Olive Garden

[Askance]

@Doctor Who

@Askance

Is it true that fast food chains in the US wash their lettuce in sugar water to make them as sweet as everything else is there?

Yes, this is 100% true at ALL restaurants in the USA. There’s a little known provision in the Voting Rights Act of 1964 (cleverly inserted by lobbyists for an international sugar consortium - and later renewed under the first Patriot Act) which provides:

:rolleyes: I said “fast food chains”, not restaurants. I did not say “all”. Let me restate for the reading comprehension deprived: is it true that it is common practice (as I have heard) for fast food chains (call them restaurants if you must, although it is a debauchery of that otherwise honourable term) to wash their lettuce (and perhaps other salad items) in sweetened water?

[Doctor_Who]

@Askance

:rolleyes: I said “fast food chains”, not restaurants. I did not say “all”. Let me restate for the reading comprehension deprived: is it true that it is common practice (as I have heard) for fast food chains (call them restaurants if you must, although it is a debauchery of that otherwise honourable term) to wash their lettuce (and perhaps other salad items) in sweetened water?

Why the rolleyes? I was just joking. And the answer to your question is no. Honestly, I didn’t think you seriously believed that.

[Ellen_Cherry]

Yeah, don’t look askance, Askance! The good doctor has a terrific funny bone!

[Patty_O_Furniture]

Doctor who?

[Heffalump_and_Roo]

This thread made me hungry.

Now where to go for my next meal:

Olive Garden
Pasta Pomodoro
Macaroni Grill
Buca Di Beppo

Olive Garden is fast, relatively inexpensive and I can get a pretty easy vegan meal. I wish they had those garlic potatotes that Mindfield was talking about though. They don’t have those locally.

Pasta Pomodoro knows me by name because they have a hard time leaving the cheese off their stuff which has led them to giving me lots of free meals.

Macaroni Grill doesn’t have a lot of choices if you’re a vegan and it’s pretty expensive given that I’m getting stuff with no meat.

I haven’t been to Buca Di Beppo recently. Must try that.

As far as quality, they all seem pretty similar to me. Olive Garden is much more consistent than Pasta Pomodoro though since Pasta Pomodoro makes it fresh, so it all depends on the skill of that particular cook. Sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s awful. I suspect that most people are right that Olive Garden stuff is pre-packaged and defrosted so the food is pretty consistent.

[Hello_Again]

Macaroni Grill is practically in a different universe from the OG (but costs about the same) – clearly they are hip to the anti-prefab vibe because they have a completely open kitchen, for one. They also happily substitute veggies on the side where a dish normally comes with pasta – and its nice sauteed spinach or asparagus, not some blech veggie mix.

If I have to choose a corporate chain The Mac is pretty much my favorite. It’s usually pretty loud though. I’m sure some people object to the atmosphere for that reason.