Delizioso!

Delizioso!

When was the last time you left a restaurant completely satisfied? I’m sure it took you a couple of seconds or even minutes to answer my question, or, maybe, you’re still trying to remember when the last time was. Well, that’s most likely because you have never been to Olive Garden. Olive Garden is the best Italian restaurant in our area with excellent customer service and with a great variety of delicious Italian dishes at affordable prices. Don’t miss out on the good stuff; try it for yourself and leave the restaurant completely satisfied and with a big smile on your face.

Not long ago, I was a different person; I wouldn’t eat at just any random restaurant because of some bad past experiences with food and restaurants in particular. Some of the worst experiences I have ever had with restaurants include having to wait for more than two hours to get a table at a restaurant in which the food was not as good as people had told me, getting long, nasty hairs in my foods—so disgusting that it even makes my skin shiver by just thinking about it—and, as usual, the bad, inexperienced or moody and racist hostess. These and some other bad past experience kept me from tasting new foods and trying new restaurants for years until the day I walked in to the Olive Garden restaurant located in  1780 Challenge Way, across the Arden Mall in Sacramento, California.

All the qualities that define a good restaurant are met by Olive Garden; not only because its foods taste delicious, but also because the restaurant is very clean, it has an excellent customer service at fair prices, and it has a somewhat close feeling to home.  From the moment you walk in to Olive Garden, the hostess greets you in very friendly way and treats you nicely to make you feel very comfortable and give you that home welcoming feeling that we all want. The music playing in the background is so relaxing that it even makes a person want to fall to sleep, except that the food smell keeps them awake. As soon as you take a seat, someone comes to take your drinks order; both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are incredible tasty. Not to forget to point out that the initial salad and the breadsticks are the most delicious I have ever had. The breadsticks have just the right amount of ingredients that gives them a little taste of garlic, but it’s not too strong so it can be eatable to not so much garlic lovers like me.  Then, the waitresses take orders, and in less than what is expected, the food is on the table, hot and ready to eat. Also, the restaurant is very clean which means that the food is being processed in clean areas. The overall experience at Olive Garden is excellent.

Last weekend, my sister and I wanted to spend some time together, so we went shopping early in the morning. We were really hungry by 10:30 a.m. because we hadn't eaten breakfast that morning, so we decided to go to the Olive Garden across from the Arden Mall in Sacramento. At 11:00 a.m., they opened the restaurant, and we both started walking towards the door. One of the employees opened the door for us and greeted us very friendly; we knew right away that it was going to be a good day at Olive Garden. The hostess asked us if we wanted a table for two, but my sister right away said she wanted to sit at the bar, so he handed us the menus, and led us to the bar. Since the restaurant had barely opened, the place was really quiet, very clean, and the music on the background instantly created a mood of relaxation for both of us.

As soon as we sat, the bartender asked us if we wanted anything to drink while scanning through the menus. I asked for a peach-mango smoothie which is a frozen blend of fruit and creamy non-fat yogurt, and my sister had a frozen strawberry-mango margarita made with Sauza Gold tequila and fresh fruits—as a professional and responsible bartender, he asked my sister for her identification before serving her drink. While trying to decide what to order, the bartender brought to us some salad and the breadsticks. Even though I have never liked salad, I must say that this is the best salad I have ever had. It is very healthy and it has tomatoes, olives, onions, croutons, chilli peppers, and the dressing which adds the great flavor to it. Not to forget the unlimited freshly baked breadsticks; I could have just eaten the salad and the breadsticks there, and ask for my food to go.  After deciding what we were going to order, the bartender took the orders; since there was no one else sitting in the bar, the food was quickly brought to us. My sister ordered the Seafood Alfredo which is made with shrimp and scallops tossed with creamy fettuccine alfredo, a parmesan cream sauce with a hint of garlic served over fettuccine. And I ordered the lightly breaded and fried shrimp, tossed with garlic and spicy cherry pepper known as the Shrimp Scampi Fritta. The food was delicious, the customer service was great, and the overall experience at Olive Garden was excellent!

Everything has its ups and downs, and due to its popularity, Olive Garden is a busy restaurant and the waiting for a table can be somewhat annoying at times. I prefer going in when the restaurant is barely opening, and it is almost empty because everyone's attention goes towards you, and of course, you don’t have to wait at all to get a table. If I would recommend anything to anyone, Olive Garden would be it because it can be defined as one of the best restaurants in our area where orders are taken in a timely manner and food comes quickly. A restaurant in which the customer service is great and the food is delicious!