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| - I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm still an Olive Garden sympathizer, resisting foodie peer pressure to bash them gleefully. A forgotten $25 gift card prompted Kay and I to journey to the OG that started the love affair over a decade ago when my sister and her then beau wanted to reward my unemployed ass for helping them move.
How they actually prepare their food, I couldn't tell you. I am not privy to what goes on in their kitchens, but one taste of their tender, cornmeal-coated calamari (their best appetizer) dipped in that ranchy parmesan-peppercorn sauce, and I no longer care. When they bring out the chilled salad chock-full of tomatoes, greens, onions, and croutons that is skillfully tossed with that exceedingly delicious vinaigrette vs. Caesar dressing, my bias against chains is diffused, and I come to realize that Marilyn Hagerty's humble, Plain-English words are truth --that she is not to be ridiculed.
Braised Beef & Tortelloni was something I had yet to try, and when it came to our table, my gastronomic heart beat loudly for the short ribs fell apart with minimal chewing as did the portobello mushrooms, the very fungi that rival sirloin in sheer heartiness. The al dente pasta, filled with asiago, wallowed euphorically in a severely savory basil-marsala sauce. Some sour cream could have turned this into a dandy Beef Stroganoff.
A slightly freezer-burnt (or not entirely thawed?) Tiramisu let me down a little, but its creaminess and coffee-laden flavors couldn't be quelled by some ice-flakes.
If those preparing OG's dishes are not really cooking, then they are brilliant illusionists, fooling the public (or at least me) into thinking they truly wield culinary magic...or microwaves? Again, I don't know and don't give a bean. The food was tasty on my end.
P.S. The service here was spot-on.
P.P.S. That inaugural visit I mentioned was made memorable by a Drew Carey lookalike with a terrific personality and sense of humor.
P.P.P.S. Spare me the snarky, "A-ha! You don't know food" messages in which yinz pitifully attempt to "debunk" me. It's not as if I value your opinions, do I?
P.P.P.P.S. I still dig those breadsticks.
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