Olive Garden

I haven’t been to Olive Garden in years, but when I was around 10 or 12, I went as much as my parents allowed.  How could you say no to never-ending breaksticks?  Also as a kid, your idea of Italian food is probably limited to pizza, so Olive Garden was like a brave new world.  People may feel the need to pile on Olive Garden for their commercials and representation of Italian food, but judging by the lunch business it does, they feed the masses effectively.  I think it’d be different if they didn’t trumpet the “authentic, Italian food” and try have such goofus, terribly acted, family-having-fun commercials.  But listen, I’m not here to judge you, Olive Garden.  Just your steak.

5743 Johnston Street
http://www.olivegarden.com/




Steak Toscano - 12 oz strip steak, medium rare

1.  Price - $18.95.  Steak plus side of Tuscan potatoes.

2.  Look

3.  Cooked to Doneness

Medium rare.  Pretty dead on, sometimes I get a medium rare steak that tends to under the medium rare threshold.  Maybe certain restaurants tend to err on the side of caution and under cook the steak so they always just throw it back on the grill for a few more minutes rather than nixing a whole steak.  I think there was one area of the steak that might have been a little under done, and wasn’t quite as warm as I like it.  Though that was the last few bites of the steak, so it may have just cooled slightly.  Even though I eat pretty quick, I was full near the end anyway(damn you free breadsticks).  Overall, I’d say it was cooked correctly.

4.  Taste

The Toscano I ordered is a strip steak.  Now I’m not a huge strip steak fan, I usually prefer ribeye, but I decided to give it a shot.  The steak was cooked well, as I mentioned, and very juicy.  Though no matter how juicy strip steak tends to be for me, I usually just find it to be tougher and not as tender as other cuts.  My prejudice aside, I can’t say it was a bad steak.  It had a good, steak flavor.  Maybe that’s why the strip steak is so popular, this steak just had a nice, beefy flavor.

5.  Seasoning

The line begins to blur here.  The Toscano comes with Italian herbs and olive oil brushed on the steak.  From the taste, it’s not beyond a stretch of the imagination to see a pre-packaged steak topping set up.  It ended up tasting of really no distinctive herb, and had more of a buttery characteristic than olive oil.  I think they’d be better off going with just salt and pepper and maybe a drizzle of fresh olive oil at the table.  But after having so many bland steaks throughout my life, part of me wants to give them points for trying.  My taste buds weren’t offended, but the weren’t impressed either.

6.  Bang for the Buck

Honestly, I don’t think I’d pay over 15 or 16 dollars for this steak.  At 12 oz, it’s a decent size, but my original prejudice of the strip cut comes back into play.  I just think it’s an overvalued cut.  Just because it comes on the poor man’s side of the T-bone/Porterhouse isn’t enough reason for it to piggyback the fillet’s glory.  I know a couple of bucks is a small quibble, but there are better steaks out there for around the same price.  If you’re in the mood for steak and happen to be at Olive Garden, you might be better off with the Parmesan Encrusted Bistecca(a sirloin, 15.95) or even the Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo pasta(14.95), both options coming in at a cheaper price.

And as a quick aside here, I know Olive Garden isn’t a steakhouse.  People don’t go to Olive Garden for the steak.  I’m gonna be reviewing many places that aren’t solely steakhouses, because I feel if you have steak on the menu, then you should be putting out a quality steak.  So wherever there is steak, I’ll find my way there.

-Aaron A. Aaronson


Parmesan Encrusted Bistecca - 8 oz sirloin, medium rare

1. Price: $15.95, with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus.

2. Look

3.  Cooked to Doneness

A very good medium rare. It may have been the tiniest bit more toward medium than ideal, but the meat was definitely tender and pink without being cold in the center — a great job given the steak is not particularly thick.

4. Taste

Excellent. I love chicken parmesan. I love steak. To me, this was a seamless blend of the two. The cheese and breading work quite nicely with a juicy steak. I tend to say the mark of a good steak is that I don't need to reach for A-1 or ketchup to mask the glory of beef. However, if you're in the mood for something a bit less purist in nature, I think you could do much worse.

5. Seasoning

Like I said, I tend to lean toward the taste of beef being the only taste needed when a steak is properly cooked. This hybrid of cheese, breading, and steak tasted delicious, even if it wasn't a purist's steak. To Olive Garden's credit, the seasoning and flavors worked well without overpowering the flavor of the beef: It's a marked upgrade from chicken parmesan.

6. Bang for the buck

I came into this review believing my favorite dish at Olive Garden was the Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo. The similarly-priced Parmesan Encrusted Bistecca was good enough to make my decision on what to order next time quite difficult. I think 16 bucks is probably a bit high given the steak is only 8 ounces, but I would gladly order it again with confidence.. Besides, free salad and breadsticks are delicious and worth a two-buck price bump. Short of grilling one yourself or visiting a different tier of restaurant, I don't think you can do much better, but I'll be sure to pass it along if I manage to do so.

-Optimus Prime Rib