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Old 05-29-2018, 11:58 AM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,944 posts, read 31,087,664 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by josie13 View Post
Is price the deciding factor? Because the food is revolting.

I've honestly had a few "revolting" experiences at locally owned restaurants lately. A new pizzeria gave my pizza away, then refused to refund my money. It was a deep dish, so it would take about an hour to remake. I didn't have the time, and they refused to refund my money. A locally owned and new higher end restaurant failed to get me a menu after twenty minutes. I paid for my glass of wine and left.


I've never had that problem at an Olive Garden.
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Old 05-29-2018, 12:30 PM
 
1,155 posts, read 958,827 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Serious Conversation View Post
I've honestly had a few "revolting" experiences at locally owned restaurants lately. A new pizzeria gave my pizza away, then refused to refund my money. It was a deep dish, so it would take about an hour to remake. I didn't have the time, and they refused to refund my money. A locally owned and new higher end restaurant failed to get me a menu after twenty minutes. I paid for my glass of wine and left.


I've never had that problem at an Olive Garden.
By way of explanation, I was raised without junk food or chain restaurants, so only well-prepared food from fresh ingredients tastes good to me. It was a horrible shock when I left home and had friends that wanted to go places like the Olive Garden. I went in with an open mind, never having tried that kind of food before, but I couldn't believe how bad that stuff tasted.

I guess it depends what you're used to. I like small, independent restaurants with chefs who really know what they're doing.
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Old 06-01-2018, 08:51 AM
 
213 posts, read 215,773 times
Reputation: 250
Used to be Olive Garden did not salt their pasta. They claimed the salt eroded the pots. I think they use salt now.
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Old 06-01-2018, 09:36 AM
 
Location: equator
11,035 posts, read 6,589,028 times
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As an aside...we just returned from Italy where most of the waiters were dignified older white guys in tuxedo uniforms. They were proud of their occupation which was obviously well respected. Observed the same with other service jobs such as maids and other hotel staff. No sub class doing these jobs .

As a victim of age discrimination i can verify without doubt that it is almost impossible to prove and employer wins 95 per cent of the time. Told this by EEOC rep and my lawyer. Tragic but true in the good ole U.S. Nice to see its different in Italy at least.
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Old 06-02-2018, 02:33 PM
 
2,242 posts, read 2,997,340 times
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One of the problems is that many of those doing the hiring are young people themselves. There's a general bias against older folks among the younger generation. It's not outwardly spoken, but you can hear or read it in the form of "microaggressions". A term I've picked up from the racial and gender studies crowd, and now apply it to my status as a senior.

Typical example would be a discussion of an activity or product: "Nobody under 50, (buys that/ goes there) anymore". There's an implication that anything seniors like or do, is inherently bad, and therefore seniors themselves are not relevant. It's everywhere. Keep your eyes and ears open. Once you accept this concept, it's no mystery why seniors can't get hired.
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Old 06-02-2018, 03:39 PM
 
Location: Cody, WY
10,420 posts, read 14,562,278 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jim9251 View Post
Meh, don't eat there. Anyway if a place has good food I could care less about their "social outrage" or whatever today's trend is.

I think if you own a business you can hire whomever you like.
You were once able to do so; you should still be able to do so today. Then the customer can make his own decision. That's how a free society works.

I would try to avoid a business that didn't hire old people, but that's not a problem for me. I don't go to bars or nightclubs. My preference in dining seems to be the same as that of other old people; the same is true in other activities. I don't seek out the elderly, but my tastes are far less often the same as those whose ages are one third of mine.

Without governmental interference people naturally stay with their own age group, race, and culture. However, there are those who either earn a living interfering or simply hate normal behavior.

I'll take 1950—that's why I live where I live.
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Old 06-02-2018, 03:54 PM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
32,849 posts, read 36,161,804 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Serious Conversation View Post
Olive Garden is fine for quick dining, especially in small metros without much selection.

I went there for lunch today with my girlfriend. We got under $20. It was a good lunch. We could have gotten a bigger bill at Five Guys.
My mom liked to go there once in a while. There was always something on the menu that I was willing to eat. I thought it was kind of funny because I had to just about force her into the place the first time. She had type 2 diabetes and needed to eat. Since she also had GERD and IBS, she was quite worried. She ate chicken and everything was fine. Olive Garden was then put on the list of safe places to eat.
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Old 06-04-2018, 09:56 PM
 
Location: Houston
1,187 posts, read 1,413,504 times
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On Olive Garden: I've only eaten there once, years ago in Torrance, California. I ate at the bar and the bartender was friendly and what I had was good. But ... obviously, that was just one experience. That said, I've spent a fair amount of time in Italy on business and vacationing, and I have yet to find a place here in the US that duplicates what I had there. (Nothing with a gallon of tomato sauce and a pound of cheese, etc. Smaller portions, but tasty.)

A lot of restaurant brands get bought and sold repeatedly. I think Olive Garden is one of those, but I may be confusing it with another brand. In any case, chain restaurants often (maybe always) evolve over time. Usually not for the better. Come to think of it, I've also observed that often for outstanding local restaurants. The owners retire and turn it over to their kids or sell out. At some point, the "menu consultants" are called in, which invariable (for me) involves a major step down in the food.

Oh, gosh, and I want to recount this. I once worked for a US company that was partnering with an Italian company. When the Italians visited once, one of our "educated and sophisticated" managers decided to take them out to Olive Garden. Wow, I can only imagine what the Italians thought. If we were lucky, perhaps they found it so different that it was charming in an exotic way. But, I doubt it.
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Old 06-05-2018, 03:49 AM
 
24,544 posts, read 18,124,000 times
Reputation: 40236
Quote:
Originally Posted by madrone2k View Post
On Olive Garden: I've only eaten there once, years ago in Torrance, California. I ate at the bar and the bartender was friendly and what I had was good. But ... obviously, that was just one experience. That said, I've spent a fair amount of time in Italy on business and vacationing, and I have yet to find a place here in the US that duplicates what I had there. (Nothing with a gallon of tomato sauce and a pound of cheese, etc. Smaller portions, but tasty.)

A lot of restaurant brands get bought and sold repeatedly. I think Olive Garden is one of those, but I may be confusing it with another brand. In any case, chain restaurants often (maybe always) evolve over time. Usually not for the better. Come to think of it, I've also observed that often for outstanding local restaurants. The owners retire and turn it over to their kids or sell out. At some point, the "menu consultants" are called in, which invariable (for me) involves a major step down in the food.

Oh, gosh, and I want to recount this. I once worked for a US company that was partnering with an Italian company. When the Italians visited once, one of our "educated and sophisticated" managers decided to take them out to Olive Garden. Wow, I can only imagine what the Italians thought. If we were lucky, perhaps they found it so different that it was charming in an exotic way. But, I doubt it.
Your location says Houston. There are parts of the country where the Italian neighborhoods have an Italian restaurant scene comparable to Italy. Boston’s North End has a bunch of chef-owned small restaurants that are light years beyond flavorless red sauce and buckets of Kraft cheese. Federal Hill in Providence is like that. NYC has many neighborhoods like that.

If I’m stranded in outer suburbia on a business trip where my choices are MacDonalds or Olive Garden and I’ve had a long day where Google Maps says nothing within 15 minutes is highly rated, I’d pick Olive Garden.
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Old 06-05-2018, 06:41 AM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,944 posts, read 31,087,664 times
Reputation: 47329
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffD View Post
Your location says Houston. There are parts of the country where the Italian neighborhoods have an Italian restaurant scene comparable to Italy. Boston’s North End has a bunch of chef-owned small restaurants that are light years beyond flavorless red sauce and buckets of Kraft cheese. Federal Hill in Providence is like that. NYC has many neighborhoods like that.

If I’m stranded in outer suburbia on a business trip where my choices are MacDonalds or Olive Garden and I’ve had a long day where Google Maps says nothing within 15 minutes is highly rated, I’d pick Olive Garden.
The Italian was always one of the things I looked forward to on my business trips to Boston, as well as the seafood on the Maine coast.

We have some consultants from New Jersey here this week. One of them asked me yesterday "if there was anything to eat around here." There are more chains than you know what to do with. I wouldn't come here to eat at a local Italian place as someone out of the area. I would check out the local BBQ. It's all about where you are, and places like Olive Garden fit a need.
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