Garden do to deserve their own thread ?

I don't eat there, because any place that offers an unlimited eating package can't be all that great in quality.

 

 

Ad then there's Mike Birbiglia

 

 

Edited March 5, 2020 by Malapropismic Depository

[China]

1 hour ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

What did Olive Garden do to deserve their own thread ?

I don't eat there, because any place that offers an unlimited eating package can't be all that great in quality.

 

 

 

To answer your question, here was the original thread that was archived:

 

 

[China]

Free breadsticks during a coronavirus outbreak [UPDATED]

 

Before you drown your anxiety about the coronavirus in a bowl of Never Ending Pasta, consider this: in most states, the staff at Olive Garden does not receive paid sick leave. That means if anyone working at the restaurant feels sick, they could be forced to choose between staying home and paying their rent. 

 

The Olive Garden is one of the restaurant brands operated by Darden. The company employs about 170,000 hourly restaurant employees across 1779 restaurants in the United States, making it one of the largest full-service restaurant operators in the country. Except where required by law, Darden does not provide any of its restaurant employees with paid sick leave. Currently, just 11 states and DC — along with a handful of cities — require employers to provide paid sick leave. 

 

The Center for Disease Control's coronavirus guidelines recommends employers “actively encourage sick employees to stay home” and "ensure that your sick leave policies are flexible."

 

A manager at the Olive Garden in Falls Church, Virginia, told Popular Information that, despite the coronavirus outbreak, the company would not pay employees who call out sick for work. The manager instructed a server not to "engage in a conversation" with this reporter about Olive Garden's policy. 

 

None of Darden's media representatives responded to an email from Popular Information. But Darden employees around the country were willing to share their experiences. 

 

-----

 

UPDATE (3/9, 8:15PM): About 10 hours after this piece was published Darden announced they would provide sick leave to all of their hourly restaurant employees.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Chachie]

I have never been to Olive Garden. I suppose now is not the time to check it out.

[China]

Farewell, Stonestown Galleria Olive Garden.

 

San Franciscans in search of catatonic levels of carbohydrates will be sad to learn the city's only Olive Garden is permanently closed.

 

The restaurant in Stonestown Galleria shuttered last Saturday.

 

Click on the link for the rest

[Momma There Goes That Man]

I still like it because it tastes good. It’s unhealthy and I’m not making any comments on how it compares to authentic Italian food. I’m just saying, their food is ****ing good. 

[skinsmarydu]

4 hours ago, Momma There Goes That Man said:

I still like it because it tastes good. It’s unhealthy and I’m not making any comments on how it compares to authentic Italian food. I’m just saying, their food is ****ing good. 

It doesn't compare. 

This is one thing I absolutely know for certain. 

[Momma There Goes That Man]

1 minute ago, skinsmarydu said:

It doesn't compare. 

This is one thing I absolutely know for certain. 

I’m sure it doesn’t. Doesn’t mean it isn’t good tho 

[skinsmarydu]

I haven't had any of their food in more than 20 years, so I wouldn't really know.  I'll take your word for it. 

But you'll get better flavor and the same portion sizes from a small joint at about the same price. 

[Simmsy]

I told my friends, who had just gotten back from Olive Garden, that I had only been there once in my life. I was ten years old in Crystal City, I got an awesome personal pan pizza that I remember to this day. My friend then told me that Olive Garden doesn't have pizza and she doesn't think it ever has. So, I may or may not have had pizza at what might've been an Olive Garden. 

[China]

Apparently the Oath Keepers like Olive Garden:

 

Oath Keepers spent over $400 at post-US Capitol riot feast at the Olive Garden, prosecutors say

 

After the US Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, members of the Oath Keepers met for a late-night dinner at an Olive Garden in suburban Virginia and spent hundreds of dollars on an Italian feast.

 

“ALCON: Going to eat at Olive Garden,” Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes allegedly said to an encrypted Signal chat for the militia group the evening of the Capitol riot using what prosecutors say is a military abbreviation for “all concerned.”

 

Rhodes said that anyone available was welcome to join him, according to messages shown by prosecutors, and sent the address for the Olive Garden in Vienna, Virginia.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

That's in Tyson's Corner. 

[China]

Loose cow visits Olive Garden restaurant in Oklahoma

 

Police in Oklahoma put their cowboy skills to the test when a loose cow was spotted wandering outside an Olive Garden restaurant.

 

 

The Stillwater Police Department said officers responded alongside Stillwater Animal Welfare when a loose cow was spotted Thursday near the Olive Garden in Stillwater.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Teacher points gun at wife after she didn’t invite him to Olive Garden, Florida cops say

 

A high school teacher pointed a gun at his wife after he showed up drunk to his daughter’s track meet and wasn’t invited to dinner at Olive Garden, according to Florida police.

 

The man, who is listed as a social studies teacher at a Pensacola high school , went to his daughter’s track meet drunk on May 4, according to an arrest report from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

 

His wife, angry that he was drunk at a school function, told him she wouldn’t allow him to join the family for dinner at an Olive Garden, the report says.

 

Later, the teacher showed up at the restaurant “belligerent and drunk,” the report says.

 

That night, his wife and their two kids were all sleeping in the same room at their home when the wife woke up to see her husband pointing a gun at her, according to the report.

 

She told deputies later that the following day a neighbor took possession of her husband’s guns, the report says.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Madison Heights man sues Olive Garden after allegedly finding rat's foot in soup

 

A Madison Heights resident is suing a Metro Detroit Olive Garden restaurant for more than $25,000 after allegedly eating a spoonful of soup with a rat’s foot in it, though the restaurant chain challenges the validity of the claim.

 

According to a lawsuit filed Friday in Macomb Circuit Court, Thomas Howie said he was at dinner with friends on March 11 at an Olive Garden on Van Dyke Avenue in Warren and talking to them while eating a bowl of minestrone soup. While chewing, Howie felt a sharp object “stab” his cheek and spit it out into a napkin.

 

He said the object appeared to be the foot of a rat, with fur and claws. 

 

“My stomach just heaved; I threw up right in the restaurant. I was mortified,” Howie said in a statement released by his attorney, Daniel Gwinn. 

 

The incident allegedly resulted in several days of nausea, vomiting and anxiety, followed by depression and paranoia, according to the complaint.

 

Olive Garden on Tuesday questioned the veracity of the claims.

 

“We have no reason to believe there is any validity to this claim," an Olive Garden representative said in a statement to The Detroit News.

 

At the time of the incident, Howie said the restaurant's management “did not seem to take the matter seriously” and even joked about it. 

 

“Until this happened, this was my favorite restaurant. I still can’t believe it,” Howie said.

 

The foot left a cut in Howie’s mouth that required treatment with antibiotics and a tetanus shot at an urgent care facility. He filed a police report and brought the rat’s foot to the Warren Police Department. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

[CousinsCowgirl84]

8 hours ago, China said:

 

 

“Until this happened, this was my favorite restaurant. I still can’t believe it,” Howie said.

 

Tells you all you need to know about this man of culture….

[TradeTheBeal!]

I prefer Rat Salad.

[skinsmarydu]

Hey! On the "Tour of Italy" you get fett alf, las, and chx parm. 

Who could ask for more?

[Skinsfan1311]

5 minutes ago, TradeTheBeal! said:

I prefer Rat Salad.

Great Sabbath instrumental......

[mcsluggo]

[China]

High-income Americans rarely mix with poorer people. Restaurants like Applebee's and Olive Garden are the exception.

 

If you want to meet someone making a lot more — or a lot less — money than you, try your local full-service chain.

 

No, really: Restaurant chains like Olive Garden and Applebee's are America's socioeconomic melting pot, according to new research. A paper from Maxim Massenhoff and Nathan Wilmers, of the Naval Postgraduate School and Harvard University, respectively, looks at where Americans of different classes are more likely to rub shoulders. 

 

"The most socio-economically diverse places in America are not public institutions, like schools and parks, but affordable, chain restaurants," Massenhoff and Wilmers write. 

 

The researchers used SafeGraph mobile location data that tracks how many people are at certain places and where those people live, which can be indicative of income. Using that data, they were able to see how many visitors from varying income brackets frequent different establishments — and how isolated Americans of different classes are.

 

Broadly, Americans are pretty isolated by class. The researchers find that the wealthiest Americans are far and away more likely to encounter just similarly high-earning peers, meaning that the rich hang out with the rich. And isolation across class is more pronounced in urban and suburban areas. 

 

This socio-economic isolation has grown even more stark since the pandemic. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that far fewer people visited neighborhoods where residents made significantly more or less money than they did in December 2021 than in January 2019. Interactions between people of different socioeconomic backgrounds dropped by up to 30% during that time period — long after COVID lockdowns were lifted, according to tracked cellphone data of more than a million people in Boston, Dallas, Seattle, and Los Angeles. The researchers laid the blame in part on the rise of remote work and online shopping in helping keep Americans in their own neighborhoods. 

 

But there are some places where Americans of different incomes congregate: The aforementioned chain restaurants. Indeed, the sweet spot for cross-class mixing is what the researchers call "full-service, low-price restaurants." That includes places like IHOP, Applebee's, Chili's, and, yes, Olive Garden. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Captain Wiggles]

🎩

🤑