Guess What??????!!!!!!! My neighbor is a district manager for The Olive Garden here in Ohio and he told me tonight that in May 2004 they are going to be releasing a new "low Carb Fare."

According to him, the menu will include the following LOW CARB items, all will be offered with or made with a low carb pasta, they will also have a version without pasta. Carb counts range from 5 - 18 and include 1 cup of soup, 1 breadstick and entree for the total carbs advertised:

Lasagna
Chicken or Veal Parmasean
Pasta Alfredo
Ravioli
Steak w/cream sauce and side of fettucini alfredo
2 different soups (I cannot remember what he called them)
Garlic Breadsticks

Several other items, I cannot remember them all but these stuck out in my mind. Probably because they are my favorites. Olive Garden, here I come!

OH COOL!!! I live right down the street from an Olive Garden and I LOVE IT. When I started a few weeks ago I was like, "Damnit, why don't they have anything low carb?!"

Yayy!

I will patiently wait in the Olive Garden parking lot until May....LOL! This is great news for me, thanks for the post!

That's a good news!

Yay! This is probably my fave chain (next to Outback). VG to know I will be able to go back there soon...

GREAT! I love Olive Garden!!!

Gee, just as I got good at eating low carb in Italian restuarants - I love marinara. But it will be good to be sure that there hasn't been sugar added to the sauces and stuff. In the meantime, I endulge in marinara on steamed vegies, typically a mix of eg. broccoli, zucchini, asparagus. Or chicken piccata, another fave of mine. This will be interesting to see, esp the lasagne. Maybe there will be spinach or something replacing the pasta?

I cannot walk into an Olive Garden and not have their Tiramisu

WOW! that is terrific news! it is about time!
Now if taco bell could start using the lc wraps for their menus!!

i emailed olive garden about this asking what types of things would be on their new low carb menu and this i what they said

Dear Cathy:

Thank you for contacting us again.

Please know we are unaware of any plans to offer a specific low carb menu at
this time. However, we appreciate your interest and have documented your desire
for this type of menu.


maybe they are going to test it in ohio first? hmph

That's wonderful news!

The tiramisu! Oy, that's right, cannot go into Olive Garden. Must.....exert....control. Nooooooo, I'm weakening and I'm not even there!

That's an important point to remember about restaurants expanding into lowcarb - the desserts- they lure us in with low carb part-menus and then there's dessert staring us in the face. I know that I have started breaking down and getting dessert at Legal Seafoods since I really miss having something sweet after dinner. At least they offer a single bon-bon for a dollar. And they have a sugar free choc mousse, but it usually upsets my tummy since of course I *have* to eat the whole thing. Really, I wonder how I get myself off to work each day. Must be the money aspect.

I too live in Ohio area and am very excited to hear about this as we love to go there but regret it afterwards... THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP!

I eat at Olive Garden all the time! I usually have the salmon piccatta, I just ask them NOT to put the sauce on it, as there is corn starch in it. They also have a dish that has both chicken and italian sausage skewered and both come with veggies, my hubby usually has that, even though it comes with potatoes, he just doesnt eat them.

Anywhere we go out to eat, I always ask what is in the sauces, if there is any thickeners, sweeteners, etc, and if there is, I just ask them for the item without that part. I haven't had any problems yet!