/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.16953502]

Olive Garden is beyond stagnant at this point, they hardly ever offer new items or expand the menu or do anything new or exciting.

[Anonymous No.16953510]

>>16953502
yikes, still eating at this place? hasn’t been relevant since 1989

[Anonymous No.16953573]

>>16953502
How can you change a 1000 year old cuisine?

Marone, this fucking guy over here

[Anonymous No.16953580]

Anon, I don't think the people who eat at Olive Garden are looking for new or exciting.

[Anonymous No.16953603]

>>16953502
>at this point
Glad you've recovered from your 25 year coma

[Anonymous No.16953605]

>>16953580
Even out of all the pleb chains they legit do zero innovative or try anything new

[Anonymous No.16953634]

>>16953502
Its just microwave garbage. That place is for retards

[Anonymous No.16953679]

Went with my mother the other day, seems like they've taken a bunch of stuff off of the menu.

[Anonymous No.16953797]

Three words: Soup, Salad, Breadsticks. As long as those three words never change then they'll always have customers.

[Anonymous No.16953815]

>>16953797
>>16953580
this

[Anonymous No.16954036]

>>16953679
like what?

[Anonymous No.16954060]

>>16953510
Okay grandpa

[Anonymous No.16954091]

>>16954036
Well it used to be a folded four-page menu and now it's a single double-sided page, one thing I know for sure is gone is the dessert mom wanted to try, an apple tart.

[Anonymous No.16954790]

Are the breadsticks REALLY that good?
I've never been and the constant references to Olive Garden breadsticks being the best thing ever have plagued pop culture for as long as I can remember

[Anonymous No.16954792]

>>16954790
Why did you bump this thread

[Anonymous No.16954796]

>>16953502
i went through an enormous powerpoint presentation on olive garden and it was a really pleasant read.

the tl;dr is that olive garden is run by fucking morons who don't know anything about anything

http://www.shareholderforum.com/dri/Library/20140911_Starboard-presentation.pdf

[Anonymous No.16954801]

>>16954796
really it's a great read. the amount of research the presenters did is outrageous. they fucking crucify olive garden's shotcallers.

[Anonymous No.16954815]

>>16954796
>>16954801
definitely interesting - what else u got?

[Anonymous No.16955214]

>>16954796
>quality up, cost down approach
DOUBT.JPG

[Anonymous No.16955231]

i worked at olive garden as a waiter for 2 months. gayest job ive ever had. anyways, the food looked terrible.

[Anonymous No.16955252]

>>16954796
I read through this some more and holy shit these bean counters have no idea what they're talking about on either side. Want to know why places like carrabas do better than olive garden? Their food isn't complete shit. That's literally it. Increasing "touch points" with servers by having them deliver fewer breadsticks but more often isn't going to fix your awful sauces, proteins, and anemic apps. Also, the reason for no alcohol sales is because olive garden has touted itself for so long as the SOUP SALAD BREADSTICKS place, and once that fell out of favor, they had nothing left. Old people go to eat their anemic soup lunch, why would they fucking get a bottle of wine? Really?

Everyone seems to argue that menu size has a lot to do with menu quality. The real issue isn't that at all, it's how efficient can you make the prep vs. the outcome. Fucking cheesecake factory has a ginormous menu, but they prep everything themselves and the general quality of ANY item is going to be pretty good. Treating your restaurant like kitchen nightmares and toddlerfying your menu isn't going to fix having shit recipes and execution no matter how hard you try.

[Anonymous No.16955517]

>>16954796
>>16954801
now this is autism

[Anonymous No.16955556]

>>16955517
Autism is literally what makes or breaks a company.

[Anonymous No.16955599]

>>16955556
Darden fucking over their shareholders is pretty based

[Anonymous No.16955615]

>>16953605
>A corporate run chain restaurant for a type of cuisine famous for being autistically strict in its definitions isnt doing anything new
They tried doing new things 5-6 years ago and nobody bought any of it, I think the deep fried lasagna bites are the only surviving thing from when their menu was 6 pages long

[Anonymous No.16955808]

>>16954796
God damn it, I knew those assholes in corporate were pushing to maximise "server touch points." This does not enhance a restaurant experience, retards. I want as little interaction with the waiter as possible. Ideally there is no waitstaff and I can collect my own food.

[Anonymous No.16955826]

>>16954796
This is great thanks

[Anonymous No.16955856]

>>16954796
>executive summary and plan
>2014
Nigga this stuff changes drastically from year to year, and this was literally the year after a major board change. Got anything more recent?

[Anonymous No.16955876]

>>16953679
Yea it does seem smaller from what I recall before the coof. I still like it though. Of course there's better italian food out there, but their spaghetti, their breadsticks and their soups are good.

[Anonymous No.16955890]

>>16953502
I have a friend who always chooses Olive Garden, Applebee's, Outback, etc. when we go out to eat. so we went to Olive Garden recently; it was the first time I'd been there in 10 years... the food was honestly awful, tasted so bad. I got like halfway through my spaghetti and gave up because it was just gross. I had offered to pay prior, too. the total bill for both of us was over $50

[Anonymous No.16956066]

>>16955890
Its really not that bad, stop being dramatic

[Anonymous No.16956159]

>>16956066
It was gross. I make spaghetti all the time at home and it's a million times better, despite me not being the best cook. There was hardly any seasoning in the sauce, and the breadsticks were good, but the ratio of garlic to butter wasn't my personal preference. Was just a bummer considering how much it cost... Although, my own food (pre-tip) was only about $15, which was reasonable. The bill was so high because my friend ordered one of the most expensive things off the menu as well as an expensive drink.
The minestrone soup was actually pretty good, though. I've tried to make it myself at home and can't get it right, so that was nice

[Anonymous No.16956375]

>>16956159
Well of course you’re going to prefer what you make at home, especially with something like spaghetti sauce; you make it to your taste. A chain restaurant has to make it to “average” taste, where it won’t be too-this or too-that for anyone.

[Anonymous No.16956698]

>>16956159
>I make everything better at home
Well why’d you even go out to eat? You people are fucking insufferable. I get that you love working like a fucking slave, but some of us have degrees and can afford to make other assholes cook for us. Stay home so no one has to listen to you.

[Anonymous No.16956728]

>>16956698
>Stay home so no one has to listen to you.
>comes to a board where he knows he will read these things
Why are you here then?

[Anonymous No.16956741]

>>16953502
you could say the same about Mcdonalds

[Anonymous No.16956841]

>>16956741
Mcdonalds adds items all the time

[Anonymous No.16957515]

>>16956698
I have a friend who enjoys eating out, specifically at this restaurant, which I went to for the first time in like a decade and realized I don't like. I also clearly stated that while the spaghetti and bread weren't to my liking, the minestrone soup was good, something I have tried and failed to make for myself at home. I live comfortably and my salary allows me to eat out frequently. When I do I prefer to go to more local and unique places rather than chains. This was a post about Olive Garden specifically so I chimed in lol

[Anonymous No.16957582]

It’s the breadsticks. Especially when you dip them in alfredo.
You feel the breadstick push past your lips, with its well-defined rigidity combined with a comfortably-inviting softness; you can’t help but relax your jaw and tongue to allow more of its length to enter your mouth.
At first it simply tastes salty, but then you’re overcome with the blissful texture and flavor of the thick, hot, creamy alfredo dripping from the tip as it coats the back of your tongue, inching closer to your throat.
You’re at a restaurant, so you have to keep your composure. You swallow and smile, taking a moment to catch your breath. But it’s just an act; you’re really just eyeing the other breadsticks in that basket.. knowing that each one will take its turn in your mouth, as you obediently swallow every last drop of their alfredo, making sure to lick the rest off your lips and fingers.

[Anonymous No.16957612]

>>16957582
pic = u

[Anonymous No.16957810]

>>16954801
>>16954796
>REEE THEY JUST KEEP GIVING CUSTOMERS NICE THINGS
lol

[Anonymous No.16957813]

>>16953502
They don't salt their pasta water so they can get a better warranty on their pots.

[Anonymous No.16957825]

>>16953573
*makes a slight adjustment to any italian dish*
What will you do now?

[Anonymous No.16957878]

>>16953510
>yikes

rick and morty called. they want their faggo back

[Anonymous No.16957888]

I only go to OG when I’m drunk as hell and need to kill time before meeting with my drug dealers. They’ve called the cops on me a few times but damn I like the breadsticks.

[Anonymous No.16958151]

>>16955252
im only on page 10 but i have to agree
>outsource maintenance
>less prep work (aka even more microwaving)
>no uniqueness
>force high profit margin items down customers throats

[Anonymous No.16958175]

>>16954796
Now that's some interesting read, thanks Anon.

>>16955252
The presentation point it out, as well as the fact taht they serves too much non italian dishes.

[Anonymous No.16958178]

>>16958151
Oh go fuck yourslef. Yes, I’ve been drinkan.

[Anonymous No.16958388]

>>16954796
>>16954801
>>16955231
>>16955252
>>16955599
>>16955615
>>16955808
>>16955876
this slide says it all

[Anonymous No.16958471]

>>16958388
I find the fact that someone actually went out of their way to make an entire powerpoint on why olive garden is not good to be extremely hilarious. I personally like it, not like a "oh my God olive garden is the best italian food I can think of" type of like, but sometimes it's just something I crave. Their breadsticks and minestrone are really good and the last time I went they were very generous with their breadsticks, so that's a thumbs up too.

[Anonymous No.16958568]

>>16958471
"someone"

yeah retard, try to keep up. it was made by a group of investors looking at their money getting pissed away by the incompetent management

[Anonymous No.16958827]

>>16958388
>pasta
Uhhhh
I ordered the endless zuppa toscana, breadsticks, and salad.

[Anonymous No.16958837]

>>16958827
i think they should strip out everything and only serve endless soup, salad, and breadsticks.
you pay like 10 or 20$ and that is all you get.

[Anonymous No.16959312]

>>16958175
roasted