"OliveGarden" news and stories

In what can only be described as a bizarre and unintentional trend in the chain restaurant industry, yet another child was accidentally served alcohol, this time at Chili's, reports ABC news. There have been similar incidents recently at both The Olive Garden, in which a two-year-old was served sangria, and Applebee's, in which a 15-month-old was served a margarita.

The 4-year-old child, Brooklynn Morris, was allegedly served a mudslide instead of a chocolate shake and had three to four sips before she announced that she didn't like it. Her mother tasted the drink and immediately recognized the alcohol. Brooklynn was brought to the hospital and diagnosed with alcohol-ingestion overdose.

The mother, Tyree Davis, remarked to CBS, "I don't want it to ever happen again ... to any child, because I know this just happened last week to someone, and I heard about it, and it's crazy that it just happened to us yesterday."

ABC reports that ERJ Dining, the owner of Chili's, claims that the girl was served fruit punch and it was the mother that was served the alcohol drink.

Americans will do crazy things for free food; it's part of our national character. We'll dress up like a cow for a free chicken sandwich (at last month's "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-fil-A), stand for hours in a Soviet-style bread line just for a free cup of frozen yogurt in New York, or, at truck stops like the Big Texan outside of Amarillo, attempt to eat a 72 oz. steak in an hour.

We like a challenge -- or, at least, some of us do. The rest of us just like to watch as a guy who probably spent $30 to dress head-to-hoof as a cow relishes his free Chargrilled Chicken Club -- a sandwich that normally sells for $4.

Which is why it's somewhat disappointing to see free food given away so, well, freely.

Case in point: Whataburger celebrated its 60th anniversary on Tuesday with a free burger giveaway. And what silly, Flickr-worthy stunt did customers have to do in order to take advantage of the offer? Wear orange.

Kendra Wilkinson, one of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends, is a huge fan of Olive Garden. Playboy tells us that in her hundreds of visits there she concluded that, "The waitresses are often as hot as the food." She decided to run a search to find the "Girls of Olive Garden." The winners will get to model for Playboy.

The Playboy website specifically states that this contest is not affiliated with Olive Garden. It doesn't strike me as a match with Olive Garden's image as a "comfortable, home-like Italian setting where everyone is welcomed as family and friends." Does your Grandma cook up and serve her spaghetti in the nude?

[via Gut Check]

It has not been a good couple of weeks in terms of the number of people stricken with food-borne illnesses, even though the Taco Bell incident is officially over. There has been another E. coli outbreak, this time at an Indianapolis Olive Garden. Over 300 people, at least three of whom have been hospitalized, have been exhibiting the classic flu-like symptoms associated with E. coli, including "nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and in some cases fever." All of those afflicted ate that the restaurant (in the northwest part of the city) between December 9 and December 13.

It seems that the problem was first noticed after several employees became ill on Monday. The cause has not yet been identified, but the restaurant has been closed for the moment while an investigation is carried out.

It does seem likely that some kind of vegetable is the cause if previous outbreaks are any indication, but it is worth noting that there is no reason to suspect that this is related to either the spinach or scallion incidents.

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