Shrimp Carbonara?

[mrs.b]

We have not been to Olive Garden in years because it's just not as good as most Italian restaurant alternatives, but we did not feel like driving and gave it a try tonight. Does anyone know if the chicken and shrimp carbonara is supposed to come with the shrimp tails still on? In a cream sauce that makes it difficult to see? The meal itself was bad - my lasagna was burnt, black-edged - but we could not decide if the tails on his plate were intentional or just more sloppy kitchen work. His pasta was also overcooked almost to mush, and his sauce tasted so strongly of bacon he could taste nothing else. That resolved our question for next time about whether or not the drive across town is worth it (the waitress looked confused why we did not want to-go boxes even after pointing out the black lasagna and declining replacement plates; no more from that kitchen, thanks), but we debated this particular question the whole ride home.

I miss Chicago more, now. Why does the south not have good Italian restaurants?

[PonyGirl93]

Chicago is most definitely the exception in the midwest as well, we have truly pathetic Italian restaurants in Ohio as well. I do like Olive Garden myself, if only for the breadsticks and salad, but I have to distance them from "Italian" in my mind, particularly since the only vegetarian item on the menu is a pizza with mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions. Epic :toetap:.

...Oh and I do believe the tails are supposed to be on, if I remember my sister's shrimp dishes correctly. The blackening? Not so sure :p

[cookderosa]

no tails. General rule of thumb, if it's a pick up and eat, then it's fine to ask the customer to remove the tails. When knife and fork (sauced) it's lazy. I've only been to Olive Garden once (hubby is Italian and not a fan) so I don't know if they created the dish that way or if the cook made a mistake, but bad menu item if it was intentional.

[mrs.b]

I agree that the shrimp tails were probably not intended by dish design, but since all the shrimp had them, it was unclear. My husband also refuses to put Olive Garden in the Italian category. Instead, he calls their food eye-talyun (add whichever Americanized accent of your choice), and we now recall why it had been so long since we went last. The salad and bread sticks were good, though. Still, many restaurants can claim that, and still serve entrees that have not been nearly cremated.

Thanks for the help sorting out the dish design question! While the meal was less than appealing, it was so wrong it was at least laughable. We've been watching episodes of Hell's Kitchen lately; Gordon Ramsey would have been throwing out donkey accusations left and right!

[taylor]

I love pasta and Olive Garden is a chain so it's probably not the best representation of Italian food. However, I eat it from time to time just because I know what to expect and there are so many around. At Olive Garden I feel comfortable twirling my pasta with a spoon.

Speaking of chains, I know this guy who got remarried to a Chinese woman and visited China for the first time. When he came back to the US, he was complaining how none of the food out there tasted like Panda Express. Duh?!