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[Boogie9IGN]

Best Italian chains are Pasta Pomodoro, Maggiano's Little Italy and Buca Di Beppo

Best Italian restaraunts (in my area): Original Joe's and DiMaggio's
God damn, stromboli is the food of gods

 

[Zep]

Next Time Eat At A Real Italian Restuarant....

 

[Days like these...]

Btw, I don't see Taco Bell ever trying to pass themselves off as "authentic Mexican."

That's the difference here.

Yeah cause we all know TACOS aren't authentic mexican food

Add me to the not butthurt list.

P.S. I'm not Italian so I don't know any better. I LOVE me some Olive Garden! :lol

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

Ironically, their chulupas taste much better reheated in the microwave. I'm refering to Taco Bell

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Dying at this thread.

Somebody tell why they're packed with people lining out the door when 10X better Italian restaurants (as well as Macaroni Grill) have 0 wait.

I was thinking more hole-in-the-wall joint, (like Stefano's. MMmmm...).

 

[Drozmight]

The taco's at Taco Bell aren't real tacos.

 

[methodman]

That steak seems like its been grilled right off the damn cow.

 

[Seth C]

Thank you, saves me from having to say it.

EDIT - If you people insist on going to an "Italian" chain, at least go to Carrabba's.

Ate there just last week. No better than Olive Garden, Macaroni Grill, or any other similar restaurant.

 

[CajoleJuice]

Eh, I actually think the Olive Garden is pretty fucking great. I'm only 1/4 Italian though. But one of my good friends is 100% and he loves it. I guess he's not a real Italian. Seriously, I think most of the people on this fucking board thinks anything that is mainstream or popular sucks balls. Taco Bell rules too.

 

[Rorschach]

The taco's at Taco Bell aren't real tacos.

or even taquitos

 

[etiolate]

Adding further insult to injury, that night we were there for 2 hours because the service was so slow and fucked up. They brought me the wrong entree as well. So Olive Garden sucks.



Buca Di Beppo rocks though. Kitchen seat is the greatest.

 

[aoi tsuki]

Eh, I actually think the Olive Garden is pretty fucking great. I'm only 1/4 Italian though. But one of my good friends is 100% and he loves it. I guess he's not a real Italian. Seriously, I think most of the people on this fucking board thinks anything that is mainstream or popular sucks balls. Taco Bell rules too.

i'm sorry, what?

 

[Pellham]

I've accidentally eaten a piece of my own shit after biting a fingernail that hadn't been wiped clean.

:lol you don't wash your hands after you shit??

 

[olimario]

We had a couple badass local italian places, but they both shut down.
Now olive garden is the best we have

Its still good... just not 'fuck me in the ass' good.



EDIT: and real italian doesn't mean good food. There's a local Italian place run by a woman from Italy. She imports all of her food. Everything I've tried tastes like shit. The meatballs are green, the Chicken Marsala tastes like the Livestock show smells, and the Chicken Parmasean is stringy.

 

[MrAngryFace]

Id shut my place down if you started showing up too.

 

[Ollie Pooch]

well i got lost for the better part of an hour in the times square olive garden, after drinking too much pre-restaurant after being on cold and flu tablets, i got up as the food was being served, then deliriously stumbled around the restaurant trying to find my table again (it was right around the corner on the 2nd floor), much to the amusemenmt of the people lining up (and the girl at the front counter who thought i was joking).

finally my friend found me, then i ran to the bathrooms and barfed.. and was escorted back to my hotel hideous.. however they bagged up my meal for me!

 

[DJ_Tet]

Thank you, saves me from having to say it.

EDIT - If you people insist on going to an "Italian" chain, at least go to Carrabba's.

You People? That's fucking racist.

 

[DJ_Tet]

Eh, I actually think the Olive Garden is pretty fucking great. I'm only 1/4 Italian though. But one of my good friends is 100% and he loves it. I guess he's not a real Italian. Seriously, I think most of the people on this fucking board thinks anything that is mainstream or popular sucks balls. Taco Bell rules too.

Or that everyone lives in a city with Italian restaurants on every corner. This just in, the majority of people in the world don't live in NYC fuckers.

Olive Garden isn't that bad, although ironically I have run into the same situation that the OP did. We went on my ex's birthday, our friend informed the waiter that it was my ex's birthday. Our friend is notoriously cheap, so it was no surprise that he raised hell over the extra charge on his bill.

 

[Lil' Dice]

I was born and raised in Italy; the Olive Garden is a disgrace and defames the Italian cuisine, the same goes for Buca Di Beppos. I'm a penne arrabbiata connoisseur, and the one served at The Macaroni Grill tastes quite authentic.
I imagine that for some of you stuck in the south, or non-urban areas might have to settle for the Olive Garden; but for those in NY, LA, SF and other cultured cities there's simply no excuse.

 

[Virgin Wii]

When people say Olive Garden isn't real Italian, that doesn't imply that real Italians don't eat there. It simply means that they prepare their food much differently than authentic Italian places. Go to any locally owned Italian restaurant and you'll taste the difference.

BTW, Kraft owns Olive Garden. When they were planning the chain, they originally intended to stick more closely to authentic recipes. But they conducted several taste testing surveys and found that most Americans don't like authentic Italian cuisine, so they Americanized the recipes, and found that Americans prefered them that way. Hence the shitty food they serve.

 

[Meier]

Olive Garden is owned by Darden Restaurants, who used to be a part of the General Mills Restraunts Inc. but was spun off in the mid 90's. They no longer have any affiliation. Kraft is still owned by General Mills, however.

 

[aceface]

Damn, food snobs need to calm down. Olive Garden isin't life changing or anything, but it's good food. I'm half Italian too so I can say that, right. Even my Italian aunts and uncles, first generation born in the US, used to eat there from time to time.

 

[levious]

We had a couple badass local italian places, but they both shut down.
Now olive garden is the best we have

You live near the space center right? There's a great mexican restaurant down the street from the center called Durango's. You should look it up some time.

 

[acidviper]

I just found out they charge you $5.75 for when you tell them its your birthday and they bring you a slice of cake.

Its easy, just take 5.75 off their tip.

 

[shantyman]

Better than Carraba's:

 

[Boogie9IGN]

Oh, I forgot to mention

Olive Garden's Chicken Alfredo Pizza is godly

 

[Manders]

Olive Garden is pretty good, but lately they have been assholes about giving me breadsticks to go. I like to have some fuckin breadsticks with my leftovers, but the last two times I went, the waiter said, "We're not supposed to, but I'll get you a couple." Before they were real cool about it, but all of a sudden they've changed. Fuckers.

 

[AntoneM]

http://www.tuttisantibynina.com/home.html

the best Italian I've ever had.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

I was born and raised in Italy; the Olive Garden is a disgrace and defames the Italian cuisine, the same goes for Buca Di Beppos. I'm a penne arrabbiata connoisseur, and the one served at The Macaroni Grill tastes quite authentic.
I imagine that for some of you stuck in the south, or non-urban areas might have to settle for the Olive Garden; but for those in NY, LA, SF and other cultured cities there's simply no excuse.

Sir, yes Sir. :lol

FYI: Stefano's = in Spartanburg, SC.

 

[Quadrophenic]

I am ussually not a big fan of Italian food (though this might be due to a lack of exposure to the "real"/"good" stuff), but I did go to Buppo di Beco a couple months ago. Holy shit that place is awesome. So much good food.

 

[WordAssassin]

This thread rules just for introducing me to the awesomeness that is the expression "butthurt".

UGH, you're only hearing that STUPID phrase now? Here in Santa Barbara I've been dealing with it for over a year. It's so annoying. :'(

I've accidentally eaten a piece of my own shit after biting a fingernail that hadn't been wiped clean. I would rather do that again than to ever eat anything from the Olive Garden again.

Oh man, I was laughing my ass off after reading this! How the fuck did you manage to get shit under your fingernail? Were you a mite constipated and had to dig the last bits out? Hahahahaha!


Back on topic though...I've never eaten at Olive Garden. The best Italian food we have around here is Patrini's (just a local [I think] resteraunt) and Giovanni's, which has THE BEST PIZZA IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. PERIOD.

As for Taco Bell, I actually like it. I think it's because my stomach is a pussy bitch, but I just can't take "authentic" Mexican food from like, Chipotle or whatever. A bean-paste burrito or two and a delicious doube-decker taco is all I need to warm me up on a cold day. Plus I have this thing against eating a burrito with full beans in it, as opposed to the mashed kind at Taco Bell. I know that's bass-ackwards but since I don't have a true sense of taste it's all about texture to me and the full-beans make me think I'm eating little testicles. :lol

 

[CrystalGemini]

My sister and a couple of friends once went to the Cheesecake Factory in San Francisco for dinner once, and for some reason the waiter took an extremely long time to get us our desserts- we waited almost half an hour. Turns out she overheard us talking about my sister's birthday and went around to organize a birthday cake and the whole chorus of waiters to sing happy birthday.


It was really sad though, because it wasn't my sister's birthday, we were just talking about it at the time. :lol :lol :lol It was a nice guesture though.

 

[The Take Out Bandit]

I ate at Olive Garden once.

Then I burned it to the ground.

But seriously - it's some overpriced low rent shit food. I miss Mamma Ray's. A great local place that had generous portions and didn't fucking get all pussy-like when it came to smothering my food in sauce. Their dinner salads also rocked.

Then Mamma Ray had to up and die.

It's a pity that not even the fucking Italians in Cleveland's Little Italy district can make good Italian food.

Now I'll have a car bomb on my Escort tomorrow.

I'll have to go back to Little Italy to see if there's a respectable f'ing Italian joint there. I guess they're so busy keeping the black folks out, they forgot about making good food. >:|

 

[Boogie9IGN]

Taking my mother to Buca di Beppo for dinner tomorrow D

 

[Lhadatt]

We had a couple badass local italian places, but they both shut down.
Now olive garden is the best we have

Oli, you're going to have to go into town to get good Italian in Houston.

Empire Cafe near Westheimer @ Dunlavy, down the street from Brazil. Everything's great here, even the salad. Soups are especially good, try the ministrone or chicken tortilla. The staff's a bunch of hepsters wearing black tshirts slagging "corporate coffee" - they're usually friendly and on top of things.

Napoli in north Houston, on Jones road north of 1960 and Willowbrook. Some of the best pizzas and alfredo in town. Family run! There's a Napoli on Westheimer on the west side of town, but I don't know how they're related.

Star Pizza (ok, not quite Italian, stfu) at Shepherd @ 59. Almost the best pizza in town. Most of the time, service is pretty good. Hop over to Amy's Ice Cream across the street and have The Best Ice Cream In The World for a nightcap.

In Austin, check out Reale's on 183 on the north side of town. Family run, probably the best Italian place in the city.

 

[Lhadatt]

*omfgdblpostcuzadminswontgimmeposteditrights*

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Screw Olive Garden. Buca de Beppo is the best chain Italian place, but that's not saying a whole lot - especially in comparison to places like the aforementioned Empire Cafe in Houston or Reale's in Austin.

Anyone who estimates a chain restraunt to be the best in any category had better have done some extensive research into the local places before making that claim.

 

[WordAssassin]

What are everyone's thoughts on "Presto Pasta"?

Or is that even around anymore? I always thought their meatballs were pretty good but everything else sucked major ass.

I can forsee several "Presto Pasta = Taco Bell of Italian food" posts... :lol

 

[Lhadatt]

I can forsee several "Presto Pasta = Taco Bell of Italian food" posts... :lol

No, that would be Fazoli's.

 

[Macam]

We had a couple badass local italian places, but they both shut down.
Now olive garden is the best we have

Its still good... just not 'fuck me in the ass' good.

EDIT: and real italian doesn't mean good food. There's a local Italian place run by a woman from Italy. She imports all of her food. Everything I've tried tastes like shit. The meatballs are green, the Chicken Marsala tastes like the Livestock show smells, and the Chicken Parmasean is stringy.

"Fuck me in the ass good"? Hmm =/

Anyway, you may want to check out if there's a Johnny Carino's near you. They have them here in Austin and I know they have them in Houston, but the only one I've been to there is near the Katy area. Still, it's a good casual Italian chain.

I'll also second the authenticity comment as well. Real Mexican food is most likely something 90% of the people here wouldn't want to eat; Tex-Mex and its ilk is a different (and better) story. That said, real Mexican food is ridiculously cheap, more so when you go to Mexico (and no, I don't mean Cancun/Puera Vallarta/etc).

 

[Jonnyboy117]

Thank you, saves me from having to say it.

EDIT - If you people insist on going to an "Italian" chain, at least go to Carrabba's.

Indeed. When you order a Margherita pizza at one of these chains, Carrabba's is the only one that uses real, fresh mozzarella and freshly sliced roma tomatoes.

By the way, I'm not sure how big the chain is, but Jonny Carino's is in the same pile as Macaroni and Olive.

 

[Lyte Edge]

I find that chain restaurants are never as good as the places you can go to locally, but they can be cheaper in some cases. It's too bad I can NEVER get my friends to go anywhere but chains. :/

Last time I went to Olive Garden, I never got my order. There was a group of about 8 of us, and the waitress brought out every order except for mine. We were trying to make a movie and I didn't want to hold up the group, so I after I told her and she apologized, I just said to forget it. Luckily I filled up on the free salad and bread instead so I didn't care.

 

[djtiesto]

I'm lucky enough to have an Italian family and live in a place where there's an Italian restaurant/pizza joint/etc in every other strip mall. So thankfully I don't have to settle for Olive Garden Went there once and aside from the breadsticks, hated it. Carrabba's is pretty good though, they just opened one down the road from me, but there's always a 2+ hour wait, I don't think it's worth THAT. The best Italian restaurants are teh family style ones, where you go with like your whole family, order a bunch of different meals/appetizers, and they serve HUGE portions.

Ironically, Mexican is probably my favorite style of food (as long as you hold the cheese!)

 

[etiolate]

haha nevermind, we got $145 worth in Olive Garden Gift certificates for the whole ordeal

thanks chain restaraunts!

 

[explodet]

I just found out they charge you $5.75 for when you tell them its your birthday and they bring you a slice of cake.

haha nevermind, we got $145 worth in Olive Garden Gift certificates for the whole ordeal

thanks chain restaraunts!

What happened?
You go raise hell with the management?

 

[Link]

The best Italian restaurants are teh family style ones, where you go with like your whole family, order a bunch of different meals/appetizers, and they serve HUGE portions.

Buca Di Beppo is actually like this, and is actually pretty good, imo. Still doesn't touch the family owned places, but it's not bad at all.

 

[SyNapSe]

OMG, I love Maggiano's. They don't have one where I am from, but I have ate at a couple when I was out of town on business. (I think Chicago and Atlanta for sure)

I wish they would build one here!

At least Olive Garden's salad rocks.. sucks they charged you for birthday cake tho.. lol

 

[Escape Goat]

I like their 3 meat ravioli.

 

[etiolate]

What happened?
You go raise hell with the management?

An angry email was sent.