A Tasty Bargain Meal Helps to Offset the Pain of Paying an Exorbitant Tax Bill

For those that are looking for a hearty bargain meal as they drain their bank or investment accounts to pay the Upper Saint Clair School Taxes which are due to this month in order to receive a 2% discount, I have the perfect suggestion.

Olive Garden has just brought back its popular Never-Ending Pasta Bowl promotion, which is being heavily advertised on television.  For a mere $9.99, one can enjoy all of the pasta and sauce that they care to eat.  The meal begins with one dinner-sized serving, seconds, thirds, and fourths in small bowls.  "Add-ons", including meatballs, sausage, and the new "Chicken Fritta", are $2.99 for unlimited amounts.  Meals are accompanied by unlimited salad or soup and breadsticks.  One could easily pay $4 or $5 for these items alone at other dining spots.  This is not the finest Italian food one will ever consume, but it is quite good.  I more enjoy the cuisine at Pasta Too and Ristorante Del Pizzo (Del's) in Bloomfield.  Years ago, Pasta Too promised that phone-ahead seating was coming.  To my knowledge, that did not ever occur, and I am not willing to sit in the inadequate and crowded waiting area of the restaurant for an hour before a table becomes available.  Del's is too far to be a frequent dining spot for me.

The restaurant offers a nice selection of wines (in six and nine-ounce servings or by the bottle) and cocktails at standard prices, and one may sample their choice of wine before committing to a purchase.  Service is generally skilled, gracious, and attentive.

The downsides of Olive Garden are: no reservations or phone-ahead seating (my wife and I waited about 25 minutes for a table), the place can be loud with the large, young families that it attracts (not a place for an intimate meal with one's significant other), and if one wishes to have a large amount of pasta per this promotion, they will be there for a long time, as the server must bring each helping and subsequent portions are small for the diner with a huge appetite.

If one seeks casual "come as you are" dining, this is the place.  Baseball caps are worn by many, and a man sitting in the dining room I occupied had dirt caked on to every inch of his jeans.

I overheard a server telling another party that the Never Ending Pasta Bowl promotion is expected to be offered for a few months.  It is seen as a means of boosting the bottom line of parent company Darden Restaurants, which has not experienced growth in recent years due to the economic challenges facing those that dine at moderate-priced restaurants.