FOOD NEWS
The Italian Food Rule You May Not Have Noticed Olive Garden Was Breaking
By C.A. Pinkham
Olive Garden's Italian food has made it one of the most popular restaurants in America, but it's definitely not the place to go if you crave authentic Italian food.
Even its most popular dish, chicken fettuccine alfredo, is not Italian because it breaks the Italian food rule of having chicken in pasta.
The reason why Italians don't have chicken in pasta has to do with how they stagger courses. Authentic Italian food is all about enjoying different flavors at different times.
Italians start their meal course with a salad dish, followed by a protein-less pasta or risotto dish, and finished with a protein like chicken or fish.
As delicious as your Olive Garden chicken fettuccine alfredo is, it's unfortunately not a dish you would want to brag about to your Italian relatives.