Olive Garden Food Critic Returns To The Restaurant That Made Her Famous

North Dakota columnist Marilyn Hagerty became famous after her charming review of an Olive Garden went viral last year.

Now, she's back!

Hagerty has returned to the Olive Garden location to write a follow-up for the Grand Forks Herald.

Business has been booming at the Olive Garden, which is "no longer a novelty" in town, according to Hagerty.

What'd she think of it the second time around?

Well, for lunch, Hagerty ate minestrone soup made with fresh vegetables, beans, and pasta in a tomato broth. And yes, she had salad and breadsticks.

"The food is predictable, down to the four or five black olives you find in the salad bowl," wrote Hagerty. "The vegetable soup is hearty and satisfying."

She also went for dinner and ordered penne di mare, which is shrimp and scallops in a seafood cream sauce with roasted parmesan bread crumbs on the top.

"The seafood was there, but a little hard to find," wrote Hagerty. "There was more pasta than I could eat."

Hagerty ended the night with a chocolate mousse cake.

"Not too sweet," she wrote. "Not too rich and topped with a thin layer of chocolate frosting."

Her verdict:

Italian fare is predictable and good, though not exotic. Service is top notch from greeting at door throughout meal. Italian ambiance in series of connected rooms in Tuscany farm house style. Reasonable prices bring customers back, especially for salad, soup and breadsticks for $5.50 or $6.25 for unlimited refills. Two menus are kind of confusing. Gluten free selections are a plus.