I
have never cared for The Olive Garden as I found their defrosted frozen
foods to be served in very bland sauces as if the corporate chef was
afraid to use spices. I did like their bread sticks and salad which is
one of the reasons we decided to go for lunch there yesterday along
with the fact that I had a $20 gift certificate!

Forgetting
that it was Veteran's Day which meant many people were off from work
and school, I as surprised to see the place crowded but we were seated
immediately.

We decided to do the soup,
salad and bread stick lunch which goes for $6.99. I figured between
that, having a beverage, the tip and tax I might have to add a dollar
or two in cash to the gift card--WRONG!!! Sorry, I'll pay anything for
a good main course but it irks the hell out of me to pay $2.30 for a
cup of coffee and $2.40 for a diet soda--why the ten cents different I
don't know since neither beverage costs more them more than twenty five
cents.

There were 4 different soups and with the exception of the Pasta Vegetable the
rest were  bland and/or watery including the potato/sausage soup and
the gnocchi/chicken soup though the minestrone had a little taste.

Their
salad, even with the oil and vinegar dressing, had no taste but the
bread sticks were warm and melted in your mouth. They serve/offer
grated cheese with everything they place in front of you and I think
that is so the food will taste of something!

The check came to $19.75 so with the tip it cost me $4.25. The company that owns The Olive Garden also owns Red Lobster, Longhorn and the Gold Corral and the  things they  have in common are previously frozen food, bland seasoning if any and, except for the Gold Corral, over priced menus.