This is NOT Italian food. In terms of authenticity, Olive Garden is to Italian food what Panda Express is to Chinese cooking—a joke. I can’t even call it cultural appropriation because it’s not appropriating any known culture. And that’s fine if you like “Asiago Tortelloni Alfredo with Grilled Chicken” at almost 2000 calories, but don’t you dare call it Italian.
When I lived in Cyprus in the mid-80s, I remember being so excited when a Dairy Queen opened in Limassol. I was in my mid-20s, and the idea of something uniquely middle American in a decidedly Greek culture seemed...intriguing. Well, the hamburgers were unlike anything I'd ever tasted, the fries were very Greek (good, but not American), and the milkshakes were...difficult to describe. All in all, it was like the Olive Garden experience in reverse. What I learned was that it's best to leave your native foods in your native land. You go to a foreign country to experience that country...which includes the food. Enjoy for what it is. Trying to recreate what you left behind is like having sex with someone you broke up with 15 years ago- not at all what you remembered it to be.
No truer words! When Americans try to recreate Italian food, it's a disaster. And when Italians try to recreate American junk food, it's soooooooo bad, you can't help but ask yourself WHY BOTHER.
When I lived in Cyprus in the mid-80s, I remember being so excited when a Dairy Queen opened in Limassol. I was in my mid-20s, and the idea of something uniquely middle American in a decidedly Greek culture seemed...intriguing. Well, the hamburgers were unlike anything I'd ever tasted, the fries were very Greek (good, but not American), and the milkshakes were...difficult to describe. All in all, it was like the Olive Garden experience in reverse. What I learned was that it's best to leave your native foods in your native land. You go to a foreign country to experience that country...which includes the food. Enjoy for what it is. Trying to recreate what you left behind is like having sex with someone you broke up with 15 years ago- not at all what you remembered it to be.
No truer words! When Americans try to recreate Italian food, it's a disaster. And when Italians try to recreate American junk food, it's soooooooo bad, you can't help but ask yourself WHY BOTHER.