FOOD NEWS
The Olive Garden Meatball Mistake You Wouldn't See Real Italians Making
By Erin Metz
Olive Garden is known for breaking quite a few rules of Italian food, from the "Italian" dressing on its salads to its spaghetti dish topped with a mountain of meatballs.
The size of Olive Garden's meatballs, in particular, is a giveaway that the restaurant doesn't serve faithfully traditional Italian cuisine.
Traditional Italian meatballs are much smaller than those at Americanized Italian restaurants like Olive Garden, and they are generally served as an appetizer or side dish.
You can also find them in soups like Italian wedding soup or a casserole-like dish called Polpette Al Sugo, but you won't find them in a spaghetti dish drenched in sauce.
So, you likely won't see spaghetti and meatballs on menus in Italy — unless the restaurant caters to people looking for a recognizable dish while traveling far from the States.