No more Olive Garden

Here is an email exchange I recently had with the folks at Olive Garden.

Thanks for replying. Having diabetes means that I have a very strict limit on the amount of carb I can eat per meal. In my case between 45 and 60 grams. Without specific detailed information on what the items on your menu contain ( carb, protein and fat ) I do not feel comfortable eating at any of your restautrants.

Your web site states:

If You’re Watching Carbohydrates…

Savor one of our grilled entreés with fresh vegetables in place of potatoes.

However, no information is given as to which Garden Fair items may be appropriate. It would seem to me that Olive Garden is reluctant to release this information and so in my opinion is not diabetic friendly. One good source of information for people with diabetes even goes so far as to suggest that Olive Garden refused to talk to them about nutritional information. You probably have too many lawyers on staff.

Yes. I am angry. I am angry that with the rise of obesity and diabetes in this country that establishments like yourself neglect to provide information that can provide your customers with informed meal choices. I guess I will have to tell my 7 year old son, who has celebrated every birthday for the last 3 years at Olive Garden, that we may never again eat there.

On 7/3/06, Olive Garden Guest Relations <olivegarden@olivegarden.com> wrote:

Dear Khurt:

Thank you for visiting olivegarden.com.

We appreciate your desire to know which items on our menu would be safe for you to eat. Like you, we are concerned with your health and safety. Our current nutritional database does not include information to the level of detail you require. There are some menu items we suggest to those following a low carbohydrate life-style and they may meet your needs as well.

A Garden Fare(r) Nutrition Information Guide can be found on our web site by selecting "Garden Fare" from "Our Menu" www.olivegarden.com/ourmenus/

The information guide includes nutrition information for our menu selections that contain less than 20 grams of carbohydrates.

We do not provide a nutritional analysis on other menu items at this time. We are currently in the process of developing nutrition information for additional menu items. Your inquiry has been documented and will be happy to share it with you when it becomes available. In the meantime, we appreciate your interest in having a range of options from which to choose when dining at Olive Garden and we hope our enhanced Garden Fare menu provides you with the choices that meet your needs.

If Guest Relations can be of further assistance, please write us again through olivegarden.com (www.olivegarden.com/company/contact_us/ ) or call us at 1-800-331-2729. We look forward to a future opportunity to serve you in our restaurants.

With Hospitaliano,

Erich
Olive Garden Guest Relations

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Author: Khürt Williams

A human who works in information security and enjoys photography, Formula 1 and craft ale. #nobridge