Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

No, We're Not That Family (Italian-Americans mad at Olive Garden)
Opnionjournal ^ | July 26, 2002 | Victorino Matus

Posted on 07/26/2002 12:51:26 PM PDT by stands2reason

Edited on 04/23/2004 12:04:40 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

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.


(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: italianamericans; italians; olivegarden
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 141-160161-180181-200 ... 321-335 next last
To: jae471
Hey, I'm from the South, can I complain about The Dukes of Hazzard?
161 posted on 07/26/2002 2:47:56 PM PDT by MissEdie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Cable225
why should I be suprised when they complain about a restaurant that no one forces them to go to?

Evidently the post resonates with several of us who welcome the opportunity to agree that Olive Garden food is poor. Since I seldom watch television, I have no interest in the commercials; but since I do eat regularly, and am sometimes found unwillingly in the OG, I appreciate that others share my dislike for it. It's called discussion. (Prolly don't belong in "News Activism" but, what the hell.

That OK with you, Hoss?

162 posted on 07/26/2002 2:49:30 PM PDT by don-o
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 152 | View Replies]

To: one_particular_harbour
We had a Taco Tico up in Kokomo when I lived there, it was a lot better than Taco Bell, although that's not saying much. I thought it was pretty good for fast food though. The enchilladas and the apple desert thingies were great.
163 posted on 07/26/2002 2:49:35 PM PDT by Dakmar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 102 | View Replies]

To: MissEdie
Hey, I'm from the South, can I complain about The Dukes of Hazzard?

That would be like Christians complaining about the bible.

164 posted on 07/26/2002 2:51:48 PM PDT by dead
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 161 | View Replies]

To: rudeboy666
Yo quiero Taco Bell.

Notice that the advertising slogan you mentioned has been stopped, as was "make a run for the border", as was the insulting dog with the Mexican accent.

165 posted on 07/26/2002 2:52:10 PM PDT by SunStar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

Comment #166 Removed by Moderator

To: Desdemona
For good Italian, here at home, there is a little restaurant on the Hill

A good restaurant on the Hill? ONE RESTAURANT?

Dee, lemme tell you in case you don't know this - the Hill in St. Louis has got to be one of the highest per capita concentrations of delicious Italian food in the United States. Outside of Manhattan's Little Italy, I'm uncertain if there is ANYTHING to compare to that area.

My fiancee's mother always says - "You can walk into a restaurant at random on the Hill and probably get one of the best meals of your life." I've eaten at many different restaurants there, and as far as I can tell she's right.

Try a different one other than your favorite and tell me if I'm wrong. If I could transplant one of those cooking staffs to Austin I'd be a millionaire.

167 posted on 07/26/2002 2:57:56 PM PDT by Paid4This
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 151 | View Replies]

Comment #168 Removed by Moderator

To: Paid4This
Gian-Tony's on the corner of Macklind and Daggett. The best one. MUCH better than Gitto's and much more affordable than Giovanni's. Favazza's, haven't eaten there in a while. Don't like Zia's. Rigazzi's...well, the fishbowls of beer are cool. Um, I do hit Vivianno's on the way home from the Garden. Volpi Genovese can't be beat. Missouri Baking Co. makes fabulous cheesecake. Di Gregoio's...yeah, I go in there.

I've been to the Hill.
169 posted on 07/26/2002 3:05:10 PM PDT by Desdemona
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 167 | View Replies]

To: southern rock
"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!"

Eh!! Whatsa matta wit you?? Do we gotta come down there and slap some sense into you?!? Admit it -- You think Tony Danza represents "Italian-America" in your southern-fried brain, dontcha? LOL...

Anyway, let me tell you something -- real "Italian" food is edible art and culture that fortunately happened to be passed down to it's descendants here in the good ol' USA. You mess with this food, and the world's entire cuisine falls apart...

What -- you want us to be happy when the Olive Garden uses romano cheese from Wisconsin instead of Locatelli from Italy? We leave and go back to Italy, ya know what else we leave behind?? Cottage cheese instead of ricotta; 'Jimmy Dean' sausage?? Yet one MORE piece of apple pie instead of a cannoli...But go ahead -- throw us out and see if we care, but know THIS much: The 'Olive Garden' is committing sacrilege against NOT ONLY Italian-Americans, but ALL Americans!

170 posted on 07/26/2002 3:05:37 PM PDT by F16Fighter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: JimSEA
I like the food at "Mon & Pop" restaurants as well. However, Americans have voted with their dollars for plastic Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and Thai Food.

I think I can shed some light on this. Before we had kids, my wife and I ate out maybe three or four times a week. We hit all the privately owned and operated restaurants in and around town and preferred them to the chain restaurants. But when you have children, you quickly find that you are not welcome at these type of restaurants. Many of them don't have high-chairs or children's menus and quite frankly, they cater to more of an adult crowd anyhow. We got the message loud and clear when our first child was born. We were sometimes greeted by scowls and seated in the worst table - usually next to the kitchen or the front door.

So we have been driven to the world of chain restaurants that cater to families. Olive Garden, On The Border, Bertucci's, Applebees, Cracker Barrel, Ground Round, etc. None of these places have outstanding food. But most of the time, it is decent. The service is spotty due to low-paid help. It always seems that the waiter or waitress we get is "new on the job" and so he or she is usually frazzled and keeps us waiting for interminable stretches. For some reason, many of them never ask me if I would like a second drink and I usually have to try and flag them down. Don't they realize that the more drinks I order, the higher the bill and thus the higher their tip? I never had this problem in the individually owned restaurants and I tipped very well.

Anyway, I just wanted to make the point that for most families, restaurants like Olive Garden are a godsend. They welcome children and keep them entertained with crayons and coloring books etc. They have children's menus so you can feed your kid a $3 grilled cheese sandwich while you have that lobster pie or prime rib. But when my kids are grown up, I hope to never see the insides of some of these chain restaurants again!

171 posted on 07/26/2002 3:06:58 PM PDT by SamAdams76
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: zhabotinsky
hehe! Ah well..someday I'll actually get to experience quality deli food....but I seriously doubt it will be here.
172 posted on 07/26/2002 3:09:20 PM PDT by goodieD
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 94 | View Replies]

To: stands2reason
I have a question. If Marco Polo brought noodles back from China and the tomato came from the Americas, what did Italians eat before that?
173 posted on 07/26/2002 3:10:19 PM PDT by blam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SamAdams76
So we have been driven to the world of chain restaurants that cater to families. Olive Garden, On The Border, Bertucci's, Applebees, Cracker Barrel, Ground Round, etc. None of these places have outstanding food.

Call me a rube, but I think Cracker Barrel has first-rate food.

As for the rest, of the ones you mention that I have sampled they are not excellent, but neither are they horrible. These restaurants are capitalizing on a brand name, which provides certainty in exchange for foregoing any chance at excellence. Whether you walk into a restaurant in Fontana, Newton or Metairie, you know exactly what you'll get, so you avoid getting something unexpectedly bad. In that sense, the restaurant chains perform the same function as any trademark.

Some of the worst meals I have ever had have been in non-chain restaurants, including Italian ones. But if you want a memorable meal, you'll have to avoid a chain too.

174 posted on 07/26/2002 3:15:13 PM PDT by untenured
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 171 | View Replies]

To: Desdemona
I'm trying to remember the one my fiancee takes me too, intimate place in a basement, seems like you could bash your head on the low ceiling and the dim light. If you're ever in KC, try to eat at a place called Garozzo's. That's pretty good stuff there. There's some excellent places in KC but nothing like the Hill.

On the Hill, some nights you get the added authenticity of gangland slayings. That's attention to detail!

175 posted on 07/26/2002 3:15:37 PM PDT by Paid4This
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 169 | View Replies]

To: blam
"I have a question. If Marco Polo brought noodles back from China and the tomato came from the Americas, what did Italians eat before that?"

Aye-eee...What are you, some kinda wise-guy??;-)

176 posted on 07/26/2002 3:15:41 PM PDT by F16Fighter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 173 | View Replies]

To: Desdemona
Another funny thing, I've gone to some cookouts in St. Louis before, and somebody will bring sausage to grill. "Is it from the Hill?" someone will ask. "Yes, it's from the Hill" will be the answer, and all the St. Louisans will nod approvingly. Pretty good stuff overall, the Hill is a St. Louis treasure.
177 posted on 07/26/2002 3:20:13 PM PDT by Paid4This
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 169 | View Replies]

Comment #178 Removed by Moderator

To: untenured
Cracker Barrel does have some decent food but a big drawback is that the chain is dry. At least at the ones I've been to. I prefer a mug of beer with my steak or a glass of wine with my fish. Also they make you walk through those tourist-trap "general stores" that are full over overpriced merchandise. What a pain in the ass!
179 posted on 07/26/2002 3:24:43 PM PDT by SamAdams76
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 174 | View Replies]

To: The Federal Farmer
Oh good lord, I'm part Scot...PLEAAASE Don't go there with the Haggis thing...LOL...We don't need to become as hated as the Nazi Germans were.
180 posted on 07/26/2002 3:27:24 PM PDT by Wondervixen
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 141-160161-180181-200 ... 321-335 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson