Longhorn Steakhouse in Lake Mary, FL

I had a Darden gift card that I decided to use at Longhorn Steakhouse in Lake Mary. I ordered the Grilled Trout Topped with Shrimp & Lobster. The meal came a Caesar Salad which was served first.

The rainbow trout came out next, served with a side of mashed potatoes. It all tasted good, but I was disappointed with the shrimp & lobster. There were two little shrimp and one or two tiny pieces of lobster meat. The majority of the topping consisted of chopped tomatoes and corn. While it did taste good, the upcharge from the plain rainbow trout on the menu didn't seem worth it based on what I received.

Longhorn Steakhouse is a good restaurant to use a good coupon or Darden gift card. The food is normally good enough for what you would expect from a Darden chain, but it's not something I would go seek out without incentive...

Olive Garden in Westbury, NY

I ate at the Olive Garden in Westbury, NY. It was your standard Olive Garden eating experience with half-decent Italian food. Olive Garden isn't my favorite of the big Italian chains, but it is what it is.

The meal started out with salad and breadsticks:
I had Eggplant Parmesan for the main course. It was good, but a little too much sauce for my liking.

Olive Garden's Four Cheese Stuffed Mezzaluna with Shrimp

I was craving some Vietnamese food one evening, but my dining companions weren't quite adventurous enough to try anything out of the ordinary. My suggestion was ignored, and we ended up eating at the Olive Garden in Altamonte Springs, FL.

I guess those TV commercials do work because I ordered one of Olive Garden's featured items, the Four Cheese Stuffed Mezzaluna with Shrimp. It consisted of cheese ravioli topped with shrimp in a cream sauce. Salad and breadsticks were served first, followed by the Mezzaluna. It tasted okay, but just like my last experience at the Red Lobster next door, the shrimp were tiny. I was hoping for slightly bigger shrimp for a $15 meal, but I guess Darden restaurants don't combine pasta in a cream sauce and decent sized shrimp on the same plate. I guess you need to order something without cream to get the better shrimp at an Olive Garden.



We had a very entertaining waiter on this visit to Olive Garden. John Paul sounded like he had an Indian accent, and rhymed all of his food offerings. Would you like some wine? It will make you feel fine. or Would you like some tiramisu. If not, it will miss you. His rhymes were one of the best things about the meal.

Smoked Turkey from Smokey Bones in Sanford, FL

I ate at the Smokey Bones in Sanford, FL. I ordered the smoked turkey. It was served with garlic bread, and apparently two sides. The waitress asked me what SIDE I would like, and I picked the corn. When the food came, there were two bowls of corn on my plate, so I'm assuming I should have received two SIDES. I would have picked something else if it was offered besides a whole lot of corn.

Otherwise it was okay barbecue, although I have had better smoked turkey elsewhere.

Olive Garden's Grilled Garlic Shrimp...

I returned to the Olive Garden in Altamonte Springs, FL thanks to a $10 gift card that had to be spent. In the past, I'm not normally too impressed with what Olive Garden serves, but today was slightly better. I had the featured item, the Grilled Garlic Shrimp. There were several nice sized shrimp over angel hair pasta with peppers & onions all in a garlic sauce. It was good, but the dish was so simple, I don't think it was worth the $15 for something I could have easily cooked at home...

Olive Garden Gnocchi

I ate dinner at the Olive Garden restaurant in Altamonte Springs, FL. I ordered a chicken and gnocchi dish. A chicken breast was served on top of a pile of the gnocchis, red peppers, zucchini, and onions. It was all served in an alfredo sauce.

Compared to other gnocchi that I've eaten, this wasn't all that good. The pasta was sort of starchy and didn't have the smooth creamy consistency that gnocchi should have. I didn't like the chicken either. It was way too chewy and should have been sliced rather than serving the whole breast.

Watch Me Eat at Red Lobster...

Yesterday I ate at Red Lobster. I ordered some sort of shrimp pasta. It was a rip off. It tasted okay, but the shrimp that they put on top of the pasta were tiny. They looked like canned shrimp, definitely not something you would get at an overpriced seafood restaurant.



It wasn't worth what they charged for the meal...