Vancouver, WA: No Veal, No Deal - Olive Garden Delivers Mediocrity with a Side of Sticker Shock

We came for the all-you-can-eat soup, salad, and breadsticks -- the Holy Trinity of corporate Italian cuisine -- and yeah, they come free with a lunch special. The catch? Lunch specials are only Monday through Friday until 3pm. We showed up on a Saturday. Oops. Missed it by that much.

My wife ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo -- $12.49 on the lunch menu, $17.49 for dinner. I went with the Chicken Parmigiana, which jumped from a manageable $13.49 at lunch to an eyebrow-raising $21.49. So when the bill came out to damn near $55, I nearly spit out my overpriced Diet Coke.

To his credit, the server offered to grab the manager and maybe knock the prices back down to lunch levels. But I declined. I missed the fine print. My bad. That's called integrity, folks -- look it up.

The salad? Fresh, sure. But whoever's in the back manning the vinegar bottle went full Molotov cocktail. I like tang, but this was a salt-and-acid bomb. The Zuppa Toscana was watery, with a sausage-to-potato ratio so low it might've qualified as vegetarian. Not awful, just ... meh. Breadsticks? Still the MVP -- soft, salty, and piping hot.

The wife liked her Alfredo. My chicken parm and limp spaghetti? It was food. That's about as glowing as I can get. But hey, it's Olive Garden -- it's not like we walked in expecting Nonna to come out of the kitchen.

And for the love of God and every Italian who's ever lived, how in the hell are there so few decent Italian restaurants in Portland? And don't even get me started on the complete disappearance of veal. No veal marsala, veal parmigiana, or saltimbocca alla romana? What in the Fettuccine Alfredo is going on here folks? Somebody kill me a baby cow already -- I need my veal fix, dammit!

CombatCritic Gives Olive Garden 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better ... Unless You're On The Receiving End ... HOOAH!

Five Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp "BLACK" ELITE '14 / '15 / '16 / '17 / '18 / '19 / '20 / '21 / '22/ '23 / '24 / '25 ... 12 Years Running ... HOOAH!

• Over 1.4 Million Views A Year

Read Chris S.'s review of Olive Garden Italian Restaurant on Yelp

Google 'Local Guide' (Level 7) - 677,631 Visitors in August 2023 Alone ... HOOAH!

Google Maps - "Top Photographer" With Over 3 Million Views!

Zomato - #1 Ranked "VERIFIED" CONNOISSEUR (13) - Over  4 Million Review And Photo Views ... And       

   Counting - #1 Reviewer in Portland, Oregon!

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"

Booking.com - Frequent Traveler "Genius"

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube and our sister channel, CombatCounselor Chronicles, with Over 1,250 Subscribers and 1,000,000 Video Views ... HOOAH!

Title: Vancouver, WA: No Veal, No Deal - Olive Garden Delivers Mediocrity with a Side of Sticker Shock

Key Words: Vancouver, WA, Olive Garden, Italian, pasta, pizza, salad, soup, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

Copyright 2025 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved

Vancouver, WA: No Veal, No Deal – Olive Garden Delivers Mediocrity with a Side of Sticker Shock

Olive Garden

16405 SE Mill Plain Blvd 

Vancouver, WA 98683

Phone number: (360) 256-4051

olivegarden.com

Prices $$$$

We came for the all-you-can-eat soup, salad, and breadsticks — the Holy Trinity of corporate Italian cuisine — and yeah, they come free with a lunch special. The catch? Lunch specials are only Monday through Friday until 3pm. We showed up on a Saturday. Oops. Missed it by that much.

My wife ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo — $12.49 on the lunch menu, $17.49 for dinner. I went with the Chicken Parmigiana, which jumped from a manageable $13.49 at lunch to an eyebrow-raising $21.49. So when the bill came out to damn near $55, I nearly spit out my overpriced Diet Coke.

To his credit, the server offered to grab the manager and maybe knock the prices back down to lunch levels. But I declined. I missed the fine print. My bad. That’s called integrity, folks — look it up.

The salad? Fresh, sure. But whoever’s in the back manning the vinegar bottle went full Molotov cocktail. I like tang, but this was a salt-and-acid bomb. The Zuppa Toscana was watery, with a sausage-to-potato ratio so low it might’ve qualified as vegetarian. Not awful, just … meh. Breadsticks? Still the MVP — soft, salty, and piping hot.

The wife liked her Alfredo. My chicken parm and limp spaghetti? It was food. That’s about as glowing as I can get. But hey, it’s Olive Garden — it’s not like we walked in expecting Nonna to come out of the kitchen.

And for the love of God and every Italian who’s ever lived, how in the hell are there so few decent Italian restaurants in Portland? And don’t even get me started on the complete disappearance of veal. No veal marsala, veal parmigiana, or saltimbocca alla romana? What in the Fettuccine Alfredo is going on here folks? Somebody kill me a baby cow already — I need my veal fix, dammit!

CombatCritic Gives Olive Garden 5 Bombs Out Of 10 💣💣💣💣💣 More Bombs Are Better … Unless You’re On The Receiving End … HOOAH!

Five Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp "BLACK" ELITE '14 / '15 / '16 / '17 / '18 / '19 / '20 / '21 / '22/ '23 / '24 ... 12 Years Running ... HOOAH!

• Over 1.4 Million Views A Year

Read Chris S.'s review of Olive Garden Italian Restaurant on Yelp

Google 'Local Guide' (Level 7) - 677,631 Visitors in August 2023 Alone ... HOOAH!

Google Maps - "Top Photographer" With Over 3 Million Views!

Zomato - #1 Ranked "VERIFIED" CONNOISSEUR (13) - Over  4 Million Review And Photo Views ... And       

   Counting - #1 Reviewer in Portland, Oregon!

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"

Booking.com - Frequent Traveler "Genius"

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube and our sister channel, CombatCounselor Chronicles, with Over 1,250 Subscribers and 1,000,000 Video Views ... HOOAH!

Title: Vancouver, WA: No Veal, No Deal – Olive Garden Delivers Mediocrity with a Side of Sticker Shock

Key Words: Vancouver, WA, veal, pasta, breadsticks, Olive Garden, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

Copyright 2025 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved

Ayamonte, Spain: Not Bad - Decent Food, Nice Environment, and Overpriced Food

La Pasta Gansa

Plaza de la Lota, 8 

21400 Ayamonte, Spain

Phone: +34 959 471 608

LaPastaGansa.com

Nice environment, decent service, and tasty chow, but portion sizes and price left a bad taste in my mouth. We stopped in for lunch on a whim, never having seen this place open before.

The menu was much more limited than their online version for some reason. The food was presented nicely enough, but the prices were quite high for lunch (€40 for two - water only)

A small breaded pork cutlet and a little pile of spaghetti bolognese for €17 seems extreme, €12 to €13 would have been a more appealing price point, and my wife's Ravioli alle Erbette in Salsa di Gorgonzola (€13.00) was good, but there were just five ravioli and the herbs were actually spinach, leaving her confused and hungry.

Decent, overpriced food probably will not bring us back anytime soon.

CombatCritic Gives La Pasta Gansa 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Five Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp "BLACK" ELITE '14 / '15 / '16 / '17 / '18 / '19 / '20 / '21 / '22/ '23 / '24 ... 11 Years Running ... HOOAH!

• Over 1.4 Million Views A Year

Read Chris S.'s review of La Pasta Gansa on Yelp

Google 'Local Guide' (Level 7) - 677,631 Visitors in August 2023 Alone ... HOOAH!

Google Maps - "Top Photographer" With Over 3 Million Views!

Zomato - #1 Ranked "VERIFIED" CONNOISSEUR (13) - Over  4 Million Review And Photo Views ... And       

   Counting - #1 Reviewer in Portland, Oregon!

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"

Booking.com - Frequent Traveler "Genius"

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube and our sister channel, CombatCounselor Chronicles, with Over 1,250 Subscribers and 1,000,000 Video Views ... HOOAH!

Title: Ayamonte, Spain: Not Bad - Decent Food, Nice Environment, and Overpriced Food

Key Words: Ayamonte, Spain, La Pasta Gansa, Italian, oizza, pasta, gansa, goose, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

Copyright 2024 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved

Olhão, Portugal: Store Bought Food, Prepared By Italians ... MEH!

Capriccio Italiano

Rua Doutor João Lúcio N. 4

Olhao 8700-456 Portugal

Phone: +351 910 551 818

Prices: €€€€

Very nice people, Italians, trying to make a living, but I was not at all impressed. The prices look appetizing at first glance, but you get what you pay for.

For example, L'insalata Caprese (€6) usually costs €8-€12 elsewhere, but what we got was, maybe, two small tomatoes and one €1.25 ball of mozzarella out of a package from Pingo Doce with a little olive oil and diced basil.

My wife ordered the Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli (€10) in a butter and sage sauce which was half a bag of Pingo Doce's €3.50 tortelloni, not ravioli, you get the drill.

I decided to try the Porchetta (€7), a huge, tender pork loin rolled with herbs and spices, wrapped in the pork skin, and baked at low temperature for hours (see photo), but what arrived at the table was razor thin slices of fatty pork, again, probably from Pingo Doce.

The highlight of our meal was our server, Ravi.

We were satiated, but disappointed. Being married to a Sicilian and having spent many years in and eaten untold numbers of great meals in Italy, I expected much more from the Italian owners. Sorry, only the truth from this guy,

CombatCritic Gives Carpiccio Italiano 3 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Three Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up"

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp "BLACK" ELITE '14 / '15 / '16 / '17 / '18 / '19 / '20 / '21 / '22/ '23 / '24 ... 11 Years Running ... HOOAH!

• Over 1.4 Million Views A Year

Read Chris S.'s review of Capriccio Italiano on Yelp

Google 'Local Guide' (Level 7) - 677,631 Visitors in August 2023 Alone ... HOOAH!

Google Maps - "Top Photographer" With Over 3 Million Views!

Zomato - #1 Ranked "VERIFIED" CONNOISSEUR (13) - Over  4 Million Review And Photo Views ... And       

   Counting - #1 Reviewer in Portland, Oregon!

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"

Booking.com - Frequent Traveler "Genius"

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube and our sister channel, CombatCounselor Chronicles, with Over 1,250 Subscribers and 1,000,000 Video Views ... HOOAH!

Title: Olhão, Portugal: Store Bought Food, Prepared By Italians ... MEH!

Key Words: Olhão, Portugal, Capriccio Italiano, Italian, pasta, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

MENU

Copyright 2024 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved