Author Archive
Restaurant Review: Olive Garden, Spartanburg, SC
Friday, May 7th, 20101498 West O Ezell Boulevard
Spartanburg, SC 29301
(864) 595-4885
I had a gift card for Olive Garden for $25. At the behest of my wife I went alone to the restaurant, and then to spend the rest of the evening at the local book store, drinking coffee, listening to music, and enjoying myself.
At The Olive Garden I was greeted immediately by the hostess who asked if I had a smoking preference, and then guided me to a seat. As I was alone I wasn’t too surprised to be seated near the kitchen. I really have no problem with being near the kitchen mainly because my food is HOT when it comes to the table. Besides, since I was alone the occasional crash from the kitchen didn’t detract from any conversation.
The store was clean, floors freshly swept, and while there were some handprints in a corner window from some young patron, the overall impression was more than favorable.
My waiter arrived in a few minutes, he would have been there sooner, but the seating staff forgot to tell him he needed to cover the section I was seated in. Again I wasn’t in a rush so the extra 5 minutes wasn’t a problem. Alex K. offered to let me taste the house red wine, for 25 cents, which goes to charity. It’s a dry red, I’m not much of a wine connoisseur so I can’t comment at length on the wine.
In looking at the menu there were several entrees which caught my eye but I settled on the Chianti Braised Short-ribs served over a portabello rissoto with greenbeans.
They had it paired with a glass of the same Chianti they used to braise the short-ribs.
I did not get an appetizer, so I started with the Olive-garden salad and bread sticks. the salad was fresh, smothered in freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. The Bread sticks were hot to the touch, and not quite dripping with garlic buttery goodness.
When my main course arrived I had some more Parmigiano-Reggiano grated onto the risotto and green beans.
The short-ribs were tender enough to cut with a fork, the flavor was smooth, rich, and delectable. The risotto was good, the portabello added just the right punch, otherwise it would have been bland.
The glass of Chianti was not too heavy, a little dry with some earthyness. It is a good wine, though as I said before I’m far from a professional at wine!
Overall, I would give my experience at The Olive Garden in Spartanburg a 7.5 out of 10. It was good, but there is room for improvement!
Jonathan Wagner
jw@intheupstate.net
Arts Calendar April 16-22
Saturday, April 17th, 2010Following Arts events are occurring in Greenville, SC
Greenville Symphony Orchestra
Baroque & Beyond
Apr. 16-18, 467-3000
Greer Children’s Theatre
Oliver!
April 16-25, 843-5383
Fine Arts Center
ARMES Strings Concert
Apr. 18, 355-2550
Wits End Poetry
Coffee & Poetry
Apr. 18, 298-0494
Cascades Opera Club
Rigoletto
Apr. 19-20, 528-5501
Greenville Chautauqua Society
Langston Hughes
Apr. 20, 244-1499
North Greenville University
Orchestra Concert
Apr. 20, 977-7085
Piedmont Natural Gas Downtown
Alive
American Aquarium
Apr. 22, 232-2273
TreesGreenville
Thursday Night ReLeaf
Apr. 22 201-6646
Greenville Symphony Orchestra
Lollipops: Peter and the Wolf
Apr. 22, 232-0344
Greenville Little Theatre
Sleuth
Through Apr. 24, 233-6238
Furman University
Talking With
Through Apr. 24, 294-2125
Centre Stage
Our Leading Lady
through May1, 233-6733
Artisphere & Centre Stage
Artists of the Upstate 2010
Through May 1, 271-9398
Greenville County Museum of Art
A Portrait of Greenville
Through Sep. 26, 271-7570
Greenville City Council
Saturday, April 17th, 2010Notes from the Monday, April 12, 2010 Meeting (Pulled from Greenville Journal, Friday April 16, 2010 edition)
Greenville City council approved on first reading an ordinance that will authorize the acquisition and sale of land in the Greater Sullivan Special Emphasis Neighborhood. Five people in that neighborhood want to donate their land to the city. This ordinance will speed up the acquisition process because each piece of land won’t have to be brought to council separately. An ordinance also passed that allows these parcels of land to be acquired and sold using Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds.
Also approved on first reading was an ordinance that will move #11,647,507 from the capital budget fr Fiscal Year 2010-11 to the Capital Improvement Program for Fiscal Year 2014-15.
A resolution to accept the Greenville Water System’s proposal for partnership with the city was passed on first reading. This partnership will allocate funding from the Greenville Water System to the city to meet the city’s infrastructure needs. A meeting with the two groups on Monday morning set the funding at $500,000. the city will have to apply for this money from the Greenville Water System before the end of June this year.
For more info, contact Allison Pinkerton at apinkerton@greenvillejournal.com