Olive Garden 2 with Joel Kim Booster

"Olive Garden 2 with Joel Kim Booster" is Episode 152 of *Doughboys*, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "Olive Garden 2 with Joel Kim Booster" was released on May 3, 2018.

## Synopsis

The 'boys welcome actor and comedian Joel Kim Booster (*Conan*, *The Week Of*) to discuss midwest eats, how to get fired from service jobs, and to review the Italian-American chain he worked at as a server for two years: Olive Garden. Some day-old pasta gets taste tested in another edition of The Leftovers.

## Nick's intro

In 1866, Cadwallader Washburn opened the Minneapolis Milling Company to compete with another local miller named C.A. Pillsbury.

Washburn and Pillsbury merged businesses just three years later, and though Pillsbury's name endures, it was Washburn's savvy that powered the company, leading to a succession of mergers, acquisitions, and engineering innovations that made Minneapolis into the flour capital of the country.

In 1928, Washburn's company converged with four other mills to form General Mills, a massive conglomerate that even today is a titan of the food industry. Over the decades, General Mills generalized its business beyond mills, launching the iconic Betty Crocker brand, expanding into the toy industry with the creation of Play-Doh, and even dabbling in military hardware, developing submarines and high-altitude balloons in conjunction with the Navy.

In 1970, GM added another new source, restaurants, acquiring an upstart seafood chain known as Red Lobster. The shellfish-concept's success led to General Mills establishing a separate restaurant division, which would later become known as Darden, and in 1982, General Mills launched an Italian-American restaurant in Orlando, Florida. Calculated from day one to be a nationwide brand with mainstream appeal, it was a quick hit, becoming the fastest-growing sit-down chain of the decade.

Other than pizza, Italian food was uncommon in those swaths of the U.S. without sizable Italian-American populations, so GM's admittedly generic take began many American's entry point to the cuisine.

The restaurant's value-oriented marketing was reflected in its original slogan "good times, great salad," referencing its still-signature all-you-can-eat salad, soup, and breadsticks.

Though today its slogan has shifted away from gluttony - first with "when you're here, you're family," and now "we're all family here" - a welcoming greeting from an eatery coldly conceived as a profit center by one of the most powerful food conglomerates on Earth.

This week on *Doughboys*, we return to Olive Garden.

## Fork rating

The Doughboys first reviewed Olive Garden in 2016, when Nick gave it 2.5 forks and Mitch just 1.5. This trip seemed to go a bit better.

* Tour Of Italy
	+ Chicken Parmigiana
	+ Lasagna Classico
	+ Fettucine Alfredo
 Mike Mitchell
* Giant Meatball & Four Cheese Manicotti
 Joel Kim Booster
* Braised Beef & Tortelloni
* House Salad
 shared by Nick & Mitch
* House Salad
* Black Tie Mousse Cake

## The Leftovers

In this segment, The Doughboys eat something that has been left in the fridge overnight.

Carrying over from the Olive Garden review, for this episode, they brought home some Spaghetti with Meat Sauce from the restaurant.

They decide whether they leave it behind on Earth, or it is taken up to Heaven.

 Mike Mitchell
 Joel Kim Booster

## Quotes

**Nick**: Get super full off of chili cheese fries and then have a boner and jack off with your hand covered in wing sauce.
**Mitch**: The ol' spice rub.

## #hashtags

* #TheScaryMoviesDoOrDoNotHoldUp
* #PinchedEdgePastaTerm
* #GrabandGo
* #DumDumSmarts

## The Feedbag

What is your all's favorite Dum Dum lollipop flavor?

## Related Episodes

* 152. **Olive Garden 2**
* 298. Olive Garden 3

## Photos (via @doughboyspod)

Milan Mai Tai & Raspberry Italian Ice MuleSaladBreadsticksLoaded Pasta ChipsTour Of ItalyGiant Meatball & Four Cheese ManicottiBlack Tie Mousse Cake