Olive Garden
Italian Restaurant
More than 550 restaurants nationwide
800) 331-2729, OliveGarden.com

NOTE: Nutritional information was not available for this establishment. However, we have provided some Best Choices that fit in with the South Beach Diet nutritional principles. Because we do not have specific data for these dishes, talk to your server if you have questions about the ingredients in a dish, and be especially vigilant if you are on Phase 1.

Olive Garden bills itself as a genuine Italian dining experience. The chain develops its recipes and sends its managers for training at the Culinary Institute of Tuscany in Italy. The idea is to bring authentic cuisine to the restaurants and combine it with Italian-style hospitality. The slogan at Olive Garden is, "When you're here, you're family."

Best Choices
The menu at Olive Garden has some dishes marked with a little olive branch symbol indicating the Garden Fare selections. These dishes are lower-fat options, but most are still not the best for South Beach dieters. Some pasta dishes are marked as low-fat, for example, but they're still way too high in refined carbs. In fact, all the pasta dishes at Olive Garden should be avoided by South Beach dieters ‑- which means that except for the dishes mentioned here, almost all of the menu is off-limits. Some of the daily specials may be fine ‑- ask your server about them.

Among the appetizers, the Sicilian Shrimp Scampi or the Mussels di Napoli (steamed mussels with wine, garlic butter, and onions) are both okay. For salads, the Garden-Fresh Side Salad comes with unlimited refills. The classic Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad is a good choice, as long as you hold the croutons. One of the authentic things about the Olive Garden menu is the grill ‑- an often-forgotten aspect of Italian cooking. The best choices here are Pork Filettino (rosemary pork tenderloin) or Salmon Piccata (salmon fillet in white wine lemon sauce). Ask for extra grilled veggies or a salad instead of the Tuscan potatoes.