Bambino's - Seriously, Why Would Anyone Go To Olive Garden, When They Can Go To Bambino's?

Bambino's Cafe

1141 East Delmar

Springfield, MO 65807

Seriously, why would anyone go to Olive Garden, when they can go to Bambino's?

Now, I've been going to Bambino's for over a year now, and also during that time, I've been going to Olive Garden. But seriously, why even bother with the latter?

Well, for me, I love the soup, or Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden. Or at least I used to. It hasn't been good for a couple years now. It's really strange. A couple years ago, when I used to get the Zuppa Toscana, with the spicy sausage, potatoes, kale and delicious broth, everything was fresh and perfect. It looked good enough to eat, and I that's exactly what I did. And lots of it. I mean, it is my favorite soup on the planet. However, the last like eight times I've gone to the Olive Garden here in Springfield, the Zuppa Toscana has looked plain awful. Like it was the bottom of the barrel, with chewed up sausage sediments, mushy potato, no kale, and all of this floating in an oily orange mess. Just like it was the other night. Yeah, I was in the mood for soup, and just like the other eight times, the Zuppa Toscana was barely passable.

As for Olive Garden's pasta, well, after finding Bambino's over a year ago, Olive Garden's pasta seems somehow soulless. Olive Garden's pasta is like an uninspired microwaved mess, devoid of even an ounce of honest or authentic flavor. I didn't order any the other night, but sneaked a sample of my girlfriend's ziti and yeah, it was that same blah taste and tired old consistency.

It's kinda funny, Olive Garden's overall presentation hasn't changed a bit. They still give a good show, with the nicely dressed waitstaff, complimentary sample wine, free breadsticks, soup or salad with your entree, and the mint chocolate at the end. And yet, nobody seems to notice how much the food has faltered. Or perhaps, it never was that good. But that doesn't stop Olive Garden from raising their prices seemingly every year. No sir. In the last fifteen years, I would guess that Olive Garden's prices have ballooned 30%. It's ridiculous.

Which brings me to my original question, why on earth would anyone go to Olive Garden, when they can go to Bambino's? Obviously this only applies if you live in Springfield. But I'm sure, no matter where you live, your town has a place like or at least close to Bambino's. You know, a smaller, Mom and Pop type Italian Restaurant with food that absolutely makes Olive Garden look like neatly packaged microwave meals with a 500% markup.

I went to Bambino's tonight and like always, Bambino's food was a revelation, absolutely delicious. I got the Nona, which is linguini with alfredo sauce, mixed with chicken and diced red peppers. For an appetizer, we had garlic bread with the spinach and cheese sauce. So creamy. So scrumptious. So much more evolved than the ridiculousness of Olive Garden food. At Bambino's everything tastes homemade. Real. NOT microwaved! The prices are very reasonable. The portions are more than abundant. From what I've been able to find, Bambino's is the best Italian place in Springfield. Period.

So, it really is a no-brainer. If you are in the mood for Italian food, find Bambino's. It's a smaller place, so there might be a wait. But the wait at Bambino's is only about a 1000 times more worth the wait than Olive Garden's. I guarantee it.

Good Food In Springfield, MO (It Could Happen)
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For Olive Garden (Just For The Heck Of It)
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El Charro - El Long Wait For No Taste-O

El Charro
Located at 2629 North Kansas Expy
Around 9pm, Saturday, June 4, 2011

Right away, it seemed like the restaurant was understaffed, since it took them about 5 minutes to merely sit us. However, we hadn't even begun to learn the meaning of waiting. When we were finally seated, we were given menus and chips and salsa. When I opened my menu, I was surprised to find gobs of salsa plastered to the inside of the menu, making it somewhat difficult to read the middle panel of the menu. The chips and salsa were above average, and no cilantro, good, because I hate cilantro! From the time we were seated until the time the waitress acknowledged us for the first time, at least 15 minutes passed! During the long wait, we toyed with the idea of walking out. Further along, during the wait, I noticed everybody’s glasses at the tables around us were empty and none of their food had come yet. My girlfriend was particularly annoyed, since the waitress took 5 more minutes to bring us our drinks, after we'd been eating chips and salsa, which were somewhat spicy. My girlfriend said, “I need to hydrate,” which made me think she was a robot.

Once we got our food, I was somewhat alarmed by the small portions. My girlfriend had ordered the chimichanga, around 7.99, which included a large plate with a lonely 2x4 inch chimichanga in the center, rice & beans on the side, and guacamole, sour cream, and a slice of tomato on the other side. I ordered one of the combination specials at 6.99. As we started to eat, I noticed the flavor was somewhat lacking. Then, I asked my girlfriend what she thought and she said the exact same thing- no flavor. At some point, my girlfriend and I exchanged portions of our food, confirming the lacking flavor. To make matters worse, neither one of us could identify the meat in my girlfriend’s chimichanga with any real confidence.

Good Food In Springfield, MO (It Could Happen)
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