43% of Republicans Call the Olive Garden a 'Quality Source of Authentic Ethnic Food'

Here's a close examination of the real issues that divide American political society today: Public Policy Polling reveals a partisan split on very important subjects such as the best fried chicken restaurants and Olive Garden's authenticity. As it turns out, Democrats prefer KFC (39 percent) to Chick-fil-A (18 percent), while 48 percent of Republicans choose Chick-fil-A over the 29 percent of them who like KFC better. Meanwhile, 43 percent of Republicans say that Olive Garden is "a quality source of authentic ethnic food," a statement with which 44 percent of Democrats disagree. (Though, of course, please note that 41 percent of Democrats do agree that Olive Garden serves authentic ethnic food.)

In other hot button food issues, the study discovers that Democrats like bagels, croissants, and regular soda, while Republicans are more into donuts and diet soda. Democrats are also friendlier to vegans with a 48 percent approval rating compared to the Republicans' 31 percent rating. But there are issues around which everyone can rally, such as the terribleness of fast food, Coke's superiority to Pepsi, pancakes being a little bit better than french toast, and lunch being the worst meal. As the study notes, "Democrats and Republicans both strongly back dinner."

The study does address at least one serious issue, which is whether diners would support paying more at restaurants that provide health insurance for their employees. It turns out that Democrats are fine with that at a 72 percent rate, while 41 percent of Republicans approve compared to the 38 percent who disapprove. The report points out, "This issue has received a lot of attention because of Papa Johns' complaints about Obamacare, and that chain doesn't fare too well in our favorite pizza voting: Pizza Hut wins with 30% to 17% for Papa John's, 15% for Domino's, and 5% for Little Caesar's."

· Food issues polarizing America [Public Policy Polling via Gawker]
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