Olive Garden Conducts Test with Breadsticks - Orlando Sentinel

John...Can you translate what you said?????
 
MH understands it...I don't.  I'm sure it's complementary though.  Thank you.

Baah Ben


John...Can you translate what you said?????
 
MH understands it...I don't.  I'm sure it's complementary though.  Thank you.

MH also defined it!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_gustibus_non_est_disputandum
De gustibus non est disputandum is a Latin maxim. It means “there is no disputing about tastes”[1][2], and is essentially equivalent to the English expression "there's no accounting for taste"[3]. The implication is that opinions about matters of taste are not objectively right or wrong, and hence that disagreements about matters of taste cannot be objectively resolved.
This phrase is famously misquoted in Act I of Anton Chekhov's play The Seagull. The character Shamrayev conflates it with the phrase de mortuis nil nisi bonum, resulting in "de gustibus aut bene, aut nihil", "Let nothing be said of taste but what is good".
The maxim also appears as a spell incantation uttered by Leena in Act V of the PlayStation strategy game Vandal Hearts.
It is also spoken in Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land (unabridged version) by the character Jubal Harshaw when discussing a matter of taste with Ben Caxton.

[edit]

To stoop to calling a fellow roadfooder a "hater" is , in my opinion, beyond the pale.
It seems to this observer that the victim of that particular slur is a lover not a hater, and that the caster of the slur seems more a hypocrite than and objective reporter.

ps: I've never been to an Olive Garden, and my last visit to Red Lobster was about 20 years ago when I went to humor my 90 year old mother-in-law . I do visit a McDonalds now and then - they have spotless restrooms...

Cheers, John  

NYPIzzaNut


Why don't you ask them to add more  olive oil to make it palatable to your taste buds?

Or complain to the manager about not having any other dressings available and reject the salad? 

I never heard of a chain restaurant giving you no choice in salad dressing.

Well, that's just the way it is at the Olive Garden....I imagine that they are trying to imitate what would have been the case in most Italian American restaurants years ago....your meal in these red sauce places would always come with a salad made up of tomatoes and iceberg lettuce, and the only choice of dressing would be the basic oil and vinegar, with some seasoning.

I doubt complaining would help, in terms of getting them to provide more dressings...I am sure that their pricing model for the standard unlimited breadstick/unlimited salad that come with every meal is carefully calculated to include the specific amount of tomatoes, lettuce, oil and vinegar that each establishment should go through for a typical evening.  Throwing in other (potentially) costly items like blue cheese, more olive oil, etc. for other dressings might mess up that model.

Although, you have given me a thought....I wonder if there would be an upcharge if you ever asked for the caesar dressing that they use in the chicken caesar in the basic garden salad?

It's been about four years since I've been to one, though....anyone try this substitution?

I went to many Italian restaurants growing up in Yonkers NY and in nearby communities including NYC and I do not recall ever being told that only Italian dressing was available on their salads.

I grew up in the 50s and 60s.

OG does have other dressings.  All you have to do is ask for them.  My DIL asks for ranch and my son asks for french whenever we go there with them.  They'll bring out a bowl that has none of the italian dressing on it for them to share, and a regular bowl for the rest of us.  I've even gotten bleu cheese there on occasion. 

I don't understand why anyone would think that their new policy on breadsticks is a bad thing.  I don't see anywhere in the report that they were limiting the amount of breadsticks a person could consume.  It looks like to me all they are trying to do is limit the number of breadsticks that might come to a table and go uneaten.

It may be a bit farfetched, but I always got the feeling that the salad bowl was programmed..that there were specific rules for the number of pieces of say tomatoes in each bowl.  I have no problem with it, if it is the case.  Good cost controls.  Next time I go back ( I go at least once a year) I am going to count the tomatoes in the first bowl and then the refill bowl.  Hey, no question the "Free bees" are a cost of doing business for them.  Things are tight today.

What purpose was served to issue this new breadstick policy in the newspaper?  Greenwise...or to the bottom line, I don't think it was a positive story.  Hey, they issued the press release (I think) so they are fine with it.  Yet, why not then divulge the stores they are going to implement the study in?

I don't know how else you would characterize a person other than as a hater when one trashes a chain without ever having tried it.  By letting us know basically that you woudn't be caught dead in say an Olive Garden.  It just makes the "analysis" that much more relevant and helpful.  Don't you think?

    

"do you have knowledge of Fazoli's finances to know this?"

Absolutely. I'm looking at their accounting ledger right now.

If it didn't work, why would they keep doing it?


"their business, like any mom and pop's, isn't to give away and waste food.  it's to maximize profit, by many means, one of which is by minimizing waste.  presumably that is what this test is about."

Fazoli's & OG are not a mom & pop. A few half-eaten breadsticks aren't going to hurt their bottom lines as they are both owned by corporations. And if that's what makes the customers happy, they will do it. Breadsticks are WAY cheaper to give away than mozzarella sticks or prime rib.

(those breadsticks are not that hard to make at home. melt some butter, add mccormick's cali style garlic powder & parmesan cheese. brush over breadsticks. bake for 10 min @ 400. done!)

I edited for formatting, but I think this test is about exactly what you have said--minimizing waste. If the waitstaff brings x amount of breadsticks at the beginning of the meal & again when they come to see if anyone needs anything (perfectly trained to come just after you have put a forkful of food in your mouth! ) like drink refills, they can bring another x amt of breadsticks back with the drinks. If they do this, they would not have to waste time trying to figure out when people will want them again. I would not even be shocked if they start to profile people as to how many they think they will consume. Some kids have that "I'm going to ask for buttered noodles & eat 2 bites of that & 9 breadsticks" look about them.   (My little cousins come to mind)

Baah Ben


John...Can you translate what you said?????
 
MH understands it...I don't.  I'm sure it's complementary though.  Thank you.

 
It's "De gustibus non disputandum est," and a more formal translation would be something like, "It is impossible to dispute the tastes of another." It's attributed to Cicero.
 
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Baah Ben

  Yet, why not then divulge the stores they are going to implement the study in?
    

because that would invalidate the test.  

The only things I hate are made-up-out-of-whole-cloth Italian foods such as chicken scampi, and places that have to make them up because they wouldn't know Italian food from chillblains.

"Made up out of whole cloth Italian foods"  Seriously, I have never heard this expression.  Can you explain what you mean?

Chillblains? 

Is this a typo or please explain.  I am not kidding around. Thank you.

OG is constantly tweaking their menu items.  So is this what you are referring to?  All these strange menu items they come up with that we see on tv?  Obviously, they advertise these new items and they must get good results from them.  This is Darden's flagship concept; the one that brings in a good portion of their revenues.

They don't stick to traditional stuff.  They obviously feel a need to come up with these combos.  But, people obviously love this stuff.  It is not one of my go to places, but we do consider it.  It is always crowded here and so we don't bother with them too much.  There are two of them here and they both do big business.

Do you know there is at least one in Manhattan which I find unbelievable.  It's one thing to enter a market where you know there is a dearth of good ethnic competition, but to go into NYC and survive?  Trash all the chain eaters all you want...Darden is laughing all the way to the bank.  Can youimagine what a place in NYC costs to put up and they made that decision.  Based on something...They saw a market for their product.

"Foreigners cannot enjoy our food, I suppose, any more than we can enjoy theirs. It is not strange; for tastes are made, not born. I might glorify my bill of fare until I was tired; but afer all, the Scotchman would shake his head, and say, "Where's your haggis?" and the Fijan would sigh and say, "Where's your missionary?" "
- A Tramp Abroad, Mark Twain

Make up out of whole cloth
... the meaning is clear -- ''a story invented with no basis in fact; a complete fiction'' ...

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/19/magazine/on-language-out-of-the-whole-cloth.html

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/make+up+out+of+whole+cloth

http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20000512
Chilblains
Chilblains is a painful inflammation of small blood vessels in your skin responding to sudden warming from cold temperatures. Also known as pernio, chilblains can cause itching, red patches, swelling and blistering on extremities, such as on your toes, fingers, ears and nose.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/chilblains/ds01091
 

Are you saying the story about the breadsticks was made up?  I just reported what I read in the business section of the Orlando Sentinel.

Chilblains...Huh???????????

Ok..Let's just continue sparing on other issues.  This one has become too confusing for me to debate you on.  You win!!!

I have no idea what the ___ you are talking about.

Baah Ben


Are you saying the story about the breadsticks was made up?  I just reported what I read in the business section of the Orlando Sentinel.

Perhaps you have a problem with reading comprehension. What I said was, "The only things I hate are made-up-out-of-whole-cloth Italian foods such as chicken scampi, and places that have to make them up because they wouldn't know Italian food from chilblains."
 
I said nothing at all about some breadsticks. 

exposing one's naiveness and/or a lack of education is a bad thing to do when trying to make a point.

wanderingjew has commented that 90% of the people here are not roadfooders, but just people who like food. I questioned his assumption and his math skills. However, I'm coming to realize that this thread goes a long way to prove his theory.

Michael Hoffman


 
What I said was, "The only things I hate are made-up-out-of-whole-cloth Italian foods such as chicken scampi, and places that have to make them up because they wouldn't know Italian food from chilblains." 
 

yup, still funny the second time.
 
PS - I also enjoyed your purposeful and subtle twist in your translation of the Latin.

ok. I re-read the original post. I don't see how this is news worthy in the least. So, basically, they're still offering all you can eat breadsticks, but instead of re-filling them without cause, they ask first. Wow - I'm glad the Orlando Sentinel pushed aside other lesser important news items to let their citizens know that they'll have to say, "yes, please" to get more breadsticks at Olive Garden. AND the basket will come with one per person rather than an extra one. Almost forgot that important detail.

Since it's still all you can eat breadsticks, I don't see the issue. Maybe because I'm not a regular OG person, but honestly, it's a waste of food if they refill the bread basket and no one in our party had any intention of eating any more.

If anyone really wants to know why OG is bad Italian food, I'd be glad to let you in on it. MH touched upon it. However, I have my suspicions that OG regulars don't really want to know.

Baah Ben, It's getting to the point where you don't even have to say "How High" anymore, just "Jump"
 
 

And once again Rogo has nothing to say.

 
Chicken Scampi aka A trippa di Zianatta
(guess from where?)
Chicken breast tenderloins sautéed with bell peppers, roasted garlic and onions in a garlic cream sauce over angel hair. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scampi
is a culinary name for some species of lobster, notably the 'true' scampi Nephrops norvegicus, and is also used as a name for a style of preparation of these lobsters and other seafood.
Variety of Lobster
Several varieties of lobsters are known as scampi. The 'true' scampi are Norway lobsters (Nephrops norvegicus), which are found in the Adriatic, parts of the western Mediterranean, and the Irish Sea, hence its name in Ireland and the United Kingdom, the Dublin Bay Prawn. The French term is langoustine. It is the plural of Italian scampo, but that form is rarely used in English. The name is used loosely both in Italy and elsewhere to refer to other similar species, though some food labelling laws (in Britain, for example) define "scampi" as Nephrops norvegicus.
The fleshy tail of the Norway lobster is closer in both taste and texture to lobster and crayfish than prawn or shrimp.
In the USA, "scampi" is often the menu name for shrimp in Italian-American cuisine (the actual word for "shrimp" in Italian is gamberi). The term "Scampi", by itself, is also the name of a dish of shrimp served in garlic butter and dry white wine, served either with bread, or over pasta

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scorereader

Michael Hoffman


 
What I said was, "The only things I hate are made-up-out-of-whole-cloth Italian foods such as chicken scampi, and places that have to make them up because they wouldn't know Italian food from chilblains." 
 

yup, still funny the second time.
 
PS - I also enjoyed your purposeful and subtle twist in your translation of the Latin.

Well, it wasn't really a twist. It ws merely the American English equivalent.