No Accounting for Taste

My business associates sniff at my plebeian tastes. They decant their wine while I push a button on a box. Their German cars sneer at my Buick 4-door and Dodge minivan. But I have endured enough of their taunts. Leave my Olive Garden alone.

A balanced, nutritious meal for $12.95? In your dreams, French Laundry!

For providing good food at reasonable prices--in the best tradition of capitalism I might add--the Olive Garden is mocked by both the bi-coastal elites and purveyors of taste in popular culture.

The Big Bang Theory: "What am I running here, a fancy restaurant? Does this look like Olive Garden?!"

Jay Leno: "The stock market plunged over 389 points because of financial news in Italy. They’re calling this the worst Italian disaster since Olive Garden introduced that fettuccini alfredo."

The insults can come from unexpected places. In a sports column lamenting the caliber of basketball displayed in the NCAA tournament:

If you love professional basketball the way that I do, suffering through March Madness is like being a restaurant critic who gets asked to review…the Olive Garden.

When they can't out-cheese your alfredo, they resort to insults.