Marilyn Haggerty's amazing Olive Garden review and the subsequent viral shitstorm

*urrrp*

this may or may not be a bite of Marilyn Haggerty but I thought it was p funny: http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/lifestyle/columnists/quaffer-scoffer-1-4747805

oh man i think it's legit: http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/lifestyle/columnists/quaffer-scoffer-1-4707498

Tasty Pizza offers a big range of variations on the pizza theme, from classic Margherita to more experimental Turkish variations with donner meat, chilli and bacon.

the earliest Q&S i can find is from this april, a month after haggerty

http://www.epworthbells.co.uk/lifestyle/quaffer-scoffer-1-4459201

Please reassure a USA-ian that "donner meat" isn't human flesh.

nah it's gyro meat

man, marilyn's 15 minutes were up quick! i forgot all about her.

The whole caboodle is served in a tray.

Was about ready to get my R.I.P. on when I saw this thread bumped.

What an intro!

“See you tomorrow,” said hostess Sue Prowse as I left Applebee’s after having lunch there the other day.

I was somewhat startled — wondering if I was forgetting something. Then she grinned and explained that is just the Applebee’s way of ushering customers out. “See you tomorrow,” is what they use as a promotion

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/242419/

Lunching over salads is good. For me, it is hard to eat soup and talk.

May she never change. In the meantime, per this thread's earlier derail, Lex has been spotted IN A KITCHEN:

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/320321_10100165532603744_785589246_n.jpg

Though he does not in fact appear to be cooking anything. Yet.

Lunching over salads is good. For lex, it is hard to eat soup and talk.

can i point out that i am WEARING A VULVA RING in that photo and yet the notable thing is the room i happen to be in?

i have eaten a loooooooot of food cooked in that kitchen this week. mmmmmm

a... vulva ring?

You know, for your hand vulva.

oh right, duh

I've been looking for good hand vulva accessories

A glove...of love.

it was a ring with a vulva kind of...on it

it was not mine

the joke was that i didn't recognise what the decoration was, i thought it was a plant. though apparently one of the ring's owner's str8 male colleagues thought it was a slug which is much worse

Well seeing that it was three fingers long, transluscent, connected to a ring and devoid of any openings, of course you should have known it was a vulva.

in fairness, most vulvae aren't translucent

I mean, I can't speak for Tilda Swinton

lex is that your TV there, with one pot on it? I think I know why you can't turn it on.

Every time this thread gets bumped I'm afraid that Marilyn Haggerty passed away. May she stay evergreen.

"I died today. Or yesterday. I don't remember."

i have the same saucepan as in that kitchen with lex

um I can't believe we missed this:

Anthony Bourdain's Foreword to Grand Forks:

If you're looking for the kind of rapturous food porn you'd find in a book by M.F.K. Fisher, or lusty descriptions of sizzling kidneys a la Liebling—or even the knife-edged criticism of an AA Gill or a Sam Sifton—you will not find it here.

The territory covered here is not New York or Paris or London or San Francisco. And Marilyn Hagerty is none of those people.

For 27 years, Marilyn Hagerty has been covering the restaurant scene in and around the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota, population 52,000. She also, it should be pointed out, writes a total of five columns a week, about history and local personalities and events, in addition to her writing about restaurants and food. As one might expect, she knows personally many of her subjects. Given the size of her territory, it is not unusual for her to write about the same restaurant two or more times in a single year. In short, she is writing about a community that she is very much a part of.

If you knew her name before picking up this book, it was probably because of her infamously guileless Olive Garden review which went viral, caused first a tidal wave of snarky derision--followed by an even stronger anti-snark backlash--followed by invitations to appear on Anderson Cooper and The TODAY Show, dinner at Le Bernardin, an appearance on Top Chef, an Al Neuharth Award, a publishing deal--a sudden and unexpected elevation to media darling.

Why was that?

What is it about the 86-year old Ms. Hagerty that inspired such attention and affection?

Why should you read this book?

Of the 7,000 pages of articles and reviews I read while assembling this collection, there is little of what one would call pyrotechnical prose. Ms. Hagerty's choices of food are shockingly consistent: A "Clubhouse sandwich," coleslaw, wild rice soup, salads assembled from a salad bar, baked potatoes. She is not what you'd call an adventurous diner, exploring the dark recesses of menus. Far from it. Of one lunch, she writes:

"There were signs saying the luncheon special was soup and a Denver sandwich for $2.25. In places where food service is limited, I tend to take the special. I wasn't born yesterday."

She is never mean—even when circumstances would clearly excuse a sharp elbow, a cruel remark. In fact, watching Marilyn struggle to find something nice to say about a place she clearly loathes is part of the fun. She is, unfailingly, a good neighbor and good citizen first—and entertainer second.

But what she HAS given us, over all these years, is a fascinating picture of dining in America, a gradual, cumulative overview of how we got from there... to here.

Grand Forks is NOT New York City. We forget that—until we read her earlier reviews and remember, some of us, when you'd find sloppy Joe, steak Diane, turkey noodle soup, three bean salad, red Jell-o in OUR neighborhoods. When the tuft of curly parsley and lemon wedge, or a leaf of lettuce and an orange segment, or three spears of asparagus fashioned into a wagon wheel, were state of the art garnishes. When you could order a half sandwich, a cup of soup. A pre-hipster world where lefse, potato DUMPLINGS! and walleye were far more likely to appear on a menu than pork belly.

Reading these reviews, we can see, we can watch over the course of time, who makes it and who doesn't. Which bold, undercapitalized pioneers survived—and who, no matter how ahead of their time, just couldn't hang on until the neighborhood caught up. You will get to know the names of owners and chefs like Warren LeClerc, whose homey lunch restaurant, The Pantry, turned down the lights to become the sophisticated French restaurant Le Pantre by night. And Chef Nardane of Touch of Magic Ballroom who, in his 6,200-square foot ballroom, served cheesecakes inspired by Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor, and envisioned an exclusive private membership club with frequent celebrity entertainment. And Steve Novak of Beaver's Family Restaurant, who when Marilyn visited his establishment, spoke of reviving his beaver act, complete with costume, for birthday parties.

And you will understand why the opening of an Olive Garden might be earnestly anticipated as an exciting and much welcome event.

Ms. Hagerty is not naïve about her work, her newfound fame, or the world. She has travelled widely in her life.

In person, she has a flinty, dry, very sharp sense of humor. She misses nothing. I would not want to play poker with her for money.

This is a straightforward account of what people have been eating—still ARE eating—in much of America. As related by a kind, good-hearted reporter looking to pass along as much useful information as she can—while hurting no one.

Anyone who comes away from this work anything less than charmed by Ms. Hagerty—and the places and characters she describes—has a heart of stone.

This book kills snark dead.

if this book kills snark dead, how did Bourdain survive long enough to write that foreword

I love that first quote.

Mrs Hagerty's son James, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, and his mother's biggest fan, attempted to explain his mother's sense of work ethic.

'When she was successfully treated for breast cancer two years ago, she used the occasion to write a review of the hospital's food. It was right up there with the cuisine at Olive Garden,' he wrote in his own column last year.

'My mom has her own style of reviewing restaurants: She doesn't like to say anything bad about the food. Her regular readers read between the lines. If she writes more about the décor than the food, you might want to eat somewhere else.'

For 27 years, Marilyn Hagerty has been covering the restaurant scene in and around the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota, population 52,000. She also, it should be pointed out, writes a total of five columns a week, about history and local personalities and events, in addition to her writing about restaurants and food. As one might expect, she knows personally many of her subjects. Given the size of her territory, it is not unusual for her to write about the same restaurant two or more times in a single year. In short, she is writing about a community that she is very much a part of.

Is he adopting her method of writing?

Her latest:

It was the shrimp scampi that caught my eye when dining with friends at Mamma Maria’s. When Susie Shaft (SS), who was sitting across the table from me, suggested splitting an order of shrimp scampi, I quickly agreed. I grow weary of taking boxes of leftover food home and letting the food grow stale in the refrigerator.

"Vilkommen, Frau Hagerty. Would you like to sp lit the shrimp scampi, ya?"

Along with the pluses, there are minuses.

The menus that came to our table were slightly soiled. We had to ask for water. Our server seemed intent on clearing off the table and getting the check handled before we all were finished.

He was new on the job, and I told him I like it when a server waits until everyone is finished before removing the plates.

After seeming like an old grouch, I made up for it by giving him a generous tip. Around here, 15 percent seems to be the starting point. Others tip higher.

To his credit, the waiter pointed out that it would be less expensive for three of us to share a bottle of wine than to order three glasses. Diners appreciate tips like that.

I was sitting recently at a table with Merle Ann Barr (MAB), Gerri Eck (GE) and Bonnie Jean Sobolik (BJS). We took note of the little buns freshly baked and served with soup. BJS gave a thumbs-up to the fruit that is served as a side with sandwiches. Last week, it included fresh blackberries.

With all of its positives, there are a few minuses. Sometimes, it's chilly sitting near the windows at King's Walk on a cold day. Service varies from so-so to the very good work done by Tina Tiseth, who has an amazing memory.

The women's restroom is attractive and clean but can be very cold. And coats hung right inside the entrance door could use a warm up before you leave.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/content/eatbeat-regulars-have-their-favorites-eagles-crest-grill

this is such a beautiful photo:

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sites/default/files/styles/16x9_860/public/fieldimages/12/0123/marilynhagerty1_3.jpg?itok=JEXgiz6s

I love her schtick of naming her guests with initials.

I'm amazed that grand forks buffet brunch is nearly the price of NYC fancy brunch

$12 not even including coffee!

well, it's a buffet

It just occurred to me how wonderful it is that this woman is from GRAND FORKS.

And her nickname is "The Appetite."

She's back!

The menus, as at many chain restaurants, are almost overwhelming. You get a menu for the day. You get a large appetizers menu. You get a lunch or dinner menu.

So, I took the easy route for a late lunch at Ruby Tuesday on Feb. 17. From a single sheet that came with two large menus, I chose baked ravioli ($10.99.) It arrived in a hot — very hot — state, and I approached it with caution.

It was very well-seasoned and laced with spinach and topped with sharp-tasting cheese. With the two dainty baking powder biscuits that arrived promptly, it was a very adequate meal.

And that is what draws me to Ruby Tuesday.

Great new marketing approach there.

Ruby Tuesday: A Very Adequate Meal

love the bit about the sweeper bothering her

MARILYN WE NEED YOU

http://gawker.com/olive-garden-offers-7-weeks-of-never-ending-pasta-brea-1631889131?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_facebook&utm_source=gawker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Olive Garden doesn't salt its pasta, according to 295-slide presentation from a hedge fund getting in a proxy fight with Darden Restaruants' board

I am very disappointed that the $100 fuckfest gluttony pass was limited to the first 1,000 opportunists. I was really hoping for a repeat of darden's previous snow crab AYCE fiasco (see http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2003-09-26-crab_x.htm)

Also because my brain is cursed to come up with fucking dumb wordplay I think "Taylor Darden" whenever a darden restaurant news comes up, or just seeing an olive garden gift card in line at the grocery. It's a problem.

I always think of that bald OJ prosecutor, looking over his shoulder at a waiter with a pepper grinder and thinking, It could've just as well been this guy, you know.

there seems to be some sort of
uk version of this episode now
daresay it will turn up here in due course

from which review is that?