Date Night Diaries: Olive Garden New Menu #OGTastes

Anytime I’m given the opportunity to go and try out great new food at a restaurant that I already go and visit on a regular basis, I’m game. When that restaurant is Olive Garden, I get a bit giddy. I have fond memories of when Olive Garden came to Chicago back when my age only had one digit in it. I went for a birthday and had Shrimp Primavera. My memory is comparable to that of an elephant, beware.  

On this night I joined several influencers and we were taken on a journey from appetizers, salads, entrees, and dessert! 

I have to say, the boldness of the flavors of the new menu items really took me by surprise. There were several spicy combos that I really wasn’t expecting, and that’s a good thing. I believe that Olive Garden kind of fell into the super cheesy, pastas, and didn’t really have things to kick it to ya! Now they no longer have to worry about being behind the times with flavor, because they have kicked it up three notches! 

For those who think that they wouldn’t like anything on the list, think again. The salads now even come with toppers. You can either have the Roasted Tomato Caprese salad topper, or an Antipasto. The complete list of all of the new items can be found just below. I’m going to let you know right now, the OG is not known for their bright lights. Their lighting is all about the mood, and I was in the mood to eat. I’ll leave the professional photography to their staff! 

The service that we received was spectacular! Both Dion’s paid great attention to our wants and what we needed packaged up after getting into the entrée portion of the menu. Seriously, the food that they served were full-sized portions split between four people at each table. It was more than enough to feed a small army. 

Normally, I’ll jet to Olive Garden with my grandmother for a lunch date, but now I’ll be eyeing it a bit harder for those random, not often enough times that Mr. Houseful and I find ourselves with a sitter, or no children. Nothing says romance like sharing a bowl of pasta Lady & the Tramp style – except Mr. Houseful is no tramp. 

Here are a couple of pictures of one of the Dion’s with someone who happened to steal my phone. I shall not mention that she’s from The Peanuts Gang

Here is the REAL owner of the phone once again being photobombed by Samantha. 

I tell you, you can’t take bloggers anywhere, we’ll always have a good time, and share it. 

I did want to take a moment and state that even though I get to do a lot of this stuff, I wouldn’t share it if I didn’t indeed love it. Know that when I AM taking the time to write-up a post about something, you can rest assured that we’ve tried it, loved it and want you to try it to. With that being said, we were treated this evening, but received no other compensation besides the food, and well, you know what happens after that. 

I’m trying to figure out how to have a girls night out that ends with pasta. Someone shoot me some ideas, pronto.