In the Garden of Good and Olives

This month our restaurant of choice was Olive Garden. And I'm gonna tell you right off the bat, Olive Garden can do almost no wrong. We LOOOOOOVVVEEE Olive Garden.

Restaurant: Olive Garden

Location: Pine Grove Ave., Port Huron, MI

Everyone knows Olive Garden. They have pasta, soup, salad, and breadsticks. Sometimes a combination of the four and sometimes, never ending. I love the phrase "never ending" when applied to items on a menu! It makes you happy just to say it. Come on. Say it. "Never Ending Breadsticks." Mmmmm....

Susie and Marti were a little late, so Jeri, Mom and I started with an appetizer and some drinks while we waited. Our waitress was named Christine, and she was pretty nice. At first I was a little worried because she hadn't checked on us in awhile, but Mom said that she kept poking her head around to see if the others had arrived and to look at our drinks. So that made me feel better.

When Susie and Marti showed up, Jeri and I were two drinks in. They were really good drinks too. Christine came right away and took the remaining drink orders. Once they were dropped off, we ordered. 

Whenever I go to Olive Garden, I try to get something I've not had before. I don't think I've ever been disappointed. With Olive Garden you have almost always have the option of something new. Which can be kinda annoying when you like something, yet every time you go in there, it's a new menu.

Highlights

2 free sample glasses of wine per person - I don't like wine. But the others do and they all had a free sample glass. Mom liked hers so much that she bought a quartino ("It looks like a carafe. Jeeze Mom, a whole carafe of wine!" - Me, "Why do you have a corral?" - Jeri, "They should've given you a straw with your corral Mom" - Jeri [We all decided that the quartino looked like a vase or fancy salad dressing holder, and then we couldn't manage to call it the right thing at all. ])

Alfredo Dipping Sauce - You can get this amazing dipping sauce for your bread sticks. It's $3.25 and tastes divine ("I think dog poop would be good with the Alfredo sauce." - Jeri). Marti called dibs on the leftover sauce and took it home. Lucky Duck. And Jeri kept "forgetting" to put the serving spoon back. I think it was part of her evil plan to NOT SHARE the sauce.

Bathrooms - Yep, the bathrooms are a highlight. We all really liked that the music was loud enough that it could drown out whatever noise you were making in the stall ("I love that no one can hear me pee!" - Marti). There were sani-wipes in the handicap/diaper changing stall, and TONS of toilet paper in each stall. There was no running out of TP at Olive Garden.

The Ratings: On a Scale of 1 to 5

Waitstaff
We all agreed that the waitstaff gets a 5 out of 5. Christine was our waitress and the two people she had to help bring out our food were fast, courteous, and funny. We liked them. Never once did we feel like we were imposing. All of our food was brought out hot and together and in a timely manner.

Food Quality
Mom - Venetian Apricot Chicken; 5. The apricot sauce is divine. The Hot Artichoke Spinach Dip was really tasty too.
Jeri -  Stuffed Chicken di Mare; 5. The stuffed chicken was stuffed so much that I couldn't eat it all (which is a good thing. Leftovers!). The tomatoes in the dip made a nice contrast to the artichoke and spinach. The Alfredo Fettuccine that came with the chicken was good. The Zuppa Toscana was more potato-y than I like.
Terra -  Parmesan Crusted Bistecca; 4. The mashed potatoes that came with the steak were really good. The steak itself was nice and tender and the Parmesan crust on top was delicious. However, the asparagus was disappointing. I didn't like the balsamic vinaigrette topping on it all. It ruined the asparagus and I didn't even take it home with me.
Susie - Chicken Parmigiana; 5. It was a LOT of pasta and the chicken was tender and juicy.
Marti - Parmesan Crusted Bistecca; 4 1/2. I had the same issue with the asparagus as Terra. I didn't even bother to take it home. The garlic mashed potatoes were tasty and the steak was tender. I loved the bread sticks and Alfredo dipping sauce.

Drinks (We decided that Drinks need their own category too. Keep in mind these should be out of 5 too.)
Mom - Chocolate Almond Amore - 10; $7.25. Bailey's Irish Cream, DiSaronno Amaretto, Kahlua, and vanilla ice cream. It was superb. The best alcoholic shake I've ever had! Signature Bianco - 5; $7.65. After the sample glass, I had to have some more.
Jeri - Peach Bellini - 10; $6.50. Martini & Rossi Asti and fresh fruit, frozen and blended. This was so good I had two. You could really taste the peach, but it wasn't over powering.
Terra - Venetian Sunset - 10; $6.25. Martini & Rossi Asti with pineapple and cherry juices. It was amazing. I could drink these all day. Moscato Apricot Cocktail - 10; $6.35. Sparkling Moscato wine and Aperol Italian liqueur, mixed with flavors of orange peel essence and ginger ale. I wanted something different for my second drink and this cocktail was splendid.
Susie - Strawberry Fresco Cocktail - 10; $6.95. Smirnoff Citrus Vodka, fresh strawberries and lemonade. The strawberries were a little bland, but once you dunked them in the drink, they improved!
Marti - Roscato Berry Cocktail - 10; $6.25. Fruity red Roscato wine mixed with strawberry, lime and a hint of mint. It was very pleasant. The others thought it was a little sweet.

Food Value

Hot Artichoke Spinach Dip

Mom - $10.50 for her main dish. I don't know how much it cost, and I don't care. It was worth it.
Jeri - $15 for her main dish we think. Plus she got a side of Alfredo Fettuccine and a salad. It was worth what was paid.
Terra - $16.95 for the meal. It was not worth almost $17. It did come with your choice of soup or salad, but it still wasn't worth $17.
Susie -  $14.25 for the meal. It was worth it. There was a lot of pasta and a big piece of chicken.
Marti - $16.95 for the meal. It wasn't worth it. The asparagus was icky. The quality was there, just not $17 worth.

Our Artichoke dip was $7.95 and was pretty large. It came with little pieces of bread for dipping. The Alfredo dipping sauce was $3.25 and the bread sticks were free. The appetizers were worth what we paid.

Bathroom
We all agree that the bathroom was a 4 1/2. The decor was really nice, plenty of tp, nice loud music. The only drawbacks were that there was a soap puddle by the sinks and there were some small puddles of water in the depressions of the floor near the stalls. This could just be because they just mopped and water gathered in the low spots. Or it could be something icky. 

Overall
Mom - 5 
Jeri - 5
Terra - 4; Only because of the asparagus (I REALLY like asparagus and was REALLY disappointed that it wasn't tasty. Though, Christine said that next time, just let my waitress know and they'll take it back and remake the way I like.) and the price of my meal.
Susie - 5
Marti - 4 1/2     


We had fun. The drinks were so nice and fruity, the food was great, and we had some leftovers to take home for lunch the next day. We would definitely go back again and again.

Terra 

Chicken Parmigiana

Stuffed Chicken di Mare

Venetian Apricot Chicken

Parmesan Crusted Bistecca