Olive Garden in Glendale

It was my daughters birthday and for some reason, my aunts wanted to go to the Olive Garden, a chain restaurant specializing in pasta. I've never been to one but I've seen they're commercials on TV. I've never been drawn to go but I was so grabbed by the fact that my aunts were so excited about it. So my son, of course my daughter, two aunts and mom trek all the way to Glendale (it was the closest one to K Town). The first thing, my son made reservations for 6 but when we got there, the host stated that they only make reservations for 8 or more, so we waited a bit for a table. There were three young women who were the hosts and they are bubbly nice but it's really forced and feels like an old scene I saw on Mad TV or SNL. We sat down and our server was completely the opposite; very sweet, genuine and somewhat attentive. We ordered various pasta dishes including a mushroom ravioli, Capellinni plate and a lasagna. All the foods were good in taste, nothing over the top, nothing brilliantly fresh, nothing unusually authentic but you know, good. However, my main sticking point was the pasta; really soft. Al dente it was not. How hard could it be to make the pasta al dente when this is what they make day in and day out? And then it dawned on me. Looking around, the vast majority of tables around us were big families with a good percentage of elderly. This is where you bring your elders and the Olive Gardens knows that. Know your audience, right? The food is made soft. I got it! That's why they aren't marketing to people in my demographics specifically but now I know that this is a good place for people in my family. This was a very important and educational dinner for me. Note; my daughter, who's birthday we were allegedly celebrating, was miserable throughout the meal. There's nothing more depressing than a miserable teenager on her birthday at the Olive Garden in Glendale.