Darden Restaurant: About Olive Garden & Its Menu

What is Olive Garden?

Currently, what sets off as a definition of Olive Garden is merely a statement that will clarify everything to you. Olive Garden is known as a chain of restaurants in America, which basically specializes in serving Italian, and a mix of Italian American Cuisine.

Presently in today’s day and age, this restaurant has more than 730 branches that are operating on a global level.

Employee Management is controlled using the Krowd Darden Application. There are lots and lots of employee benefits available and it differs by the employment level.

Krowd Login is used by Darden restaurant employees, and these can be accessed at krowd.darden.com or some associates and employees are searching for KrowD Darden Login.

Olive Garden is operated and managed by Darden Restaurants.

It all took off in December 13 – 1982; it was a time when local eateries and restaurants were short at hand. The first branch opened up in Orlando by General Mills Co., which later on expanded to almost 150 branches.

Back then, probably the time or the menu was right, which is why Olive Garden became the fastest growing restaurant with a soaring percentage of annual revenue.

Fun Fact: In case you didn’t know, Olive Garden’s old name was “The Green Frog”.

Olive Garden – The Modern Attire:

Fast forward to 2010 – 2011, Olive Garden has become one of the highly prestigious restaurants in the U.S. In order to give it a new look, the management team joined hands with some creative whiz brains.

Shortly after brainstorming and spending a couple of sessions with top-notch interior designers, the current theme of many Olive Garden branches has been changed to give the look of a farmhouse in Chianti – Tuscany.

This farmhouse look actually relates to Olive Garden’s very first culinary school that was founded in Tuscany in 1999. It was led by an elderly, but a highly proficient chef: Romana Neri.

She’s practically considered to be an artist when it comes to cooking Italian food with a balanced degree of pizzas, style and flavor.

Fun Fact: All new Olive Garden managers and chefs are sent for one week to Tuscany, so that they can learn the Olive Garden culture, and understand its richly detailed menu.

Olive Garden – The Hospitaliano Culture:

Hospitaliano, in Italian linguistics, is derived from hospitality and care. Speaking of care, Olive Garden is known to work as per a motto that roughly states that:

  • Every time you set foot in here, you’re going to be treated like a family.

Some cynics believe that the Hospitaliano culture is nothing but a made-up word, as the management team isn’t too good when it comes to taking care of customers.

However, we all know that every successful company has a number of rivals that revert to lame competition techniques in order to drop the ratings.

So far, the reviews about Olive Garden have been tremendously positive – you’d have to go there to see and taste things personally.

Don’t take someone else’s word for it.

Darden Restaurant: OG’s Menu

No matter how well you know the Olive Garden menu, you’re bound to discover something new with every visit.

Note: Olive garden is a part of Darden Restaurants.

Try new Italian dishes, experiment with the limited time specials, and don’t get up until you’ve had dessert!

The menu at Olive Garden may appear a bit daunting at first:

The main dinner section alone offers 8 different categories of wonderful Italian dishes.

Discovering The Olive Garden Menu

The main menu is divided into six sections:

  • Appetizers,
  • Soups & Salads,
  • Pizzas,
  • Classic Olive Garden Recipes,
  • Chicken & Seafood,
  • and Filled Pasta.

Appetizers

Appetizers, or antipasti in Italy, features fantastic share plates and tasty treats to wet your appetite. Indulge in the popular Hot Artichoke-Spinach Dip (artichokes, spinach, and cream cheese blended and enjoyed with classic, crusty Tuscan bread).

Choose classic Bruschetta (Roma tomatoes, basil, extra virgin olive oil topping toasted on traditional ciabatta). Or impress everyone at the table with your choice of Grilled Chicken Flatbread (perfectly seasoned and grilled strips of chicken with cheese, peppers, basil, garlic sauce, and classic alfredo on toasted flatbread).

Soups and salads

Soups and salads is what made Olive Garden famous. The garlic breadsticks are to die for! You can’t go wrong with ordering the Unlimited Soup, Salad & Breadsticks but trying new soups such as Chicken & Gnocchi (creamy, roast chicken, Italian dumplings with spinach) may also be very satisfying.

If you’re in the mood for something less adventurous, how about some hearty Minestrone soup (veggies, beans, pasta, beautifully combined in a light soup broth)?

Pizzas

Olive Garden pizzas are known for their size. They’re huge! What’s unique about the pizza is that you can order a “create your own pizza.” You can also opt for classic Italian thin crust. Choose your favorite toppings and you’ll go big on flavor but save on carbs!

Classic Recipes

The Classic Recipes is what Olive Garden is all about. Here you will find the fine work from the chefs in Tuscany.

Try the Tour of Italy (lasagna with chicken parmigiana coupled with fettuccine alfredo) or go with classic Spaghetti with Meatballs.

A simple yet satisfying item is the Capellini Pomodoro which is capellini tossed with ripe Roma tomatoes in a light olive oil sauce of garlic and basil.

Filled Pasta

Discover delicious Filled Pasta by trying something other than lasagna. How about the Braised Beef & Tortelloni? If you like braised short ribs, mushrooms, and asiago cheese, this dish is made for you.

The classic filled pasta of cheese ravioli is also on the menu — cheese ravioli with your choice of marinara or meat sauce.

Try The Specials

Olive Garden offers deals and discounts on special items on the menu from time to time. These offers are usually available for a limited time only and promo prices usually apply.

Remember:

Olive Garden Menu Is Based On Location

It may be worthwhile to note that each Olive Garden location may offer slight variations of its menu. Get in touch with the restaurant manager, if you don’t find what you’re looking for on the menu.

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