What I don't understand from the Olive Garden postings is why anybody really would want to go there in the first place, considering that the Palo Alto/Mtn View/Los Altos area is a mecca for Italian food. Just of the top of my head, without even consulting any guides, I can think of half a dozen places *way* better, right in the immediate area (I'm not talking about Olive Garden vs. parking in North Beach, for example).
These are in no specific order:
La Pastaia
Il Fornaio
Cenzo's
Piccolo Mondo
Capriccio
Trattoria Nouveau (aka Trattoria Romana)
And throw in three that I wouldn't consider superstars, but have reasonably decent Italian food and service:
Florentine Palo Alto
Florentine Mountain View
Frankie, Johnny, & Luigi Too
I have purposely omitted Osteria, because of some difficulty (confirmed by others) of rude service there, but the food was good and it seems to be popular, so there are 10 places that I could imagine that people would eat at regularly without having to deal with the bland, franchised Olive Garden. I could imagine that in a town starved for culinary excellence, it might be a reasonable option, but in *Palo Alto*?? Sheesh.San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Olive Garden Report--Ok I'm an Idiot for Going there
Someone wrote:
: What I don't understand from the Olive Garden postings is why anybody : really would want to go there in the first place, considering that the : Palo Alto/Mtn View/Los Altos area is a mecca for Italian food. Just of : the top of my head, without even consulting any guides, I can think of : half a dozen places *way* better, right in the immediate area (I'm not : talking about Olive Garden vs. parking in North Beach, for example).
: These are in no specific order:
: La Pastaia
: Il Fornaio
: Cenzo's
: Piccolo Mondo
: Capriccio
: Trattoria Nouveau (aka Trattoria Romana)
Palermo
We just discovered this one recently. It's a very small and nice place with great food next door to "Varsity".
Inna