I know. Olive Garden again. Don’t I learn? I went out to dinner with my friend Lisa, and let her choose the location. Olive Garden is just one of those places that is just OK. I have been trying to order lower calorie food in restaurants, and tonight was no different.
It was very busy and we sat in the bar. Once we finally got a seat at the bar, we waited for the bartender to take our drink order. Which after a long time of waving and waiting, we got seated instead. Strike One.
We ordered the lasagna Fritta appetizer, which although not on my diet, was just OK. Lasagna rolled up, cut, and placed on a marinara and alfredo covered plate. It was a bit dry, and seemed like it was sitting out for a while. It was meh, strike two.
I ordered the Chicken Picatta, which said it was under 500 calories, with Parmesan crusted zucchini strips. My Chicken Picatta was really overcooked. In fact the chicken was dry and burned. The sauce was lemony, yes, but had sun dried tomatoes which was a bit odd on Picatta. The zucchini side was uneventful, limp and cold. Strike three,
I ordered a couple beers to choke it all down and paid a hefty $45 for MYSELF after I added tip. For $45 I can think of a million places I would rather eat. Like 9 Chipotle burritos, sans the e coli of course.
I should have read my last blog post (here) and realized this place is, as always, mediocre at best. As I said in my last Olive Garden review: “Will I go back? Of course. Just not with super high expectations. That way when a meal is really good, it is a really nice surprise.”
I was not surprised this time.