No, We're Not That Family (Italian-Americans mad at Olive Garden)

Opnionjournal ^ | July 26, 2002 | Victorino Matus

[stands2reason]

Italian-Americans have a problem, and it's not "The Sopranos."

Italian-Americans are speaking out. They are complaining about a stereotype they just can't stand. One that they find inaccurate and misleading. One that is constantly shown on television, much to their disgust. They are unhappy. They are at their wit's end. They are fed up.

[SoothingDave]

Heaven is an American salary, an English house, a Chinese cook and a Japanese wife.

Hell is a Chinese salary, a Japanese house, an English cook and an American wife.

SD

[andy_card]

Maybe the Italians who are so offended by this should declare a fatwah or a jihad or something.

They'd do that, except that the book Italian War Heroes is one of the shortest ever written, even shorter than Jewish Business Ethics, Polish Wit and Wisdom and French Manners.

Ok, so now I've offended everyone...

[nutmeg]

ping!

Come and join the fun! This is one of the best Friday threads I've seen in awhile. Many of the comments are truly priceless! :-D

(Thanks, stands2reason)

[#3Fan]

When, oh when will someone create a theme restaurant with offensive commericials for us Scottish-Americans? Maybe Haggis House?

McDonald's...that sounds Scottish. Do you act like those people in McDonald's commercials? :^)

[hellinahandcart]

Of course the commercials about the big Italian family around the table are terribly misleading. The tablecloth is spotless.

[stanz]

Ditto for me. We once went to the Olive Garden in Times Square as a last resort because it was late and we were right there. Did you ever hear of a restaurant burning spaghetti? Then, they gave us a small plate of salad for four people. What a disaster. When I make salad at home, I usually eat the entire large bowl by myself. Olive Garden restaurants are not for Italians, they're not for Americans. I don't know who they're for.

[JimFreedom]

"BIG NIGHT" Now thats Italian food! GREAT movie. The first time we watched it we got so hungry we made some ZITA and sauce!

[RepoGirl]

Hell is a place where the politicians are French, the police German and the cooks English. and
Heaven is a place where the politicans are German, the police English and the cooks French.

Hee! I like that.

Isn't there something also about hell having swiss mechanics and Italian bankers, and heaven having the opposite?

[Dakmar]

Except for Applebey's, or however the eff you spell it. Now that place truly sucks dog farts

Amen to that! I went there with some friends once, waited about 40 minutes, then ordered, waited another half hour and they brought the food out. Well, most of it anyway - when they brought the food out for my friends they informed me that they were out of what I had ordered. Since we were pretty much stuck in an airport hotel I decided to try my luck again and ordered a BLT, thinking it could be prepared quickly. After another 20 minutes or so I started complaining somewhat loudly and those SOBs had the nerve to come out and ask me to quiet down (I still hadn't gotten any food and was not yelling, just talking slightly louder than normal). Another 15 minutes or so passed and they brought out my BLT and it was lousy.

[Desdemona]

From an All-American Mutt (Irish, Celtic Spanish, Breton & Norman French, probably a little Welsh, a tinge of Bavarian and a couple drops of Mimwac Indian):

Olive Garden sucks. For good Italian, here at home, there is a little restaurant on the Hill, a family run place, although, they're actually Sicilian. Really nice people, though. The menu hangs outside the door (just like Italy) and you can even get a bottle of the water with gas (just like Italy). There's tables on the sidewalks. They don't have a vine awning like the hilltowns, but you can't have everything. FABULOUS linguini con marinara. Really good Vitello, too. My mom loves the salmon. The Risotto...I had better in Venice. And the wine is the good stuff.

Seriously, though, the best Italian dish I've had was a pesto lasagna in the Cinque Terre. Now I just have to go back.

Sorry, never going back to Olive Garden.

[Cable225]

Now I am certain that this wasn't "authentic" but I am not trying to collect points for Gourmet Club Membership, but rather have an enjoyable meal. It sounds to me like the managers of the Indianapolis restaurant should be teaching the rest of the chain a thing or two.

I too, am a little mystified by this whole topic. My girlfriend and I love the Olive Garden. Is it gourmet food? No. Is it "authentic" Italian fare? No, but then again, most of the people complaining on this thread wouldn't know "real" Italian if it bit them in the a$$. I always found the service to be reasonable, the prices to be affordable, and you just can't beat the refills on soup, salad, and breadsticks.

Additionally, I worked for the OG as a bartender for 3.5 years while I went to tech school, and while the job wasn't great, I never found the management to be as overbearing or out of touch as it is described here. OG is what it is, a chain restaurant.

But then again, I look at the names of the folks complaining on this thread, and it occurs to me that most of them complain about everything else anyway, so why should I be suprised when they complain about a restaurant that no one forces them to go to?

[itzmygun]

My family came from Croatia. To avoid being offended, I know nothing about the country, its foods, or culture. So show stereotypical Croatian food commercials - I won't know to be offended.

I am American. I know we have our share of idiots here. So show all the stereotypical hamburger and hot dog commercials you want - I won't be offended.

I am a hillbilly. Yes, I know some of my friends worship the bug-zapper. So show all the stereotypical 'possum and government cheese commercials you want - I won't be offended.

Now, what was the problem?

[SoothingDave]

I once made the mistake of going out for pizza in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin with some of my cousins. They all assured me that they knew a place that served great pizza,

We had a guy who used to work here who was originally from Jersey, but had lived in South Dakota for a while. He said that when you went out for pizza there they would literally take a frozen Tombstone pizza out of the freezer and bake it for you. That's it. That was their "pizzeria."

SD

[CatoRenasci]

Yup, see reply #133

[Bon mots]

Well, if these ethnic Italians don't like the "Americanization" of their culture, maybe they would be happy with a one-way ticket back to Italy.

Sheesh! Like many ethnic groups, a large number of Italians pay lip service to assimilation, but for some reason enjoy living in neighborhhods amongst large groups of their own kind, speaking their native language, and eating their "authentic" ethnic food. Get over it already!

Yes, we Italians are taking over America HAHAHA. We will force bilingual education on you southerners and convert you to our religion (Christianity).

My grandparents came to America from Italy at the turn of the century and my family is not only assimilated and fluent in English, but most of them don't even speak Italian. We are university educated professionals and not members of any organized crime syndicate.

Your post is not only idiotic, it's insulting to a lot of good Americans of Italian ancestry. Crawl back into your trailer.

Italian neighborhoods where the denizens speak exclusively Italian are difficult to find. Even "Little Italy" in New York City is only one short street nowadays (Mulberry Street). Get a life.

[dead]

Even "Little Italy" in New York City is only one short street nowadays (Mulberry Street).

Chinatown ate the rest.

[amused]

We had a guy who used to work here who was originally from Jersey, but had lived in South Dakota for a while. He said that when you went out for pizza there they would literally take a frozen Tombstone pizza out of the freezer and bake it for you. That's it. That was their "pizzeria."

Yikes, that sounds like my nightmare visit to Garcias of West Lafayette, Indiana. Where they served prego in a pie crust with 2 inches of processed cheese melted on top. And people swore they had the best pizza in IN. {chills}

[SamAdams76]

Instead of whining and fussing like a bunch of Frenchmen, why don't these Italians who are so offended over the Olive Garden open their own string of restaurants and show the rest of us what "real" Italian cusine is like? If it's as good as they say it is, they should make millions.

BTW, I also like Mexican food. Next some Mexican is going to come to this thread and tell me that they don't really sit around drinking Gold margaritas and listening to Julio Inglesis all day while munching on tortilla chips and salsa waiting for their Tres Enchilada (with Spanish rice and refried beans) to arrive.

[CatoRenasci]

best Italian dish I've had was a pesto lasagna in the Cinque Terre. Now I just have to go back.

Having had first rate Italian food in Italian homes where the alta cucina was a way of life, in Michelin two and three star restaraunts in Italy, and in the best Italian restaraunts in New York and San Francisco, the absolutely best Italian meal I ever had was in (of all places) a tiny Italian restaraunt in Tokyo, Cucina Hirata, which I understand is no longer in business. Pity, the chef was a great artist.