Olive Garden

[Exitof99]

Take a look at this:

Which menu selections are vegetarian? A few of our menu items can be adjusted to accommodate a vegan or vegetarian diet, but none wholly meet the criteria. Depending on your personal philosophy, we can suggest the following items as meatless, but not necessarily vegetarian or vegan: Minestrone soup (vegetable and mushroom base; no meat protein) Garden Salad (without dressing) Marinara Sauce (mushroom base; no meat protein) Capellini Promodoro Eggplant Parmigiana Fettuccine Alfredo

Source Olive Garden's website

I once thought that Olive Garden was an acceptable place for parents/meat eating friends and our kind to eat together. Every time I went there, I asked several questions and made it known that I was a vegetarian.

I started to question their food in my mind, so I checked their site. The Answer is NOT easy to find, it's hidden until you click 'Feedback' and then find in the text of the first paragraph 'FAQ'.

Their answer to the question is obvious, no they do NOT serve vegetarian or vegan food. They worded it in such a twisted and confusing way too, so they can not be trusted.

[JasonSt]

"A few of our menu items can be adjusted to accommodate a vegan or vegetarian diet, but none wholly meet the criteria".

Does this statement make any sense to anyone? How can they accomodate a vegan without wholly meeting the criteria of the vegan?

[Emiloid]

Maybe the pasta has eggs in it? Or, they might just be covering their backs because they don't have separate cooking utensils and surfaces for vegetarian dishes? Hmmm.... It is funny that they phrase it that way. I'd just as soon stay away.

[Exitof99]

A few of our words can be adjusted to complicate a vegan or vegetarian diet, but none wholly admit anything. Depending on our personal philosophy, we can suggest the following items as meatless, but not necessarily tell vegetarian or vegans.

-or-

Items can be adjusted for a vegan or vegetarian diet.
If you truely are a vegan or vegetarian, no items are vegan or vegetarian.
We tell you items are meatless.
Meatless items are not vegetarian or vegan.

I hate this crap.

[mountainvegan]

Here's what I see: "If you are veg*n, please do not eat at our restaurant. We refuse to accommodate you in any way. You are not worth the trouble. Thank you, The Management."

[jenzie]

Pure jibberish!

I went to Olive Garden soon after I went vegan, as I had gone there often before and it was a favorite place... they told me a dish was vegan, but then admitted to it having egg and cheese when I wouldn't let up. Geesh.

I think probably a few of their items are veggie, but certainly none are vegan. ALL of their pasta contains eggs.

[JasonSt]

I've not been excited about their food, even in my pre-vegan days.

[newtovegan]

I read this on another messageboard about Olive Garden:

All of their sauces (including marinara) have beef or chicken broth in them, and most have cheese in them as well.

I'm sure if this is true, but it could lead to a direct email to the company: Does your marinara sauce have chicken or beef broth in it?

Given their difficulty with other questions, you still may not get a straight answer, but it's worth a try.

[JasonSt]

I say forgot about the Olive Garden. I have a very difficult time willingly giving my money to a company that makes no effort at all to accomdate alternative eating styles, and even mixes their words to lure people of said eating styles in.

[iamtheqbu]

They serve veal!! Boooooooo!

Olive Garden was my favorite restaurant before I was vegan. Luckily I found two awesome veggie places in Pittsburgh to replace it!

[*Korf*]

I know this is a REALLY old post, but I'm new here, so this is a new post to me. Anyway, about the egg in the pasta, I e-mailed them recently and this is what they said:

Dear :

Thank you for visiting olivegarden.com.

The following pastas used in our restaurants do not contain egg: spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine, farfalle, angel hair, capellini, penne, and shells. However, they are prepared in the same area as other menu items or pastas, such as ravioli, that do contain eggs. There is always the possibility of cross introduction of other egg-containing product. We must ask that you use your own discretion when ordering these items.

If Guest Relations can be of further assistance, please write us again through olivegarden.com (www.olivegarden.com/feedback.asp ) or call us at 1-800-331-2729. We look forward to a future opportunity to serve you in our restaurants.

With Hospitaliano,

Erich
Olive Garden Guest Relations

[Nerak69]

Unfortunately my parents love Olive Garden so I go there and order the pizza. But I have to stipulate the following: Please use olive oil wherever you would use butter, no cheese please, please do not use pizza sauce if the sauce contains cheese, please do not use the crust if there is milk or eggs in the crust. Upon voicing these stipulations I am more than confident that the pizza I am served is vegan. (No I am not really that naïve.)

I guess I could just order the mushrooms, onions, and garlic on a plate and I would be safe.

[redvegetarian]

I remember reading about the Olive Garden at the following link:

http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.ne...stFoodRest.htm

This is what I recall reading from that link:

If you don't eat eggs there is not much reason to come here, as almost all the dishes contain meat and eggs. The pastas are made with eggs and the breading for the Eggplant Parmigiana contains eggs. Their house dressing contains eggs and cheese. The breadsticks and marinara sauce at Olive Garden are vegan and are good. One time I came here and asked the waitress what I could eat considering I was a vegetarian and did not eat eggs. Luckily she was a vegetarian (who ate eggs) and she went back in the kitchen and checked the ingredients of everything and she could not find anything that I could eat.

They also refer to a letter from the company.

We appreciate the challenges you face in honoring your personal convictions. Veganism and vegetarianism take many forms. A few of our menu items can be adjusted to accommodate a vegan or vegetarian diet, but none wholly meet the criteria. Our current nutritional database does not include information to the level of specific detail you require. Depending on your personal philosophy, we can suggest the following items as meatless, but not necessarily vegetarian or vegan as they may contain some ingredients which do not comply with your personal philosophy: Minestrone Soup Garden Salad Marinara Sauce Capellini Pomodoro Eggplant Parmigiana Fettuccine Alfredo Our Signature Salad Dressing does not contain anchovies, however, it does contain eggs and cheese. We certainly empathize with the challenges presented to you when you weigh decisions regarding dining out. We recognize that we do not meet the needs of everyone and our objective remains to offer what our guests, through their selections, indicate are favorites.

I have going there in the past, but don't bother with the place now. To me, pasta- real pasta, simply should be vegan.

On an ironic note:

I work in an Adult Book Store ("Porn Store"). We sometimes carry novelty pasta that is shaped like women's breasts or men's genitals. That pasta is vegan.

Go fig- you can get vegan pasta more easily at my job than at the Olive Garden.

Adam