US chain restaurants

Beverley said:
Are these pasta passes a real thing? Is Olive Garden any good? Is it like Bella Italia? :D Is the cheesecake factory a real thing? OMG so many questions...
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1. I’ve never heard of pasta passes but they seem to be real

2. Olive Garden is gross and not even cheap

3. I’ve never heard of Bella Italiano, but my guess is yes

4. Cheesecake Factory is real and just as glutinous as it sounds. The slices of cheesecake have over 1000 calories and the meals are massive. I kind of like it...
 
RJN said:
1. I’ve never heard of pasta passes but they seem to be real

2. Olive Garden is gross and not even cheap

3. I’ve never heard of Bella Italiano, but my guess is yes

4. Cheesecake Factory is real and just as glutinous as it sounds. The slices of cheesecake have over 1000 calories and the meals are massive. I kind of like it...
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I just checked, the average Olive Garden main meal is 1,500 calories :emoji_dizzy_face:
 
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Beverley said:
Are these pasta passes a real thing? Is Olive Garden any good? Is it like Bella Italia? :D Does the cheesecake factory actually exist? OMG so many questions...
Click to expand...

The Olive Garden is known for serving unlimited bread sticks and soup. The pasta is the same that you get from a frozen bag with added ridiculous amounts of butter.

The Cheesecake Factory serves the biggest portions you’ve ever seen. And then you top it with a million calorie cheesecake.
 
RJN said:
1. I’ve never heard of pasta passes but they seem to be real

2. Olive Garden is gross and not even cheap

3. I’ve never heard of Bella Italiano, but my guess is yes

4. Cheesecake Factory is real and just as glutinous as it sounds. The slices of cheesecake have over 1000 calories and the meals are massive. I kind of like it...
Click to expand...

I've never been to these :(
I have some fond memories of Red Lobster and Applebee's though!
 
RJN said:
Georgia (previously :david:, now :disco:). How did you like it? I've never been to Iowa
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I had a good time there, the college was great, so much to do compared to the university in Germany I graduated from. Religion was/is big there obviously, but I met many great people. It's not very scenic, the weather was fascinating though - dry thunderstorms, heat in the summer, lots of snow from January to March and the odd tornado warning. I got to travel around Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Florida and New York as well.

I'm just reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, now I'd like to visit Savannah!
 
Debbie Jellinsky said:
I had a good time there, the college was great, so much to do compared to the university in Germany I graduated from. Religion was/is big there obviously, but I met many great people. It's not very scenic, the weather was fascinating though - dry thunderstorms, heat in the summer, lots of snow from January to March and the odd tornado warning. I got to travel around Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Florida and New York as well.

I'm just reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, now I'd like to visit Savannah!
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I'm going to Savannah for the first time later this month!

Yeah the religiosity is one of the worst parts. And the weather in Iowa sounds terrible :D I'm glad you liked it. America gets a lot of shit (rightfully), but there are good things/people here.
 
And y'all leave Olive Garden alone! They serve unlimited breadsticks!
 
Just here for the HOT CHEESECAKE FACTORY chat.

My experience of shit US restaurant chains is weirdly nothing to do with the States, where I avoid them generally, and everything to do with the World Athletics Championships in Doha and where eating in a US-financed shopping mall was literally the only choice.
 
Phoenix said:
The Olive Garden is known for serving unlimited bread sticks and soup. The pasta is the same that you get from a frozen bag with added ridiculous amounts of butter.

The Cheesecake Factory serves the biggest portions you’ve ever seen. And then you top it with a million calorie cheesecake.
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Omg are we just letting Phoenix say ‘pasta like from a frozen bag’ like that’s a THING!!!
 
The prospect of Olive Garden fascinates me, but I suspect it would be deeply underwhelming.
 
I absolutely love the Cheesecake Factory; they're often not located in city centres though. Last time I was in the USA I did an hour trip into the suburbs mainly to visit one.
 
I LOVE Cheescake Factory. Pre-pandemic the one near me would have a wait of FOUR HOURS for a table. :D

I do like Outback Steakhouse, and Chick Fil A :shy:
 
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Lucille said:
Omg are we just letting Phoenix say ‘pasta like from a frozen bag’ like that’s a THING!!!
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@Lucille you've never had one of these?

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The one time I went to Olive Garden I had a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake that was the best thing I’ve ever had.

When I lived in Qatar I was quite fond of Applebee’s and their ridiculous appetizer sampler.
 
I quite like Olive Garden but it is just as expensive as the actually good Italian restaurants here so why BOTHER? I don't really need BOTTOMLESS PASTA either.
 
POP! said:
I LOVE Cheescake Factory. Pre-pandemic the one near me would have a wait of FOUR HOURS for a table. :D

I do like Outback Steakhouse, and Chick Fil A :shy:
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Isn't Chick Fil A problematic? Admittedly I have no idea why - I've just seen or heard many vocal Queens ranting about them.
 
They're owned by an evangelical Christian family who donated heavily to stop gay marriage becoming legal, I think.
 
I was sure I posted about this. Who hasn’t moved my post?
 
COB said:
They're owned by an evangelical Christian family who donated heavily to stop gay marriage becoming legal, I think.
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Yes I think that's why they were problematic.
 
POP! said:
I quite like Olive Garden but it is just as expensive as the actually good Italian restaurants here so why BOTHER? I don't really need BOTTOMLESS PASTA either.
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Same for Cheesecake Factory, it’s above average.
 
Cheesecake Factory is more of an EXPERIENCE. And the 100 page menu isn't really available anywhere else. Sometimes you want to choose between 20 salad options that are each over 1000 calories.

Cheesecake Factory owns a restaurant chain called Grand Lux Cafe, which is in most big cities (not anywhere in Michigan unfortunately), and basically does what Cheesecake does but EVEN BETTER. I highly recommend. @RJN have you been?
 
Shamefully I love PANDA EXPRESS, wish they had them here, nothing better than a quick Chinese , especially after a night out (well back when you could)

oh and Hooters
also Wendy’s and Johnny Rockets are quite acceptable.
God I love trash American food
 
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