Olive Garden has 20 new menu items. I was invited to taste some of them PLUS, I’m giving away a $50 Gift Card courtesy of the restaurant so you can taste them too.
How tough of an assignment is it to go to one of your favorite restaurants to do a little taste testing? I know, I know but somebody had to do it.
Olive Garden recently updated their menus to include 20 new dishes. Their new menu is designed to appeal to the evolving palettes and preferences of casual dining guests, while providing guests with more options to customize their meal experience at both lunch and dinner.
I made my way to the Olive Garden in Times Square, NYC with my taste buds ready and dreams of their tasty fresh breadsticks dancing in my head.
We didn’t try all 20 of the new items, although I came fully prepared to take on that task for you guys reading this of course. We sampled 10 dishes from appetizers to desserts which made for a good representation.
I got there a little late (thank you MTA) and missed out on the first two appetizers which was okay because there was plenty more for me to indulge.
Now let’s get to the food. I guess I’ll rate them on a 5 star system because, well, it’s my blog and I can.
Spicy Calabrian Wings (appetizer) – Chicken wings tossed with garlic and chili peppers from the Italian region of Calabria, served with gorgonzola dipping sauce. Available for a limited time.
My thoughts: These were very flavorful with just enough spice. I love my wings super spicey but some places just make them spicey hot with no flavor. This was seasoned to the bone and will be my appetizer of choice from now on. It says they’re only available for a limited time well, they need to make them permanent, for me.– FIVE Stars
Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad Topper – Fresh mozzarella bites, roasted tomato, bell pepper, basil, kale and an extra-virgin olive oil drizzle.
My thoughts: Mozarella in Italian restaurants is like breadsticks at Olive Garden. You can go to an Italian restaurant and not have some mozzarella. This dish did not disappoint. Very tasty and with ever popular Kale. – Five Stars
Smashed Chicken Meatball Sandwich – Smashed chicken meatballs with roasted bell peppers and mozzarella on a focaccia bun.
My thoughts: This was like a chicken parmassean sandwich from heaven. The bread was so good. I could swear it was made from the same as they make their breadsticks. Whatever it is, I loved it and so did a lot of the other taste testers. It was easily one of the most popular dishes. – Ten Stars (hey, it’s my blog…I can change the rating)
Bucatini with Spicy Three Meat Sauce and Meatballs – Served as part of Never Ending Pasta Bowl.
My thoughts: This was okay. I probably would have tried it with a different pasta like Angel Hair. The meatballs were okay but, I didn’t taste the ‘spicy’ that’s mentioned in the description. – Three Stars
Chicken Abruzzi (Olive Garden Specialty, Lighter Italian Fare [under 575 calories]) – Grilled chicken breast in a savory broth simmered with cannellini beans, kale and garden vegetables.
My thoughts: This was really, really good and at only 575 calories you cannot go wrong. The beans melted in your mouth. The chicken was so tender. Everythinig about this dish was A+ or Five Stars
Grilled Chicken with Butternut Squash Alfredo Fettuccine – Grilled chicken breasts served on a bed of fettuccine tossed with creamy roasted butternut squash alfredo and fresh spinach.
My thoughts: This was one of the more popular dishes. Everyone loved it, except me. I’m not a fan of sweet things for dinner so I found the Butternut squash a bit much. That’s okay because a menu needs to have variety and everything is NOT for everyone. I’ll say it’s worth a try because so many of the other tasters could not get enough of it. – Four Stars
Pappardelle Pescatore (Olive Garden Specialty) – Sautéed shrimp, bay scallops and clams tossed with pappardelle pasta, fresh asparagus and tomatoes in a creamy red pepper seafood sauce.
My thoughts: I can eat shrimp for breakfast lunch and dinner. This is a really great combination of flavors even thought I don’t generally eat asparagus. I ate every licking drop of this dish and had some more and some more again. I even took some home with me.– Five Stars
Pumpkin Cheesecake – A seasonal favorite, this is a pumpkin cheesecake topped with whipped cream, caramel sauce and ginger cookie crumbles. Available for a limited time only.
My thoughts: They gave us our dessert as we departed and that was a smart thing to do because if I had eaten it there they would probably still be trying to get me to leave. This is oh so good. Please sir, can I have some more? – Ten Stars
Now that you have my take you should head over with the family to Olive Garden and give their new menu items a taste and you’re in luck because they are currently running a deal:
Starting Sept. 22 through Nov. 9, guests can enjoy a variety of more than 150 pasta combinations, plus homemade soup or garden fresh salad and fresh baked garlic breadsticks all unlimited and starting at just $9.99.
That’s not all. We’re going to make it just a little bit sweeter and tastier for one of our readers. I’m so excited to announce that we will be giving away a
$50 Olive Garden
Gift Card!!!
Gift Card!!!
Which new menu item do you want to try? Leave your answer in the comments section below and make sure you enter the giveaway. Good luck!
P.S. Special shout out to fellow blogger Karen from mamidoesitall.com for extending the invite to me, the amazing servers that kept us laughing, drinking and tasting and of course Olive Garden for setting a plate, fork and knife for me to indulge and fresh delicious breadsticks, oh yeah.