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| - In General, I consider the Olive Garden chain to be one of the upper-average casual chain restaurant choices. The Champaign Olive Garden has declined significantly within the last year. I believe this is due to a change in management, but I am not 100% certain. My last meal there was in November and the standards were that of poorly-run fastfood restaurant. This is what I wrote about it at the time:
"Remember how Olive Garden used to be a 'nice' place to have a casual meal? Even though it was a chain restaurant and you knew most of the food was heated up in a microwave, it looked like real food and it almost tasted like it had been cooked. It seemed a little nicer than your T.G.I. Fridays and your Applebee's. Well, it's not like that anymore. Not the one in C-U anyway. I don't think I will be going back there ever again.
The first thing I noticed when I walked in was that the entire place reeked like a sour towel. Someone had obviously wiped all of the tables down with a cheap disinfectant solution that had gotten a bit... ripe. It was disgusting.
I proceeded to the bathroom to wash my hands before my meal where I found two employees lounging about and chatting while pretending to clean the restroom. Since they did not find it prudent to tone down their conversation whilst a guest was in their presence, I got to enjoy a pre-dinner melodrama. Apparently an employee of the Olive Garden is trying to file a sexual harassment suit and the management had been asking both ladies if they had experienced any inappropriate behavior. And while the accused sometimes gets a "wild hair up their ass" they did not consider themselves harassed. Speaking of sex, Manuel looked FINE this morning and when he came into work they were like "oh my GOD!"
When I got back to my seat, our waiter (who I admit was nice and attentive) served us a sample of white zinfandel that had the distinct vinegary taste of a wine that has been left uncorked for too long. The food, which tasted decent, no longer looks, tastes or feels like real food. Both the dinner and dessert had an artificiality to it that resembled an expensive TV dinner. The textures were waxy and the cheese was lardlike. While the flavors were bold, they tasted man-made and had a processed mouth-feel. It was to real food what Velveeta is to real cheese. The dessert, the chocolate torte, especially had the look of something that had just been plopped out of it's microwavable container. The vanilla sauce was practically flavorless and the torte was only heated halfway, resulting in a jello-pudding like consistency to the fudge filling. It is also made with artificial sugar now, which adds to its alien flavor and texture. In truth, the food quality is comparable to a fast food restaurant. The only difference is that they offer more variety and a few more low quality ingredients per dish.
I know it's just Olive Garden. I know it's an evil chain restaurant and a glorified McDonalds. I guess the thing is that it didn't used to be this way. I think I've heard that they are under new management. It used to be satisfying in a guilty pleasure flavor overload sort of way and it made you feel sort of ok about it because it deceived you into thinking it was real food. But now it's not. The seams are showing. Quality of service and presentation has gone way down. Corners are being cut and it shows. You can tell it is just a fancier Fazoli's and it's really had to pay $25-$30 bucks a person for some sour wine and some microwaved Italian Velveeta in a place that smells like mildew.
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