How "Unlimited" Are Olive Garden's Unlimited Breadsticks?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- Weird History Food is getting the family together and going down to get the History of Olive Garden. Originally called "The" Olive Garden, everyone's favorite destination for unlimited breadsticks and salads was actually a creation of corporate behemoth General Mills. So how has Olive Garden stayed so popular and relevant for decades? Let's carb-load this video on the OG
#olivegarden #foodhistory #weirdhistoryfood
My mom used to work at the Olive Garden in the late 1980s… I literally grew up eating Olive Garden almost every day with all the leftover breadsticks, spaghetti, etc. she would bring home every night at the end of her shift.
Would you still eat it?
You lucky son of a gun!
Free food doesn’t mean good food
@@loganking1957 what MORMANS Don't eat OG
Nowadays they make you trash all the leftover food usually....sad.
As an employee there we do the one per person plus one to keep them from going stale and wasting them. If we bring out a ton they get hard and people ask for fresh ones. We’ve always had that ratio as long as I’ve worked there since 2015. It’s completely unlimited it’s just to make sure we’re not being wasteful
It may also have something to do with the outrage several years ago about uneaten breadsticks being sent back out to new tables. But many restaurants do that so they don't waste the bread.
Y'all are just skimping to save bread money. Lol.
I have to give a shout out to the waitress at the Olive Garden in Athens, Georgia. I wish I remembered her name. I was going through a hard time, caring for my FIL who was dying of cancer. It was my one night off in seemingly forever.
I guess I looked… well… bad. The waitress sat down across from me and asked if I was okay. I burst into tears. This super kind woman sat and talked to me between every stop at a table. She listened to me cry and talk about this person I loved who was dying.
Her kindness was so appreciated, so unexpected. I’d say they really did make me feel like family, except that my own family was never so kind.
Love this, and can definitely relate to alot of your story. Lovely but also a bit sad that many times strangers are more kind, understanding, and caring than our own loved ones/family members.
@@jencrecelius3565 I should’ve been more clear. This was my father-in-law dying, and my (remaining 😢) in-laws and husband are wonderful. My sister-in-law cared for him for 1 1/2 years. I just moved in for the last few months. We hadn’t yet switched to hospice (he wasn’t ready to give up), but he needed someone there at all times. I couldn’t leave my SIL to do it after a long day at work (she’s a surgeon). So I only ran out on errands for things like prescriptions. Shes the one who insisted I just GO.
When I said “my” family, I mean my parents/siblings. My poor husband got a completely raw deal when it came to in-laws. On the plus side, both my parents are dead, so we don’t even have to think about it and choose not to help. 😆
This man could narrate a documentary on paint drying and I'd listen because he would still find a way to make it entertaining...😊
When I click on a video and he’s not the narrator, I immediately jump ship.
The science behind paint is actually really interesting just saying
true
I would love a video about the history of bricks.
@@lakrids-pibeask Wendover!
As a Millenial, the only reason I ate anywhere decently during college was the unlimited breadsticks. Go in, get the cheapest item on the menu, and just load up on bread.
Was it healthy? No.
Was it affordable during the worse economic time in America since the Great Depression? Yes.
"decently"? - lol full of fat and carbs.
Why not go to the store and get a loaf of bread?
@@MikeFarnhamGalaxysEdgeGrouppretty sure they don't care haha
As a broke college kid in the 2000s, Olive Garden was the one place you could take a significant other out to someplace semi-nice as a freshman or sophomore without having to hit the parents up for a loan after 😂
haha loser
The food at Olive Garden isn't something that'll wow you, but no matter what Olive Garden I have traveled to, I meet really great people working there. They're either very helpful since I have trouble grasping glasses and silverware (stupid illness) or they'll make sure I don't have to travel far to get to things. Some even go ahead to make sure I can grab the bathroom door. This has been EVERY. Olive Garden. I don't ask for this. This just happens. I don't think this is in their training. It's always just wonderful people.
It makes me comfortable eating at an Olive Garden because that means the food isn't going to make me sick and the staff isn't going to make me feel like I'm a freak in a wheelchair. It's one of my "safe zones" I can eat at. I don't have many of them. We can joke about the place all we want, but in the end... I am just really grateful it exists and continues to thrive.
You're not wrong, I've had the same experience. The staff are friendly, happy (outwardly, at least), and always go above and beyond, no matter what location I go to.
I'm very jealous, every Olive Garden I have been to gave me food poisoning. I wish I could enjoy it.
@@Lomhowbased
They tend to have excellent hiring practices.
I served and bartended at an Olive Garden for almost 3 years. At one point I become a certified trainer, training the new servers as they were hired. It is no coincidence that Olive Garden has consistently friendly and helpful staff! The training process is very extensive. They actually do teach and encourage different ways to talk to people, and respond appropriately to guest concerns. Olive Garden employees will do just about damn near anything for you, because that’s what they’re trained to do!
True story. My best friend and i were hungry around lunch time, and spied the local olive garden. We decided we wanted moderately priced Italian food, and went in. We both ordered, and waited. First bowl of salad and basket of bread sticks arrived. We ate both.
The waitress came back and asked us if we wanted more, and since our entrees had yet to show up, said "yes please."
Ate the second bowl of salad and second basket of bread sticks.
Waitress came back again, and asked us if we wanted more. We asked after our entrees, and were told "not sure, the kitchen is slow today." Asked for more salad and bread sticks.
Ate both again. This time when the waitress came around, we just asked for more bread sticks. Our entrees eventually came, and we ate the bread sticks by dipping them into the marinara sauce. Ended up asking for doggy bags, as we filled up on free salad and bread sticks.
That will teach them to be slow in the kitchen!
To me, OG has always been a place for good memories. Me and my daughter went throughout her whole life to get soup, salad and breadsticks w a side of Alfredo sauce to dip. To go w girlfriends to eat and catch up. Family dinners, etc. You don’t go for Michelin star quality, you go for a fun time w loved ones.
As a New Zealander who’s never been to an olive garden this story was actually extremely interesting as you always heard about this place from RUclipsrs etc.
I went a few times to olive garden in a few different states. I really don't care for it.
I'm used to eating real Italian foods. Growing up in nyc, there's a lot of real good mom and pop Italian places.
Man I love this guy. My two favorite subjects in one channel. History and FOOD ❤😂
I love the Olive Garden! It's like eating in the kitchen of a delightful Italian stereotype!
Can I just add that it's a tragedy that the combined restaurants folded? The thought of "Unlimited Soup, Salad, and Cheddar Bay Biscuits" got me feelin' a certain way.
I took my Italian friend to Olive Garden. The next day I went to start my car: It exploded.
Far from Italian
The Biscuits are unlimited you fool
Smosh olive garden skit was perfect to use in this video. Ian getting cheese all over his mouth by shayne was top tier comedy.
When I hear this narrator I feel home. Happy weekend.
The endless soup and breadsticks were around before the makeover. Soup, Salad and breadsticks(S/S/B,) all you can eat WAS $4.95 when I started in ‘96
Olive Garden is quite consistent too. And they usually have great staff. When I was going away to college, my parents took me to Olive Garden before they left town. The waitress was so nice, and at the end of dinner she packed up my food, and sent me back to my dorm with extra soup, salad, and breadsticks so that I could "eat well in the dorms". What a gem.
I respect the fact he acknowledged that anything given to Jimmy Fallon is a waste
I know it's not real Italian food, but it's still a fun place to go with friends/family and enjoy some decent Italian inspired food.
"When you're here, you're family.... but we're still gonna charge you for the food."
I am from Canada. I MISS Olive Garden. They all closed down in Ontario. Please come back to Toronto Olive Garden!! YOU ARE GREATLY MISSED!!!!!!!!!!!!
On the show Will & Grace there is an episode called "I Never Promised You An Olive Garden."
They would hang out with a couple that would go to Olive Garden and talk about how it was better every time.
I have the same experience they do!
I moved from Atlanta to Columbus, OH in Feb 2022. The first weekend I lived here, I knew no one and nothing about the area. I decided to go to an OG and eat my dinner at the bar. A few minutes later a couple sat down next to me, both people ordering the unlimited soup. One member of the couple proceeded to berate his spouse for an entire hour, while scarfing down bowl after bowl of zuppa toscana. The spouse never said a word, just gingerly sipping on spoonfuls of minestrone. It was the most bizarre thing ever.
Why would you watch them do that? I don't know but that seems kinda weird and a little sad. But hey, who am I to judge anyone else in a world where everyone around me is being a little judgemental, and I'm normally fine in the real world. 😮
Anything is pastable...I love the OG for what it is. Nothing more nothing less. 🍝
If they do away with unlimited breadsticks there’s no reason to go to Olive Garden
I absolutely love their fettuccine alfredo. The salad and bread sticks are also great but something about their fettuccine alfredo is different than most places. More flavorful
This! Especially with chimken
They lost me at 1 breadstick at a time' it may technically be unlimited still but it doesn't feel like it anymore' no one wants to shout to get a waiters attention just to get a single breadstick.
JUST IN TIME FOR STIXMAS!!!!!!
They don't always do that they brought 4 to my table last night for me and my date
I went by myself with my toddler and brought out a basket of 6-7 breadsticks, we ate maybe 3? 1 at a time is dumb, but I kind of get it! It’s wasteful.
Breadsticks and soups are cheaper to make than salads too.
"when you hear those simple words, you either walked on to your own episode of intervention or...." im absolutely dead 💀💀💀
4:13 You never know what cheddar biscuit is gonna be your last tbh
Yeah this restaurant is on my to do list when I visit America
Someday
WHY???? Do something fun, like BucEe's, or Five Guys, or In N' Out ... the list goes on.
I’m Italian-American, grew up in northern NJ, & dined regularly at mom & pop Italian restaurants, so I refused to go anywhere near an Olive Garden for most of my life. Since I caved a few years ago & started visiting the local OG, I have to admit their eggplant parm is one of the best I’ve ever tried. Also, I got a lot of takeout from OG during the pandemic, & think the breadsticks actually taste BETTER a few days later.
Olive Gardens breadsticks and Red Lobsters cheddar bay biscuits are S-tier food items
What is S-Tier food items? I'm kinda curious about the background on that ??? Just wondering....
I actually have the model of TV in the intro. I bought it new in 1993, and still have it hooked up to a VCR, a PS1 and sometimes the Atari! 😆
That clip of the guy pouring cheese into the other guys mouth made my day! 😂
What about the fact that a lot of their dishes are served from giant frozen trays that are just portioned and microwaved days and days later…
Hey still tastes fine.
Like I’ve been to Italy and ate at a couple 5 star restaurants and it literally tasted just like Olive Garden so maybe it’s a shared technique lmfao
The new jack swing was a nice touch when introducing the 80s period of olive garden
The last and final time I went to Olive Garden, the waiter told us that “the manager went to go get more breadsticks and should be back in two hours if you still want them.” He also brought me my drink at the end of the meal with my check.
The bread sticks aren't that good anyway. Cheddar biscuits from Red Lobster however are fantastic
I knew a guy in high school who tested this. The limit he got was 85 breadsticks.
$4.25 for some spaghetti and meatballs that actually tasted good. Those were the days *sigh*.
Bread is very filling, so unlimited bread sticks is an advertising gimmick, since one can only eat so much bread before feeling stuffed.
Let's not forget there was also Romano's Macaroni Grill, which is another CLEARLY competing restaurant chain to this. Wasn't that owned by Chili's, I seem to remember? Then there's Carabba's, which I believe was owned by Outback. Seems there's lot of these kinds of chains of restaurants that are all based on the Olive Garden/Red Lobster idea.
Carabba's isn't bad, actually. Macaroni Grill is okay too. Those would never be my first choices but they're not bad
I once put foil in a backpack and took it in to olive garden......I walked out with 17 orders of breadsticks ......took it strait to a homeless shelter 🙌
'straight'
Absolutely love Red Lobster 🦞❤
I've noticed that the food as well as the service varies drastically from location to location.
Is it just me did the breadsticks get super salty a couple years ago? I haven’t been in a while because the prices were getting out of hand.
Yeah, I noticed that too, though I also haven't been for a few years. My guess is they intentionally added salt to make them less desirable in order to reduce the number of "unlimited" bread sticks they served...
Or to increase drink sales.
It fully depends on the person salting the breadsticks. Sometimes too much, sometimes too little 🤷♂️
@@bubzilla6137Theres no grand scheme. 🤦♂️ It all depends on who’s salting the bread before they go into the bread warmer.
The turnaround at those places is insane. I trained people on bread there and we had a lot of people walk off when it got too busy quite often. It seemed like every month I had to train a new bread person.
The line cooks had a new guy just about every week too but you typically knew the first day if they were sticking around or not. Hell, most people walked out before the end of the dinner rush😂😂😂
I love to go to Olive Garden with my son. In our family only he and I like it. I can and do make most of thier fare at home but sometimes it's nice to just go have someone else make it. I make a really good version of the Pasta Fugoli. I make spaghetti sauce from scratch as well it's amazing as pasta topping, lasagna filling and pizza sauce. Alfredo is very simple to make at home as well.
Initially, when unlimited breadsticks premiered, they'd give you a good amount. Over the years, they started skimping on those things. They were all like, "stop eating so much bread; we have other people eating here." They never said that, but that was the vibe. I remember they would once bring out this big old basket of breadsticks, then that number shrank every time you visited until this one time they brought me like two pieces of bread wrapped in that little napkin. Also, that waiter would disappear after the second refill. You wouldn't hear from him ever again. Ha, ha. I started eating healthier and haven't eaten there in like ten years. It's funny to think about now.
The Never Endng Pasta Bowl started in 1995 and you got a menu with a number of pasta types and sauces from which to choose, and then you could choose meat toppers (like chicken breast, meatballs, or sausage links) for an extra $$$. Unlimited salad AND breadsticks were the deal from Day 1. Further, in the beginning, the breadsticks were made fresh in the entryway in a booth to one side of the door. A "chef" would make the dough, roll out and cut the sticks, put them into a brick oven, and then dress them with the garlic butter. Wait staff would buzz in and out constantly to get refills while everyone waiting for a table would watch (and smell) the work, increasing sales through "appetite enhancement"…
Not sure how I stumbled upon this video, but it was well done; great research and great presentation.
Olive Garden aka the Italian Dennys
Geriatric Millennial here. I grew up in an heavily Italian city and we never chose to go to Olive Garden over the better local places. It's fascinating to me that folks my age have some weird love of the place, but most haven't been spoiled by small local restaurants.
i used to work maintenance at knead dough baking company IE "turano" i highly suggest not eating the bread sticks. watching the packaging and production made me open my eyes to restaurant breads and all other business that have unlimited options.
good luck all of you
I preferred Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes buffet for my endless salad and carb fix. Their caesar salad, asian chicken salad, and clam chowder were my go-tos as a kid. Only way I ever ate salad on purpose. One of the first places I took my fiance on a date. I'm still in denial they went out of business during the pandemic.
I'm a Gen Z, and I still visit Olive Garden from time to time. Most of it is nostalgia, but the value of Olive Garden is actually pretty decent in this economy. $20-$25 for most entrees, with unlimited soup and breaksticks, big portions, is a deal. Not the best food, and I don't go in expecting an "authentic" italian experience, but it's a great change of pace. I usually have enough to bring leftovers back home. Nowadays I feel like I'm getting a terrible value at most restaurants and sometimes leave hungry, unless I spend a fortune.
Im absolutely laughing my ass off at the Jimmy Fallon "Wasted Gift" comment.
As a Chyicagolander, I can definitively say that Olive Garden is the McDonalds of Italian restaurants.
Darden knows what's up with the free bread at its restaurants. They all have a cult following - cheddar bay biscuits, OG breadsticks, Longhorn's honey wheat bread, and now Cheddar's honey butter croissants. Too bad they changed the recipe of the croissants, they're garbage now. But overall Darden has made a great success of using cheap bread as a brand identifier.
The never ending pasta bowl dates back to 1995. It was $5.99
Thank you. I knew I wasn't losing my mind. Me and my aunt and cousin used to go there every year for it because me and my cousin loved the fettuccine alfredo. I went as a child and teen and I graduated in 2002 and my cousin is younger so I knew 2012 was impossible, especially because she passed away prior to that.
So I looked it up and sure enough 1995. The pasta pass didn't start until 2012 but the special event has been going for years
*goes onto RUclips absolutely plastered and reads the thumbnail* :”Well let’s FUCKIN find out then!”
I've never been to an Olive Garden and am not sure I ever will go. There were none in the area I grew up. In university, there was a local Italian restaurant I went to instead. Now, I'm not going to restaurants at all for financial reasons. Once I get my finances back in line and can start going again, I won't go because there are a number of local Italian restaurants in my new city.
The breadsticks/ alfredo sauce for dipping and the famous salad with that home made dressing....my favs😋
Olive Garden is okay but I LOVED Buca De Pepo. There was one in Cincinnati, Ohio I frequented. Made a lot of new friends too. As Buca De Pepo. did a unique thing (that would never work today) Strangers were sat (if they agreed) with each other at gigantic tables. Everyone would order what they wanted but was served like you were all at mom's dinner table. Plates for everyone and huge pots of desired food. Which was encouraged to be shared amongst everyone. Shame that was not still available today.
When I retired I moved to Tuscany, then I moved back because I missed Olive Garden.
I live just a few blocks away from the original location, it’s a Brazilian restaurant now. As a little kid I liked olive garden and I don’t really have any ill feelings towards the place even if it is a bit meh but I was surprised to learn it started in Orlando and that I live so close to ground zero.
The breadstick rule was in place in the 90s, too. So you’d take a basket of 5 to a table of four.
1:03 Play-Doh was inducted into the Toy Hall Of Fame in 1998 as part of their first class.
Hey, that was Katina DeJarnett at 7:50. Professional speed eater. StG, it feels like every week you guys either raid my library or my YT history. 🤣 Keep it up!
(I wish they would bring this one back to the menu): my favorite Olive Garden menu item was the Lobster Cannelloni with Shrimp
Fun fact: restaurant's give you bread before a meal to spike your blood sugar and entice you to order more food.
I'm not sure where you got that Red Lobster was owned by General Mills, but that's simply NOT TRUE. It was started and owned by the Darden Group from 1968 until 2014. General Mills sold off Olive Garden to the Darden Group in 1995.
OG has turned into three menu items. Tough Chicken, Spoiled Shrimp and Salty Carbs. Every plate has two of three of these combinations.
My pregnancy craving is there soup and salad! I love the fusilli soup yum 😋
Is it gourmet? Heck no. Is it comfort food? Yes!
I rarely ever get Olive Garden because there are no Olive Gardens near where I live but I always enjoy eating there whenever I travel somewhere that does have one.
My first job at 14 was at Olive Garden. I used to make the breadsticks. They were half baked and basically would just get reheated in an over then smothered with melted butter and a garlic salt mix. Anytime the servers needed the hotel pan of bread refilled they would yell into a mic “MAS PAN POR FAVOR!” 😂
3:48 worked at an Olive Garden for a year back in 2021. I saw 2-3 weddings happen which is 2-3 more than I thought I would see. They will accommodate if you come in at the right time or ahead of time
I do miss their breadsticks and working there sometimes
When we were growing up it was a big deal to go to the OG.
A+ video!
LOVE IT! Love Olive Garden too!
Lol at 8:42 I wasn’t expecting to see my local Olive Garden / Red Lobster combo (that is now just OG) from my small town
Zuppa soup, salad & bread sticks…. In that order 😂
My Olive Garden order is :
Appetizer- Salad and Breadsticks.
Dinner - Shrimp and Chcken Alfadeo
"Drop the THE. It's cleaner."
The salad dressing of course!
Would love to see a WHF episode about Friendly's
i wish there was an old spaghetti factory near me. i'm not sure it was great pasta, but...fond memories 😀
i love this channel !
When you're here you're family, they obviously have never met my family
4:45 Reminds me of the music video "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge.
Very catchy tune!
Best part of this video is the Katina cameo
I miss the $2.99 unlimited soup, salad, and breadstick lunch special...
My daughter worked her way through college at Olive Garden.
She holds the record t the Idaho Falls location for the biggest tip: $500.00!
Me likey breadsticks!
Me likey breadsticks!
You're a big girl now, stop it. 😂😂😂
Love Olive Garden-fave food-breadsticks
I went to Olive Garden once. I was made I'll at the first bite of food(it was seafood). The waiter felt bad and brought me my second choice but when I bit into the beef I again had the repulsive feeling. The waiter was great though.
In college Olive Garden was the place you took a girl if it was serious and you were pretty much guaranteed to get the green light at the end of the night. This was in 1999 though. I’m not sure but it’s probably much more different now days.
Reminds of the lady who went viral for writing a professional review for the new Olive Garden in her small town
I actually went to Google if 1970 really was the year of the lobster in Chinese new year lol
My lasagna was overcooked and obviously not fresh. The salad was so-so, and the pumpkin cheesecake was partially frozen. No more, thanks!
The “number of people + 1” basket of bread is pretty standard now. I’ve never understood it though.
Your soundtracks are 🔥
Awesome and cool! ^_^