The Olive Garden is does a good job at some things. Just looking for pretty classic white and red sauce, salad, soup and bread sticks? Then it's a pretty solid place to go, but the more I venture to other (less carb filled) dishes, the harder it is to eat here. This trip I tried the Garlic Rosemary Chicken; the chicken was kind of rubbery (if you know what I mean) and the sauce was lackluster. For $14+ you can do better. I also skipped the potatoes and tried asparagus for a side instead, the ends were mushy and the stalks woody.
As always though, reasonable service, decent toscana soup and warm bread sticks save the day. Oh, and the chocolate mint is nice.
If you are going to order off of the simple pasta with sauce menu, try RigaTony's on Warner or VinceTorio's on Elliot. You won't really spend much more and you'll come away with a much better experience.