Friday, October 27, 2006
OLIVE GARDEN
That’s right, Olive Garden. I’ve gone on record as to my dislike of chains for restaurant choices, but they’re hard to avoid when you want something now, baby, now. I could be unkind and say that of my recent chain experiences this one sucked the least, but actually we had a really nice meal and experience. I can say that the youth and inexperience of both the host and waitress were glaring, but not detrimental. I do think our waitress was rather free in her use of “you guys” when referring to my wife and me, but at least she didn’t make use of the dreaded “no problem” in place of “you’re welcome”.
She started by offering us a sample of a blush wine, which my wife did select with her meal. It was good, if a little cloying even for her; I’ll wean her away from white zin yet! I ordered a Clos Du Bois Merlot, and raised an eyebrow when I noticed the price. This was the exact same wine I had ordered at Timpano in Bethesda a few weeks ago. While that restaurant was much more upscale, I was shocked to realize that the price disparity between the glass of wine there and the glass of wine here at Olive Garden was more than double. Normally, when you order a glass of wine at a restaurant, a glass of wine is brought to your table and set in front of you. At Olive Garden, the wine bottle is brought to your table and poured for you by the waitress. At Timpano, they bring the empty wine glass to your table, along with a small carafe containing your wine. Your glass is placed in front of you, and then the waiter pours your wine from the carafe. I found the extra step curious, seeing no point to pouring it from the bottle to a carafe to a glass, but I appreciated the show. I will say, that between the Olive Garden, a bottle I bought recently from a store, and Timpano, the glass of wine at Timpano tasted the best. It is very subjective, I know, but maybe the extra step allows it to breathe more, or maybe their sommelier was sure to buy a particularly good vintage for them. Maybe you do get what you pay for, but the glass I had there was still not worth the price, and the glass I had at Olive Garden still was.
I ordered a shrimp and asparagus dish which came served over a creamy risotto, and my wife ordered a bowl of toscana soup (spicy sausage and potatoes). Both were delicious. Some may cock their eyebrows at my ordering a fish dish in a cream sauce to go with my red wine, but I proscribe to modern wine theory which basically goes : order what tastes good!
She started by offering us a sample of a blush wine, which my wife did select with her meal. It was good, if a little cloying even for her; I’ll wean her away from white zin yet! I ordered a Clos Du Bois Merlot, and raised an eyebrow when I noticed the price. This was the exact same wine I had ordered at Timpano in Bethesda a few weeks ago. While that restaurant was much more upscale, I was shocked to realize that the price disparity between the glass of wine there and the glass of wine here at Olive Garden was more than double. Normally, when you order a glass of wine at a restaurant, a glass of wine is brought to your table and set in front of you. At Olive Garden, the wine bottle is brought to your table and poured for you by the waitress. At Timpano, they bring the empty wine glass to your table, along with a small carafe containing your wine. Your glass is placed in front of you, and then the waiter pours your wine from the carafe. I found the extra step curious, seeing no point to pouring it from the bottle to a carafe to a glass, but I appreciated the show. I will say, that between the Olive Garden, a bottle I bought recently from a store, and Timpano, the glass of wine at Timpano tasted the best. It is very subjective, I know, but maybe the extra step allows it to breathe more, or maybe their sommelier was sure to buy a particularly good vintage for them. Maybe you do get what you pay for, but the glass I had there was still not worth the price, and the glass I had at Olive Garden still was.
I ordered a shrimp and asparagus dish which came served over a creamy risotto, and my wife ordered a bowl of toscana soup (spicy sausage and potatoes). Both were delicious. Some may cock their eyebrows at my ordering a fish dish in a cream sauce to go with my red wine, but I proscribe to modern wine theory which basically goes : order what tastes good!
# posted by Renfield @ 9:03 AM 
