By Jeanni Ritchie
Last month my friend Alice and I stopped at Olive Garden in Baton Rouge, and I decided it was worth writing about. Partly because, well, I write about everything — but also because Alexandria is about to welcome an Olive Garden of its own. A little birdie tells me the doors should open by December!
We went for lunch, when 10 Weekday Lunch-Sized Favorites are available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. I ordered cheese ravioli with meat sauce and a side of chicken and gnocchi soup, while Alice chose the lasagna classico with a side salad. At $10.99 each, both were a bargain. Other weekday favorites include the ever-popular Never Ending Soup, Salad & Breadsticks, along with classics like spaghetti, fettuccine Alfredo, five cheese ziti, eggplant parmigiana, chicken parmigiana, and shrimp scampi.
Can’t make it during lunch hours? Olive Garden’s full menu is available all day, every day. Entrées include all of the lunch options in larger portions, plus stuffed chicken Marsala, chicken scampi, tour of Italy, herb-grilled salmon, chicken tortellini, and more. You can even create your own pasta by choosing a noodle, sauce, and topping — mine would be angel hair, five cheese marinara, and sautéed shrimp.
Appetizers range from calamari and toasted ravioli to my personal favorite, fried mozzarella. Desserts are equally tempting with tiramisu, Sicilian cheesecake, chocolate lasagna, black tie mousse cake, strawberry cream cake, and warm Italian doughnuts (a must-try when the Alexandria location opens).
Another perk is Olive Garden’s Take Home deal: with the purchase of any entrée, you can add a prepared and chilled meal — like spaghetti with meat sauce, fettuccine Alfredo, five cheese ziti, or four-cheese manicotti — for just $6.
Our meal in Baton Rouge was fabulous, with soups that lived up to their reputation and service that made us feel like family. Now we’re counting down the days until Cenla has an Olive Garden of its own.
