Olive Garden

Location: 7179 Dixie Hwy, Fairfield, OH 45014

Date Visited: Wednesday, January 16, 2008


If there's one type of food I could probably eat every day it would be Italian. I love lasagna, pizza, pasta, and just about anything else that comes out of an Italian kitchen. So, whenever I get the chance to pick a place to eat, "Italian" is the first word that comes to my mind.

Olive Garden isn't my favorite Italian restaurant, but it does satisfy my Italian cravings when they peak. This visit to Olive Garden was a satisfying meal indeed.

We started off with the Artichoke & Spinach Dip as our appetizer. It was a good dip, but the bread did nothing to enhance this appetizer. The combination of the bread and the dip was bland -- a better choice would have been to pair the dip with thinly sliced, toasted bread pieces drizzled with olive oil. We liked the dip, but will probably order something different next time.

The salad was fabulous, as always. I ate more than my share. The breadsticks were the usual -- Olive Garden's breadsticks aren't my favorite; I find them tasteless and rubbery, but they're edible if dipped in the salad's dressing or the pasta's sauce.

Speaking of pasta, Nick had the Spaghetti & Meatballs while I enjoyed the Linguine alla Marinara. His pasta dish was quite good, but was a little dry on the sauce. (I believe one can order extra sauce at no charge, which is what Nick should do. He loves lots of sauce.) The meatballs were flavorful. My linguine dish was unremarkable. The pasta was al dente and cooked to perfection, but the sauce was not good; it seemed unfinished, uncooked, raw. I will not be ordering that dish again.

We finished our meal with a shared piece of Lemon Cream Cake, which was delightful. The cake was moist and the filling tangy. I highly recommend it.

~~Lori


Ratings:
Overall: 7.5 (scale of 0-10 with 5 as average)
Today: 7.5
Portion size: Large
Atmosphere: Slightly Upscale
Family-friendly: Yes
Prices: Moderate
Cleanliness: Good
Good place for a 1st date?: Yes
Similar Places: Macaroni Grill, Bravo, LaRosa's