OLIVE GARDEN

Where: Olive Garden, 504 W 2230 N, Provo

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 2

What We Ordered: Two Italian Sodas, Tortellini al Forno, Steak Gorgonzola-Alfredo, Ravioli di Portobello

What It Cost: $48

What We Thought: 

Man. What is it about Olive Garden that seriously sucks people in? I mean, there are almost 400 restaurants in Provo and Orem, and yet somehow, there is always at least an hour wait at this place! So, though I had visited an Olive Garden a couple of times in the past, we decided to give it another go with as much of an unbiased opinion as possible, trying to get the whole "Olive Garden Experience." 

So, when we got there, we were told that the expected wait would be an hour and a half. Cool! 

Luckily we had some friends who were also waiting in line, and we weren't in any hurry, so when we were finally seated, we were still in pretty good spirits. We OF COURSE started with the free soup and salad and breadsticks -- isn't that the big draw of this place? Owen got the Zuppa Toscana (translated: Tuscan Soup), which in theory had potatoes, sausage, kale, bacon and creaminess. It was alright -- pretty heavy, oil a little visible on top, but it wasn't bad.

We also got some Italian Sodas. Not memorable. Moving on.

This little starter was actually our favorite part of the meal -- it was cheese and prosciutto stuffed ravioli with a parmesan cream sauce, bacon crumbles and bread crumbs. Crumb. Anyway, the ravioli was surprisingly flavorful, soft and creamy with nice contrasting crunch. Pretty salty of course, but actually pretty good!

Then the salad and breadsticks arrived. Such a big bowl for a one-person salad :) The salad is nothing amazing, pretty pale vegetables, but I really think that its the dressing that makes the salad pretty dang good actually. Like in the kind of way you could just eat a million of these little salads. In fact, I weirdly want some right now...

Those breadsticks. Please, just Google Jimmy Fallon + Olive Garden breadsticks. You won't regret it.

Owen's pasta was actually pretty decent. The meat was a little overcooked and challenging to slice, but there was an appropriate amount of blue cheese, and all of the flavors meshed together pretty well. I thought the sharpness of the blue cheese counteracted the typical SALT taste you get at Olive Garden, and I would definitely replicate this dish at home.

My ravioli on the other hand was HEY-YO SALT CITY! (Different than Salt Lake City of course....) I was nervous about the mushrooms because I'm actually not a huge mushroom fan, but the flavor of salt and cream totally overpowered it, so no problem there. There were oddly a ton of green onions (healthy?) and the dish was satisfying but not anything to write home about.

What You Should Do: For the love of Italian food, please just skip this place. It's not really the food, its the whole concept that really drives me nuts. People say they like Olive Garden because its affordable and convenient and reliable. Well, nearly $50 for two people doesn't seem like that great of a deal for the quality of food we got, and I could NOT believe how long we had to wait. And it wasn't even a busy time of night! We were waiting to be seated for OVER AN HOUR, which seems literally insane when we could have walked to several other decent restaurant options in a quarter of that time. Olive Garden is Olive Garden. They have it everywhere, so you probably should enjoy some of the more unique and special (and family-operated!) places here in Utah County while you can instead! 

Read other reviews here:

GLORIA'S LITTLE ITALY

Where: Gloria's Little Italy, 1 E Center Street, Provo

Who Went: Owen and Chelsey

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Butternut Squash Ravioli with Side Salad and Gnocchi with Rosata Sauce and Tomato Basil Soup

What It Cost: $44.71

What We Thought: 

For some reason, I keep trying Italian food even though you know how I feel about it...But hey! Let's see if this one was worth the cost! Gloria's in downtown Provo is like one of the nicer restaurants in the area, but it's looking like it could use a little refresher. I don't know. The accordion player was kind of fun, but the girl clearing tables in basketball shorts and flip flops kind of ruined the mood...

Plus the accordion player never came to our table and asked what we wanted him to play! Totally bummed. I had a great song picked. Also a bummer - this salad. Why do restaurants insist on putting unmixed salads in bowls that are reallllly hard to mix in? Beats me. But the salad was boring, and I didn't really even eat it because, well, I'm already bored talking about it. Let's move on.

Owen started with the Tomato Basil soup, which was much more exciting. In fact, yeah I stole it from him. The soup was creamy and wonderful, and may even be better than Zupas. I know, hearsay. But it was really great! Definitely the highlight of the meal for me!

I got the butternut squash ravioli with sausage and four cheese sauce. The sauce did look like it had kind of been sitting a while, but the ravioli were really flavorful and delicious. It was a little weird though, because it totally reminded me a LOT of this pasta...Not sure who the original is, but our server assured us that they make all of the pasta in house, so I don't know...anyway, it was good. The sausage was flavorful and the sauce was certainly cheesy, and it was just a good all-around comfort meal.

Owen's dish was also high on the comfort-meal scale - I guess that's kind of an Italian food thing? I don't know. But he got the gnocchi in their signature sauce -- a creammmmy tomato sauce with cream cheese mixed it. Wowza. It was hearty. The gnocchi was pretty good. I think it was boiled and pretty sfot, and I really like it pan-fried for a bit of texture contrast, but that's getting nit-picky. It sure was a lot of pasta, and we took a good amount home, which is always nice.

We thought about getting dessert, but tried some of the gelato and found it to be icy and weirdly-flavored (and I normally totally dig gelato...), and the other desserts looked like they had been on display for a while, so we opted out.

What You Should Do: Pretty good, but $45 worth? I don't know. I think we probably made some of the best choices (I know, I sound super full of myself here...) with our meals -- ordering Italian options that can't be made as easily at home, which made the cost seem more justifiable. But still, it's a pretty expensive choice. I definitely think this would be more tasty on one of those chilly winter nights when you just want some comfort food, and make sure to order the tomato basil soup and put in an accordion song request for me, would ya?

Read other reviews here:

BRIO TUSCAN GRILLE

Where: Brio (at Fashion Place Mall) 6173 S State Street, Murray

Who Went: Owen & Chelsey

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Prosciutto & Asparagus Bruschetta, Pasta Pesto, Campanelle Carbonara, Creme Brûlée

What It Cost: $59.40 (including tip)

What We Thought: 

The saddest thing as a food/restaurant blogger is when you randomly go to a restaurant because you're out shopping and are super hungry, and then the restaurant you choose happens to be super good, and you are totally unprepared without your camera! So the deliciousness of the food is not sufficiently represented by your weak-sauce camera phone, but that's life I guess. So here you go. Don't judge too harshly based on the photos -- we really (surprisingly) liked this place!

As mentioned before, I have a serious prejudice against Italian restaurants. Common themes from my previous experience at Italian restaurants include "overpriced" "could have made this at home" "disappointing" and "boring." So once again, my expectations were low coming in.

I used to say that you could really tell a lot about a restaurant when the bread first comes out. Good bread = good chances. But then we went to Macaroni Grill where the bread was heavenly and the food was meh, so after tasting this pretty darn scrumptious bread (warm and crispy on the outside...mmmm) I was slightly more hopeful, but still, IT WAS AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT, so....

Then this beauty came out. I know it does not look that beautiful courtesy of my camera phone - I tried taking a closer up shot below so you could see all the details - but let me explain it to you. On each delightfully crunchy crostino, there was melted Fontina cheese (which is definitely in my top 7 of cheese), a spread of Pinor Noir soaked onions (which made them taste almost like caramelized onions, but with a sweeter, richer taste and less slime), some perfectly al dente asparagus, topped with some actually decent prosciutto (perfectly salty and tender). Put it all together and WOW. What a wonderful flavor kick in the mouth! That sounds weird, but really, these bruschetta may be one of the best parcels of flavor I've had in a long time. I just want to eat it every day!!! I was super on the border about ordering this appetizer, because calories, blah blah blah but OMG I AM SO GLAD WE GOT IT, IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!

Just, just try it. Please. 

Extremely excited to receive our pasta dishes after that stellar appetizer, we tried Owen's campanelle carbonara first. First off, can we just talk about how fun these pasta were shaped? Apparently campanelle means little bell in Italian, and I never knew how much I wanted to eat bell-shaped pasta until I tried it. Anyway, a super delicious alfredo sauce paired with grilled chicken, bits of crispy bacon, shredded sharp Parmesan cheese, and a little spinach, just so you can pretend there was anything healthy about this. Um, yeah this was straight up comfort food baby, and it did the job. And it did it good. If you're looking for that Italian dish that just feels like heavenly indulgence with every bite, this is what you need. 

I was in the mood for something lighter - I told Owen before we got there that I just wanted something light with fresh, flavorful vegetables that I wasn't going to regret too much after eating, preferably with a lot of basil, because basil is awesome. The Pasta Pesto (though not as pesto-y as the name may suggest) definitely fit the bill for me. It was just a classic dish with simple components, each done extremely well. Here we had really delightful angel hair pasta (its so funny how you forget how delicious regular pasta is after you've only had whole-wheat pasta for a while...) topped with loads of spinach, tomato, roasted red peppers, grilled chicken, caramelized onions, basil and sprinkled with some feta cheese. To me, it was summer in a dish. And to make it even more bright and delicious, I asked our server (who had a really enjoyable British accent) if he could bring me some lemon, which I squeezed over the whole thing and sent me off the edge. Aaahhhhhhhh. THIS is my kind of Italian food. Don't torment me with pounds of salt and butter which mask what might have been food under there -- the more simple, the better when it comes to most food, and this was no exception. As Alice Waters said, "Let things taste of what they are." Amen, sister. 

And since we really did not want the whole thing to end, after boxing up half our pasta dishes to go (not-so shabby portion sizes here), we HAD to order the crème brûlée, which was so divine, it inspired me to run back into Crate & Barrel at the mall and promptly purchase my own kitchen torch so I could try making it again at home.

What You Should Do: Honestly (like really, honestly), I cannot believe I am saying this, especially considering I've always kind of associated Brio Tuscan Grille with malls (they have one at City Creek too), but you have to try this place! I really hope we were not the exception here and I am not leading you all miserably astray, but we had such a delicious meal here, and I finally have a reason to go out for Italian food again! I mean, you really can't buy bell-shaped pasta at Macey's (I think), and somehow it just tastes better in that adorable shape :) If you're craving Italian and are finally ready to cut off the chains which bind you to the hour+ long waits at Olive Garden, Brio is definitely the place to go!

Read other reviews here:

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

Where: Macaroni Grill, 4801 N University Avenue, Provo, UT

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Blood Orange & Basil Soda, Spaghetti & Meatballs, and Pasta Milano

What It Cost: $31.32

What We Thought:

Sorry these photos are so crummy - it was kind of a last minute decision to go here since we won a gift card to this restaurant the night before and I didn't feel like making dinner...so I was unprepared, but now I am here to talk about the food!

On a side note, I really should just give up on Italian restaurants. Or someone should just prevent me from entering them. It never ends well. 

So I started out with a pretty tasty non-alcoholic cocktail -- it was a fizzy blood orange soda with basil and some other stuff... I actually really liked it! But I'm the kind of person who likes weird herbs and flowers in their food, so yeah. You should try it if you never have before :)

We started the meal with a hunk of bread big enough to serve a small family, and embarrassingly, chowed it all down at lightning speed because it was probably my favorite part of the meal. Yeah. Good bread, I must say. It was flecked with rosemary and probably doused in butter, and had a perfectly crispy exterior and soft interior. Everything you could ask for in bread, if you ask me!

I ordered spaghetti and meatballs because I really couldn't think of a more classically Italian dish, and if you're going to go boasting yourself as Italian cuisine, I should hope you would do the basics darn well. Well. This is where the line of good things ended for us. The pasta was cooked fine, but the sauce was lacking (both in volume and in flavor), and the meatballs were just a source of sadness. They were a totally overcooked, completely lacking in moisture and goodness, and I'm pretty sure the kind you can cook from the grocery store are superior. Blaahhh. I didn't even finish this dish or want to take it home, which was pretty disappointing for overpriced pasta that I could have (and should have) made better in my own kitchen.

Then Owen's dish, the Pasta Milano. It was supposed to be some sort of chicken penne dish with white sauce and some array of vegetables I believe, but to be honest, all I can remember about it is SALT. I seriously have never had such a salty dish in my whole life, it was even saltier than Carrabba's! Another dish we didn't bother to finish, another dish we regretted. There is a fine line between hearty Italian food and a salt lick, and this place just went way beyond the boundary.

What You Should Do: The quest for edible Italian food (beyond pizza) served in a restaurant that actually feels worth the hefty bill that often accompanies these sorts of restaurants STILL CONTINUES. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated. I should mention however, our server was very nice and friendly.

Read other reviews here: 

SETTEBELLO

Where: Settebello, 260 S 200 W, Salt Lake City

Who Went: Chelsey, Owen and Aaron

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Involtini di Prosciutto, Settebello Pizza, Vico Pizza, and Pizza Special 

What It Cost: ~$50

What We Thought: 

People, people, people. 

THIS PLACE is what it is all about.

Pizza like it should be. Its seriously so good. Well unless you don't like thin, authentic-style Italian pizza which I won't judge you for of course. But I will probably feel very sad for you, because this stuff is so wonderful and amazing. 

We started with a little appetizer, with goat cheese, prosciutto, a reduced balsamic dressing, and microgreens. It was pretty good, served on a cute little wood block which was adorable, and altogether a nice way to start the meal off...but really not the most important thing here...let's get to the pizza.

The crust is so chewy and good, and the ingredients are all fresh and so flavorful -- I could eat this pizza every day. I know, I know, its in Salt Lake, and you will all cry at me that its so far away, but seriously, its so worth the drive. My pizza, seen above, had super tasty sausage, fennel, red onion and fresh basil. A warning -- it doesn't have sauce. Heathens, I know. But trust me, you won't miss it with all this goodness going on.

This pizza was the special of the day -- can't remember everything on it, except lots of cheese, some parsley, a spicy oil, very peppery meat, and a fried egg on top! If you haven't had a pizza with a fried egg on it my friends, you are missing out on something truly special.

Owen ordered the restaurant's namesake pizza, with pancetta, sausage, roasted mushrooms, and toasted pine nuts. If you're into a more traditional tasting pizza, this one would be an excellent choice, with a crushed tomato base and sensational toppings. Its really hard to rave about pizza, since its like already the perfect food. But somehow, Settebello really manages to take it the next level in a way you'll be thinking about for weeks after. 

What You Should Do: Drop all other pizza commitments and try Settebello next! If you love that authentic Italian pizza taste, I have it on good authority (former missionaries from Italy and Italians themselves) that this place is the most legitimate Italian pizza in the state, and besides that, its just amazing. And I wish I was eating it. Right now.

Read other reviews here:

Vinto

Where: Vinto, 418 E 200 S, Salt Lake City

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Blackberry Italian Soda, Roasted Vegetable Piadine, Tuttabella Pizza, Butterscotch Budino, and Nutella Gelato

What It Cost: $40 (including tip)

What We Thought: 

Located in both Salt Lake City and Park City, Vinto offers casual Italian food with a modern atmosphere. Though they were pretty busy the night we went there, the service was pretty quick if not overly-friendly. I really liked the interior decor of the restaurant, and thought it was a fun place to eat (though I wished we had been seated in the comfy-looking circular booths!)

I was feeling a little daring, so I ordered something that I didn't know what it was - the roasted vegetable piadine. It was basically like a really messy, open burrito. The "warm, tender unleavened flatbread" was more like a crispy dry tortilla that cracked and fell apart as you tried to eat it, but at least the inside of the sandwich (??) was interesting. The arugula was some of the most mild greens I've ever had, and there was a great variety of roasted vegetables that were all super tasty! I just wished that it was served in something that was more malleable, but that's probably less "authentic." In any case, if you vegetarian, then Vinto has a lot of delicious choices.

The pizza was very delicious, but only after we realized that the little dish of seasonings on the side was intended for the pizza! The pizza comes with a little plate of parmesan, red chili flakes, and dried oregano, which are really necessary to bring out the flavor and savoriness of this tasty pizza. The sausage was plentiful and delicious, and the roasted red peppers were colorful and wonderful as well. Owen isn't a huge fan of caramelized onions, but the ones on this pizza were not too overpowering and added greatly to the pizza. This is definitely a pizza I would want to repeat in the future.

They surprisingly had a lot of dessert options I actually wanted to try, so we had to go for some! The butterscotch budino was a chilled pudding with a salted caramel topping and whipped cream. It was so indulgent and SO goooooood. Owen and I kept fighting for the spoon to have a go at it, and I wished that we had ordered two! The salted caramel had rather large crystals of salt, which were a fun surprise while eating the smooth pudding, and the biscotti was wonderful when dipped in a little pudding!

Unfortunately, the meal ended on a sad note with this exceptionally overpriced and pathetic gelato. The gelato was served far too cold, so it had more of an icy quality than the smooth texture you normally think of with gelato. The Nutella flavor was barely noticeable, and I thought it was pretty teeny for "two scoops" of really expensive ice cream. The cookie on top was cute and tasty, but it didn't make up for my disappointment with the subpar gelato.

What You Should Do: Go for the pizza and budino - everything else was only just alright. I thought the atmosphere was fun, and the Italian soda was actually one of the better ones I've had (not pictured). The pizza was definitely delicious, and they have many other flavors that sounded equally interesting and appealing. Budinos are really time-consuming to make, so I would also recommend getting this scrumptious dessert if you're in the mood!

Read other reviews here:

Michelangelo's

Where: Michelangelo's on Main, 132 S Main Street, Salt Lake City

Who Went: Owen and Chelsey

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Lemon Italian Soda, Melon with Prosciutto, Gnocchi with Bolognese Sauce, and Rigatoni with Side of Asparagus Soup

What It Cost: $45.00 (including tip)

What We Thought: 

Another Italian restaurant, another disappointment. We originally planned on going to Siegfried's Deli one night in Salt Lake, but they were surprisingly closed so we had to walk around and find somewhere new. Michelangelo's was just right around the corner and had only one other table filled, so we decided to go in. 

We started out with some bread, and I was a little disappointed with this teeny bread bowl! I mean, I shouldn't be eating that much bread before my meal anyway, but seven measly little cubes? And the bread was actually really good so we wanted more, and it just looked so silly in the huge black bowl it was served in.

Owen ordered a lemon Italian soda which was not very sweet at all (super tart) and did not have much cream. Plus, no refills. Not impressed. And expensive.

I wanted to substitute my soup or salad side option for one of the appetizers and just pay the difference, which the server said I could do. I chose to get the honeydew and prosciutto, because I love prosciutto and it sounded interesting. The melon was not very ripe, but the prosciutto was thinly sliced and flavorful. I think I enjoyed it more than I would a normal side, and it was a nice refreshing break from my heavy pasta.

Owen chose the asparagus soup for his side, which was also hilariously small, and not all that wonderful. It was good and filling, but the asparagus flavor was a little wimpy and not exceptionally creamy. I probably would want to try another soup if I went there again.

I ordered the gnocchi because I love gnocchi and it is a huge pain to make on your own. The gnocchi here was smaller than I've had before and a little sticky, but it had good flavor. I liked the bolognese sauce, which was meaty and fresh, and there was a good sauce to pasta ratio. I would have preferred more than a little sprinkling of basil (it was kind of just a tease), and since it was a potato-based pasta, it was very filling. Was it a decent meal? Yes. Was it something I couldn't make at home for a quarter of the price? No...

Owen's rigatoni was probably the best dish out of everything we ordered - it was coated in a slightly sweet red sauce with cooked onions and spicy sausage that was all very tasty. It was much less heavy than my dish, and had a nice blend of Italian spices. But once again, pasta is so easy to make! And this wasn't really anything very difficult at all.

What You Should Do: Stay at home and make Italian yourself! Pasta is so cheap and easy to make on your own, so I almost always feel like I'm paying way too much for what I get. My server forgot to substitute in the melon for my side, so not only did I end up paying more, but I didn't get a soup or salad that my meal should have come with! The service was not very attentive, and the food was only alright. If you are really craving Italian food and feel like you have money to spare, then Michelangelo's is usually not very busy and would be an acceptable choice. Otherwise, the quest for reasonable Italian food shall continue...

Read other reviews here:

Cannella's

Before we begin...let's announce the Rubio's giveaway winners! 

Winner 1: Pauline Grayson

Winner 2: Adriana Westover

Winner 3: Laura Bean

Congratulations! Please email me at chelsey@eatbyu.com so we can arrange the details of your free meals!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Where: Cannella's, 204 E 500 S, Salt Lake City

Who Went: Chelsey & Mom

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Lunch Special Sandwich with Side Salad, Bruschetta 

What It Cost: $16.75

What We Thought:

I normally hate basically every Italian restaurant I ever eat at (why do I keep going to Italian restaurants??), but a quick visit to Cannella's has given me hope for family-owned Italian joints in the future! 

I stopped by here for a quick lunch after picking up my Mom from the airport - we were planning on having an early dinner but didn't want to be starving before then so we tried to eat light (though it still ended up being quite filling!). We ordered the turkey cranberry sandwich, which came with a starter salad. The salad was interesting - it had cucumbers, pepperoncinis, chickpeas, thickly shredded mozzarella, beets, and a creamy dressing. It wouldn't really be my first choice of ingredients for a salad, but it worked for us, and I was so hungry that it tasted good anyway!

I love bruschetta, so I was delighted when we were served these pretty little bites! The crostini were nice and hearty, the basil was sliced just right, and I loved the pretty little swirls of goat cheese. I was glad that they chose to use a balsamic reduction on top of the bruschetta of straight balsamic vinegar - it gave it a little more body and a more subtle flavor.

We had ordered the turkey cranberry sandwich, and unfortunately they put in our order incorrectly and we ended up with the club sandwich, which was the special of the day. Also unfortunately, we didn't realize this until halfway through eating the sandwich, so it felt a little late to ask for the other one. Fortunately however, we didn't even think about it, because the sandwich was so good!! Cannella's make all of their best fresh on site, and it was so thick and fresh and delicious. There was a huge pile of turkey, perfectly crispy bacon, and smeared avocado, that all came together in one exceptionally tasty sandwich!

What You Should Do: Though we didn't order anything that was super Italian, Cannella's has restored some of my faith in the potential for Italian restaurant food done right. I definitely am adding it to my list of places to when I crave an Italian dinner, and I would recommend you do so too! And if you happen to be nearby at the library or something, they make an incredibly enjoyable lunch too.

Read other reviews here: