I paid $30 for a glass of wine at IND yesterday. It was good, and a generous pour, but still–that’s a lot.
That was KIND.
We took a road trip to see TWA hotel, so NYC but not a ‘captive’ audience behind security. Drinks were $17. We didn’t get any.
I’m another person who would be surprised if a drink was less than $9 at a chain restaurant unless it was a special. Granted, I live in NYC but I don’t go to expensive restaurants and I still wouldn’t expect a drink to be under $10 unless it was 1) Happy hour or some other special or 2) an old man bar. Even bowling alleys charge more than $10 for a drink.
I just paid $14 a drink for cocktails at lunch with my wife. I think this thread is a sneak brag…
About dining at The Olive Garden?
Stranger
There is a hilarious comedy bit, maybe online somewhere, where Aziz finds out an audience member turned down a wedding proposal offered at a “five star restaurant” (during lunch). After some questions cast doubt on the story, Aziz asks if the restaurant “had an unlimited breadsticks policy”.
Anyway, this price seems unsurprising though might be slightly less than that in Canada despite retail costs of any booze being very high. However, at some price point it becomes a gin and Miskatonic.
Ah, lunch. But you can probably still find a sandwich or something for under $20.
I think our drinks last weekend ran $18/per, but then again we were at the most expensive bar at one of the most expensive hotels and they were all comped anyway. 
Olive garden is still in business!?!
According to their website, yes, with over 800 locations, in fact.
Huh. How 'bout that…
I suppose Applebee’s still exists too, for some reason.
[downcast] Yeah [/downcast]
You will never go wrong overestimating the American appetite for ‘endless’ breadsticks.
Stranger
I’ve had both Applebee’s, and Olive Garden, as clients.
If you’re fortunate enough to live in a town or city with good, authentic Italian restaurants (or, at least, good Americanized Italian restaurants), OG probably pales by comparison. But, for a lot of people, it’s the style of “Italian” food that they like.
And, in smaller towns, an Applebee’s or an Olive Garden may well be considered, by many residents, the nicest, best-quality restaurant in the area.
Word.
In an area in central PA where I had occasion to travel on business many times a few years ago (Chambersburg) the various chain restaurants (Olive Garden, Red Robin, Texas Roadhouse) were the destinations of choice for the folks working in our office there.
There were better non-chain options in Shippensburg (20 minutes away) and Carlisle (40 minutes). But if you wanted to have a team lunch in a sit down place without getting on I-81, those were your best options.
It’s probably the only “Italian” food they know.
If they had unlimited gin and tonics, maybe the food would seem like real Italian?
“Now at Olive Garden: Bottomless Gin & Tonics!”
(Nothing makes mass-market Italian food taste better than a British cocktail. 
)
I quite like Olive Garden. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for Italian (and I’ve had plenty of good Italian food as well); sometimes I’m in the mood for Olive Garden.