ND - Grand Forks Herald Olive Garden review goes viral

[wfgodot]

The story:

Marilyn Hagerty's Olive Garden Review For 'Grand Forks Herald' Goes Viral (huffpost.com)

An earnest review of the new location of Olive Garden in Grand Forks, N.D. went viral this week -- much to the surprise of the restaurant and its writer, longtime Grand Forks Herald columnist Marilyn Hagerty.

The review has attracted notice for Hagerty's unbridled enthusiasm for the restaurant. She orders just chicken Alfredo ("comforting on a cold day") and a water, but still manages to wax rhapsodic. She's especially struck by the Olive Garden's "impressive" decor. "All in all, it is the largest and most beautiful restaurant now operating in Grand Forks," she writes.

Her piece seems first to have been picked up by The Denver Omelette, a food blog by a North Dakota native. From there, it made its way to Guyism, which described it as "unwittingly hilarious, and City Pages, which called it the "greatest restaurant review ever written." It took a mention on Gawker, though, to bring it to the mass.
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The interview:

Marilyn Hagerty, Grand Forks Olive Garden Reviewer, Speaks (Village Voice)

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Was the Olive Garden opening really such a big deal?

Oh, it was one of the biggest deals in ages. The rumors had been floating around for a decade. [Whispers] The Olive Garden is coming to town. For some reason, people go to the Olive Garden in Fargo and they think it's just wonderful. So it was greatly anticipated. The rumors went for several years.
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The review:

THE EATBEAT: Long-awaited Olive Garden receives warm welcome

After a lengthy wait for Olive Garden to open in Grand Forks, the lines were long in February. The novelty is slowly wearing off, but the steady following attests the warm welcome.

My first visit to Olive Garden was during midafternoon, so I could be sure to get in. After a late breakfast, I figured a late lunch would be fashionable.
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more at the links

 

[Gardenlady]

I love this woman! The VV interview with her was priceless. "my daughter wants me to read all this Facebook crap!" :floorlaugh:

The GF herald needs to give her a raise!

 

[wfgodot]

I love this woman! The VV interview with her was priceless. "my daughter wants me to read all this Facebook crap!" :floorlaugh:

The GF herald needs to give her a raise!

Agreed. Voice interview vaulted her to the top of my (just-created) People I'd Like to Dine With at Olive Garden list.

 

[Jacie Estes]

I love this part; one person's plastic flowers is another person's permanent flower display.


"...As I ate, I noticed the vases and planters with permanent flower displays on the ledges. There are several dining areas with arched doorways. And there is a fireplace that adds warmth to the decor..."

 

[Jacie Estes]

I love this woman! The VV interview with her was priceless. "my daughter wants me to read all this Facebook crap!" :floorlaugh:

The GF herald needs to give her a raise!

"...I'm in the middle of writing a Sunday column, and I hit the wrong key, and it flew away, and so I had to start all over again..." OMG My stomach hurts from laughing so hard at this comment. :floorlaugh:

 

[Jacie Estes]

A smart publisher will option Marilyn's book of restaurant witticisms.

A VV comment:

Her review of Pizza Ranch is actually a lot funnier, in my opinion. To wit:
"For me, eating at Pizza Ranch was an adventure. I liked the fact that the slices of pizza are narrow enough, so you can try different kinds. There is a wide choice. I tend to choose pizza with cheese and pepperoni."
But the plot thickens:"I moved from the pizza table to the salad bar, where I found the canned peach slices appealing along with other typical offerings. I took a half-glass of Sprite. I was glad I didn’t have to pay extra and that I could fill the glass only half-full. Then, I found a comfortable booth where I awaited friends."Those friends are lucky to rub elbows with a famous food critic!And then she shows why reviewing restaurants is her calling:"I completely bypassed the table with chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables. 'Another time,' I told myself."

 

[IWannaKnow]

Wonder if the McDonald's review was something like "the french fries were a gastronomic wonder worthy of the gods"? Wait till P.F. Chang's shows up.

 

[wfgodot]

A nice, lengthy AP article about Ms. Hagerty and her review: Review of Olive Garden becomes Internet sensation

 

[Fairy1]

Love it!!!! And I'm not ashamed to say, I love Olive Garden!

So cute!

 

[Steely Dan]

Her son writes for the WSJ and he wrote a column about all of this; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304537904577275683631110396.html

THE A-HEDMarch 12, 2012, 9:24 p.m. ET
When Mom Goes Viral
After Review of Grand Forks Olive Garden, Marilyn Hagerty, 85, Is Talk of Social Media

By JAMES R. HAGERTY

Some people pursue celebrity. Others stumble into it as they are rushing off to bridge club.

My 85-year-old mom, Marilyn Hagerty, a newspaper columnist, is in the latter category. When she wrote a review of the new Olive Garden restaurant in Grand Forks, N.D., last week, she wasn't expecting anyone other than her thousands of loyal readers in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota to take note. She didn't worry about how her story would play on Gawker, partly because she had never heard of Gawker....

I think she's too cute.

 

[hambirg]

where I found the canned peach slices appealing

OMG! Only in North Dakota! :floorlaugh:

 

[Yakwoman]

where I found the canned peach slices appealing

OMG! Only in North Dakota! :floorlaugh:

HEY! I'm from North Dakota, and I resemble that remark! :floorlaugh:

And by the way - you haven't truly LIVED until you've eaten canned peaches in Jell-O. Just Sayin.....

 

[Jacie Estes]

Internet sensation has Pierre roots; Hagerty’s main ingredient is reporting

Marilyn Hagerty remembers walking through downtown Pierre, during the early summer of 1943, and looking for a job. She was at the end of her junior year in high school. She stopped into a couple of shops and then entered the old Capital Journal office.

http://www.capjournal.com/news/inte...cle_23e5421e-7309-11e1-bb12-0019bb2963f4.html