Last night we went to the Olive Garden, because when a pregnant wife craves something, you better deliver the goods. For being a Thursday night, the restaurant was not crowded at all, and we were seated right away. Service started out prompt, and in no time we had our drinks and had placed our orders. I should add that we had a fairly cranky two-year old in our party, and the servers handled it well.
The food was not bad, but I've noticed that the quality has been going down hill for a while. It used to feel like, when you went out to the Olive Garden, you were getting something special. Now it almost feels like "factory food", with no soul behind it. I ordered the Seafood Alfredo, portion size was good and taste was alright also. If you like Shrimp and Scallops in Alfredo sauce, then you just might like this dish. The wife ordered her standard Chicken Parmigiana, which she never finishes and always gets a to-go box. So for her portion size is wonderful, as she gets a meal and a lunch out of the deal.
One thing though that I had a MAJOR issue with, was when the server brought out a refill for my drink. He placed the drink on the table next to the empty glass. Took the straw out of it, and placed it in the new drink. This, as you can imagine, is NOT something that a waiter should EVER do. Yes, I know that all employees are supposed to wash their hands on a regular basis, especially after using the restrooms, but still you don't ever touch your customers food, or straws or utensils with your bare hands. That's just common hygienic consideration.
Over all the meal was quite good, but after the whole "straw incident" I'm not sure if we'll be back to this particular location. Or if we do go, we'll defiantly be requesting to NOT sit in this waiter's section.
Grades:
Food: B
Portion Size: A
Service: D
I was really disappointed on this Adventure, the service really was quite good, but our waiter greatly upset as he had apparently never heard of germs before. I could understand 15 or 20 years ago doing that sort of thing, but nowadays... it's just not appropriate.