One great thing about living in the northeastern United States is that there are so many great Italian restaurants to choose from. There are lots of great places to eat Italian food all over the place, from Philadelphia to New York City to New Jersey.
Why Real Italian Food is So Appealing
But anyone who loves Italian food knows that fake Italian food or a weak attempt to copy what you would find at a real “Italiano Ristorante” is the worst thing that can happen. Folks who are Italian or have Italian family members tend to stay away from Italian Chain Restaurants for this main reason.
Getting to the bottom of it: The worst Italian chain restaurants
Inside the United States, there are a lot of Italian chain restaurants, but not all of them are truly Italian. 24/7 Wall St. went out of their way to look through online customer reviews and other information to find the worst offenders. They made a list of the nine worst Italian chain restaurants in the United States that people should stay away from.
Olive Garden is the worst Italian restaurant chain in the United States. This may come as a surprise since there are over 15 sites just in New Jersey. A lot of people like the Unlimited Breadsticks, but customer reviews and thoughts online show a different picture.
Some people might not think Olive Garden is the worst Italian restaurant chain, but everyone agrees that its mass-produced, Americanized Italian food isn’t very good. A lot of Italian Americans think the food is rude and call it “Fugazi” Italian food. Even though Olive Garden has been criticized, it still makes more than $4 billion in sales every year in the US.
Sbarro
Some people might not think of Olive Garden as the worst Italian restaurant chain when they hear the name. Based on my opinion, I would blame Sbarro. This cheap, fast-food-style Food Court Chain restaurant serves pizza that is greasy and doesn’t taste very good. However, Sbarro was only ranked as the eighth worst on the 24/7 Wall St. list. It looks like more people like the food at Sbarro than like the breadsticks at Olive Garden.
What It Takes to Be Real
In a place with a lot of Italian history and food traditions, realism is very important when it comes to Italian food. Sometimes big restaurants like Olive Garden and Sbarro are convenient and comfortable, but they don’t always give customers the real Italian dining experience they want.
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In Summary
In the Northeastern United States, where Italian food is popular, picky customers want accuracy above all else. Chain restaurants like Olive Garden and Sbarro may have their fans, but the flavors and traditions of real Italian places are much better. If you want to eat Italian food the next time, think about going off the beaten path to find a secret gem that serves real Italian food.