Tour of Carbitaly

When we found out that Olive Garden was opening in Las Cruces, we knew we had to feature our first visit to its goodness on this blog. We decided to avoid the crowds of the opening day and instead went this afternoon.

Location: Telshor (in front of Sportsman's Warehouse, Home Depot)

Dinero: cash, check, card 

Atmosphere: We got there a little after 4:30 and were surprised to be seated in just under five minutes. The waiting area is pretty small. It began to fill up quickly just after we arrived. The decorations are all new and cute, I particularly liked some of the wall tiling. Esmer did a bathroom check, and unfortunately found it to be all the way in the back, past the busy kitchen doors.

Cleanliness: Like I said, everything is new since it just opened. So we have to give it top marks here. 

Customer Service: This was a mixture. Our hostess seemed young and inexperienced. She kept forgetting to hand out buzzers. But another hostess stepped in to fix the mix up. Our waitress was incredibly nervous (her first day she told us) and even said "they should fire me!" when she brought me an iced tea instead of a raspberry lemonade. I felt bad for her so I sampled the tea to make sure (Esmer thinks I just wanted to break the Word of Wisdom). But, other than this slight mix up, the service was excellent. A random server even refilled Esmer's drink during our meal.

 Comida: We went for the salad instead of soup for our breadsticks. We got the cheese grated over the top, saying "estop" to our server at just the right time! Esmer went with the spaghetti and meatballs, and the server even special ordered the five cheese marinara sauce for her spaghetti instead of the meat sauce (how nice!). I have a terrible time making up my mind, so I decided try a little of everything and got the tour of italy (includes: fettucini alfredo, lasagna, and chicken parmesan). Esmer loved her sauce but thought that the meatballs do not compare to Lorenzos'. Carrie is right, Lorenzo's are better. My alfredo sauce was yummy and so was the lasagna. I thought the chicken parmesan tasted a bit like it came from the freezer and was just heated up. The helpings were very large. After about 2 1/2 bites Esmer announced she was full. We both took home boxes for lunch tomorrow. The server even wrote what we ordered on our boxes, just in case we forgot what meatballs or chicken parmesan look like.

Cost: My meal total was a staggering 22 bucks (including tip)! The bright side is that it could have easily fed two. Esmer's rang in at 18 bucks, but it would have been harder to share. Maybe cut the meatballs in half? So is it worth the price you are probably wondering? We say yes, but only on special occasions when you want to spend a lot of money.

Caution:
1. If you are thirsty, you won't be able to stop at one glass of raspberry lemonade (yeah, try 3 here!)
2. Prepare for a sudden irresistible desire to take a nap afterward.
3. Comfy jeans, preferably with an easy to undo top button, are an asset.
4. When your BFF has been on a protein-only diet, the sudden influx of carbs may cause them to say things like, "I'm such a meatball whore!"