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The Grand Forks Herald's esteemed restaurant critic/tipping expert Marilyn Hagerty — who became a food world phenom with her revolutionary review of an Olive Garden — has filed about Olive Garden again. This time, she tackles their stunt-y new creation, the breadstick sandwich, which features a slightly shorter and wider version of their famed appetizer.
Overall, she appears to like the the new menu item, but at the end of the day she prefers the regular bread sticks (or "skinny breadstick buns" as she likes to call them) that come with the sandwiches. In the review, which is formatted as a letter to her sister Shirley, she also reflects on her Olive Garden-related fame. Below, the 11 best lines:
On Olive Garden's promotional breadstick sandwich food truck: "So one of these days in June, I think you should perch yourself somewhere and then follow an Olive Garden truck."
On why she decided to try the sandwiches: "I was curious because I have had calls from media people at CBC in Canada and Fox News."
On her fame: "They know I went viral three years ago after reviewing the Olive Garden that was then new in Grand Forks."
On her ethics: "[The Olive Garden manager] was going to treat me to the new creations this week, but he understood when I explained to him that as a news writer I do not accept free food."
On the Italian meatball breadstick sandwich: "It's a lot to eat."
On the chicken parmigiana breadstick sandwich: "I think I might like that version better."
On her preferences: "The new buns may be better, but they are kind of big. I sort of like the original, thinner version."
On the future of Olive Garden: "There will be people who continue gobbling up the unlimited skinnier buns. There probably will be people opting for the new fatter bun sandwiches."
On her fame, part two: "Nobody at Olive Garden ever asked me what I thought. I just wrote down some observations three years ago and ended up on national television shows."
On a world with breadstick sandwiches: "This is a crazy world we live in."
On what she really wants Olive Garden to serve: "Now if Olive Garden would start serving Mr. Goodbars for dessert, it would make a hit with me."
