Olive Garden is a place that most of us have tried at least once. I won’t go into great detail about the restaurant, but I wanted to mention about a few of the dishes we tried the afternoon we went. 
Olive Garden is most known for their soups, salads and bread sticks. We don’t eat Olive Garden often but when we do, we definitely enjoy the food and the service. 
One Friday afternoon, me and my two loves had some business to take care of. Once we were done we were hungry and needed a place to eat. I wanted mussels, so we knew that there were not many restaurants to choose from that sold dishes with mussels here in Lafayette. So we decided to do a late lunch at Olive Garden. 
I started with my occasional fruity non-alcoholic beverage. This particular Friday, Olive Garden was offering a new line of non-alcoholic fruit drinks. There were three different flavors, Skinny White Peach Cooler, Strawberry-Mango Limonata & Bella Limonata. I decided on the Bella Limonata which consisted of the refreshing mix of sweet lemonade, pomegranate and pineapple juices with fresh sliced fruit. 
The drink was totally refreshing. Good stuff. Looking at this picture makes me want to try to recreate this drink. I totally recommend this if you want something to quench your thirst.  

A typical meal at Olive Garden starts with the salad. The salad is one of the favorite things at Olive Garden and I know that many others love it as well. For those who may have never been to Olive Garden, the salad consist of red onions, lettuce, tomatoes, croutons, Romano cheese, black olives, banana peppers & Olive Garden House Dressing. Awesome.

The bread sticks are superb. I was recently tipped by some friend to having the bread sticks dipped in the Alfredo sauce. OMG. Delicious. Try it, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. 

We didn’t do any appetizers, because we wanted to get down to the main course. Lil mama decided that she wanted chicken fingers with Alfredo sauce and angel hair pasta. She loved this dish. I love that the portion size was so hefty and inexpensive. 

Brian ordered the Chianti Braised Short Ribs. The boneless beef short ribs were slow-cooked in a Chianti wine sauce. Served with Portobello Mushroom Risotto and steamed vegetables. I didn’t taste the dish, but Brian said the ribs were super tender. He said the veggies were superb in the dish. I will say the dish looked amazing.  

I ordered the Capellini di Mare which consisted of shrimp, clams and mussels that were sauteed in a white wine, garlic and a zesty marinara sauce. Instead of the Capellini pasta, I ordered the dish with the Angel hair pasta topped with Parmesan cheese and basil. My favorite dish by far at Olive Garden. I do think that the dish could use a little more spice, but other than that, it was fantastic!
Overall our experience at Olive Garden was excellent. The food was amazing and the service was impeccable. I know that this is not a new spot for most, but I love sharing my favorite dishes and experiences at my favorite restaurants. 
Olive Garden is located at 5743 Johnston Street, 988-1596. The hours of operation are Sun-Thurs from 11am-10pm & Fri-Sun from 11am-11pm.