Pasta: Cavatappi with Alfredo Sauce
Side: Salad with Italian Dressing
Side: Salad with Italian Dressing
They say absence from Olive Garden makes the heart grow fonder. Or healthier. I forget. Probably both. In any case, it’s been awhile. A week and a half, in fact, since I’ve used my Pasta Pass. I’ve been busy working on non-pasta based writing projects. But people are clamoring for more pasta posts. Okay, not really, but still. Gotta give the people what they want.
So Friday night, while everyone else was out having fun, going to Halloween parties, being a normal weekend-enjoying human, I was ordering take-out for one from Olive Garden. I looked at the menu and decided to get Cavatappi, the only pasta I had yet to try. But before that came the important step of Googling “wtf is cavatappi.” I saw that it was spiral shaped pasta and looked kind of whimsical and fun. I was eating Olive Garden by myself on a Friday, I’ll take whatever fun I can get.
For pasta sauce, I got alfredo. It had been a long week, I deserved something rich and creamy and decadent. For my side order, I got salad, just to balance out the decadence with some vegetables. My order decided, I looked at my Olive Garden fridge magnet (Pasta Pass affords you such things) which had the phone number for the Glendale location. No, I do not have it on speed dial, and no, I do not have it memorized. Soon.
“Hi, thank you for calling Olive Garden. This is Stacey, how can I help you?”
It was Stacey, the Olive Garden server who I had seen nightly and formed a nice rapport with. We had a good thing going for awhile, seeing each other every night. Bantering about all the pasta I was eating, talking about other people with a Pasta Pass. She even met my mom.
But I hadn’t seen her in a couple weeks. I started eating at different times, often getting lunch instead of dinner, and for the past week and a half, not even going at all. I hoped it wouldn’t be awkward.
“Thomas? Hey! I haven’t seen you in awhile…”
I wanted to tell her that I got swamped with work. That I had to focus on other writing projects. That I went into a medically-induced pasta coma and just woke up. That I just needed some space. It’s not you, it’s me.
“Yeah, I’ve been busy. I needed a break.”
“Ah, I see, needed a break. Well, your order will be ready in 15 minutes.”
“Ah, I see, needed a break. Well, your order will be ready in 15 minutes.”
She could see through my bullshit. She sees right through me, Stacey. She knows me too well. You weren’t busy asshole, you just didn’t want to come. And it’s true. I can always get take out from Olive Garden, nobody’s too busy for that. I just didn’t want to.
I pulled into the garage and parked in my usual spot. The 10 minute take-out-only spot. It was always empty. I bet only other Pasta Passers park there. Who gets take-out from BJ’s or Islands or Olive Garden? The only reason you go to these places is to share huge plates of food with other people who also want a brownie the size of a pizza.
I walked in, got my ticket validated, and sat at the bar. I saw Stacey walk toward me with my huge Nordstrom bag of food. She had the same cheery smile, but her hair was different. When did she get her hair done? Had it been that long? I wondered what else I missed in the last week and a half. She handed me my food.
“Hi Thomas! Good to see you again.”
“Good to see you too.”
“Good to see you too.”
It really was good to see her. And I was actually excited to eat this weird spiral pasta slathered in kinda gross alfredo sauce. I got home and quickly started my Friday night feast. In the 5 minutes it took to get back to Atwater, it was already lukewarm. Oh how I’ve missed you, Olive Garden.
I don’t know if it was the pasta hiatus or it was the long week I had or if the kitchen was just on their game that night, but the cavatappi was good! It was cooked well, not overdone like the usual Pasta Bowl pasta, and there was a good amount of alfredo sauce which was, of course, pretty salty, but sort of all worked. I could see myself pairing it with a nice box of wine.
The salad was good as always. The other night, I saw that they sell Olive Garden Italian Dressing at Ralphs and I would totally buy it if I didn’t already have an unlimited supply. The breadsticks were reliably awful, but I was digging the pasta so much that I almost finished an entire breadstick! Almost.
It was exactly what I needed. I got to see my old friend Stacey, try cavatappi for the first time, and eat a refreshing salad. Will I get sick of Olive Garden again? Of course. Am I already sick of it? Highly likely. But, I went to bed with a pasta coma. Not bad for a Friday night.