Crumbs in my 'stache: Jackson get its Olive Garden

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

By Ben Cannon

Jackson Hole, Wyoming - You probably know that Jackson Hole didn’t really get an Olive Garden, contrary to rumors that an outpost of the behemoth chain found throughout middle America would come here. I’m referring instead to Giovanni’s, the Italian restaurant that just opened in the new building on the corner of Highway 89 and Meadowlark Lane.

Like the Olive Garden, Giovanni’s bills itself as a ‘family friendly’ Italian restaurant, a place you can take the family for familiar food without breaking the bank.

However, as a feature in last week’s News&Guide informed us, Giovanni’s is a not a chain, but a one-off concept started by a local businessman who wanted to recreate the experience of a favorite Atlanta restaurant.

To be honest, I had a prejudice about Giovanni’s before I’d even looked in the windows. It smelled very manufactured. It may be locally owned, but when you think of family friendly Italian restaurants, you don’t associate them with soul, even though the words “Italian” and “family” are often rooted in soul. I digress.

Nonetheless, it is what it is, and this community should welcome each and every new restaurant that dares to open here. So even though the town has been abuzz about “that new Italian place,” I hesitated to try it out, partly because I expected there would be some early kinks to work out. But I caved by Saturday night, when Giovanni’s was just over a week old.

We arrived to a packed house, although our small party didn’t
have a table reserved. Fortunately, we soon landed three seats together at the bar.

“It feels just like an Olive Garden,” said one dinner companion as he glided his hands over the smooth wooden bar top.

He then ordered a Jack Daniel’s, only to be told by our server that they had run out of Jack. While that’s a relatively minor glitch, it’s a sign of a new place that doesn’t yet have race legs under it.

It later became apparent that a couple of ladies seated next to us were having an issue with their bill and that they were late for a show they had tickets to. Unable to resolve the issue quickly enough, a manager told them their meal was on the house, and the pair seemed to leave satisfied.

On to the food. We had a couple of appetizers – baked mushrooms with sausage stuffing and fried artichoke hearts. Both were reasonably enjoyable and we made quick of the two plates.

Now, because I write a food column that counts Dick Cheney and Harrison Ford among its loyal readers, I should be allowed to vent every so often about something I find annoying in the dining-out world.

When our server took away the cleared appetizer plates, she did one of those tongue and cheek, “Oh, it looks like you didn’t enjoy these at all!” routines. That comment irritates me because it assumes a lot. We were hungry, it was edible, we ate it. Don’t assume we were overjoyed to experience your fried artichoke hearts. (I only mention this because it’s not the only time I’ve had a server make that remark recently.)

My lasagna was good, but the portion wasn’t as big as I expected and there was very little sausage in it. The bottomless house salad and rolls drizzled with olive oil and minced-up, roasted garlic were pretty tasty but we all felt they disappeared too soon, yet no one was inspired to ask for more.

I also heard a server curse, which – call me old-fashioned – should never happen.

But give Giovanni’s a try and see for yourself. I’m sure they’ll get better by the day. And this community should do its part to make each new restaurant a part of the local fabric. Merry Christmas.

Giovanni’s is located at 690 S.
Hwy 89. $13 - $24. 734-1970.


PERMALINK:
Crumbs in my 'stache: Jackson get its Olive Garden | Planet JH News Article: Restaurants And Dining

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