Olive Garden is “Italian inspired”, but at the mercy of its provincial, unsophisticated diners.

The Olive Garden is subjected to the whims of the people who eat at Olive Garden, and the chain has no choice but to bend to their wistful, suburban, and tyrannical needs. That means value (a $6.95 unlimited soup, salad, and bread-sticks lunch special), overcooked pasta, frosted plastic salad bowls, and avoiding confusing words like “gnocchi.”
Olive Garden Headquarters knows that their diners have limits: “Capers, with their salty, pickled flavor, are too unexpected for many customers, says a spokeswoman.”
And the restaurant chain will do whatever it takes to make customers happy: “At Olive Garden, pasta is served soft, not al dente or slightly firm, the traditional Italian method.” Is it authentic or not? “We don’t use the word authentic,” said the president of Olive Garden. He prefers the term “Italian inspired.”

The chain does indeed take “inspiration” from Italy: Chefs at Olive Garden HQ went on a trip to Northern Italy and had “a fresh-torn pasta dish with olive oil, garlic and herbs.” Somehow that dish was “reverse-engineered” into “baked pasta romana—a mix of lasagna pasta, rich cheese sauce, spinach and either a beef or chicken topping.” Originally it was chicken with roasted tomato sauce, but diners didn’t find it “cravable.” And the chain pushes the limits of gastronomy: “Earlier this year, a pear and Gorgonzola ravioli with shrimp went too far.” The chain deemed the dish too “culinary forward.”

And all Olive Garden wants to do is update the damned dishware, but they can’t. The frosted, “semi-translucent, plastic, flower-shaped salad bowl” that delivers unlimited refills has been in use for decades, and every time Olive Garden tests new bowls, diners revolt. “There is a lot of love for that bowl,” said Dan Kiernan, executive vice president of operations for Olive Garden. This is hard to believe in today’s marketplace, although it must be true and the company wants to keep their customers happy at all cost.

Link to:   Olive Garden article Wall Street Journal

A convenience store in Odenville, Alabama has installed a vending machine dispensing meat, and it is turning out to be a great success. Of course, this is nothing new the Japanese have been doing it for years and their is a

Convenience Store Installs Meat Vending Machine   Video

Below is a Link To:

100 Years Old Spanish butcher has vending machine dispensing meat   Article

Exterior of New Sammy’s Cowboy Bistro (all images ©2011 restaurantdiningcritiques.com & Sandy Driscoll)

New Sammy’s Cowboy Bistro
2210 S. Pacific Highway
Talent, OR  97540
541-353-2779
Wednesday – Sunday
Lunch – 12-1:30 pm
Dinner – 5pm-9pm
Reservations – Necessary
Major Credit Cards Accepted

I’ve had the pleasure of dining at New Sammy’s many times in the past 20 years, when I first discovered them via a short
notation in Gourmet magazine.   At that time, they had only a tiny 6-table restaurant.

Six years ago, they expanded the building into a larger, charming spot in tiny Talent, Oregon.   Replete with cow wallpaper in the
small, sectioned (for pleasant privacy) dining room, this is always a memorable dining experience.

New Sammy’s is the love of owners Charlene (chef) and Vernon (wine expert extraordinaire)  Rollins.   The food, described in
straightforward terms on the menu, is organic, fresh and prepared in a way to let each ingredient shine.   When the waitress
takes your order, she says, “Would you like Vernon to stop by and help select a wine?”   You’d better say yes!   This gentleman
knows his wines, and has one of the best cellars in the country.  As is everything else about New Sammy’s, he is
congenial and unpretentious, despite his world class knowledge of wine.

When I arrived for dinner last week, Vern greeted me at the door, saying, “Are you Sandy/”, and led me to my table.  After
ordering, he came by to chat about wines.   I told him I was having the prix fixe menu, and would like wine with each course.
As I have in the past, I requested 1/2 glasses, which would enable me to taste more.  He cheerfully complied, suggested a
Vouvray for the salad and a Red Bordeaux for the Lamb.  When he poured the red, he mistakenly poured a full glass,
saying he was sorry……that he was used to pouring full glasses, but he would only charge me 1/2.  Despite my protests,
he did just that.   Reasonable?  Yes, indeed.   My three glasses of wine and a single espresso added less than $25 to the
dinner cost.

Dinner always starts with a small bowl of warm olives, accompanied by delicious crisp homemade flatbread.   Then comes
the homemade bread with a lovely tangy olive oil.

I have never seen Charlene come out of the kitchen.  One of the employees (who obviously loves working there) told me they
had worked there for six months before ever seeing Charlene, and then she was sitting down, chopping vegetables!

Absolutely everything is made on the premises, much of it from the vegetable and herb garden out back.  When I made my
dessert selection, I asked Vernon what a “Tayberry” was.  He explained that it was a Scottish berry, a cross between a
raspberry and blackberry.   I asked if they made the Tayberry Sherbet.   Of course! he said.  We make everything here.
We juice the tayberry in the fall and freeze the juice for later use.

For the first time, I had lunch there the following day.   Starting with a glass of Champagne, my friend and I chose
the Hamburger (which the kitchen kindly split for us) and the Green Salad.   Charlene’s salads are works of art, composed,
fresh beautiful ingredients, usually with a beautifully undercooked ‘hard-boiled’ egg.  Makes me want to run home and
try to duplicate it!

If you are anywhere near Talent (which is between Ashland & Medford) don’t miss this special spot.  Known only
from word of mouth (and now Internet posts), they neither advertise, nor do they have a website  It’s worthy
of a special trip, the best dining for miles around, and as a ‘Yelper’ reviewed, and I agree, one of the five top restaurants
in the country!

Leading to the patio and entrance doorComplimentary Amuse – Chilled Sorrel Soup with Creme Fraiche and Fresh SorrelMixed Green Salad with Roasted Beets, Broccoli, Walnuts, Blue Cheese & “La Quercia” Prosciutto

Grilled Umpqua Valley Lamb Loin Chops with Spicy, Garlicky Kale, Cannelloni Beans, Purple Potatoes
and Sheep Milk GnocchiTayberry Sherbet and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Almond Meringue Torte with Blackberry Sauce

Restroom Interior with Champagne Bottles!Letter from Jane MacQuitty (wine writer, author & judge….since the 1980’s has been wine & drink correspondent for The Times of London)Bar and Lunch room

Lunch MenuComplimentary homemade hummus with crispy flatbreadGreen Salad with Broccoli, Roasted Beets, Potato, a Soft Farm Egg, & Grilled “Rushing Waters” Trout

Grilled Emerald Hills Hamburger with Sauteed Spinach, Fresh Goat Cheese, Applewood-Smoked Bacon, Aioli, Grilled Onions, Ketchup and PicklesCooked perfectly medium-rare, as requested!

Dessert Menu

Bittersweet Chocolate Layer Cake with Cherry Chocolate Mousse & Kirsch Ice CreamBehind New Sammy’s – the herb/vegetable/flower gardenNew Sammy’s well-fed cat!