88-year-old whose Olive Garden review went viral goes to Applebee's
Marilyn Hagerty, the 88-year-old columnist who became an Internet sensation after her adorably earnest review of a local Olive Garden for the Grand Forks Herald went viral, is back with another sweetly sincere report — this one of Applebee's.
"We studied the menu," Hagerty writes. "We sipped our water. When all was said and done, we both ordered the Chicken Oriental Salad."
Hagerty and her lunch date, Merrilee Brown, "talked about the salad."
Like her reviews, "it is one of those things you remember," she wrote.
"You can get a half size version for $8.59," Hagerty reports. "The regular size is $9.99, but you don’t need that.
"There are steaks, seafood and chicken on the menu," she continues, as well as "pasta, salad and sandwich choices."
Regulars "know how to order two full sized entrees and one appetizer to share," Hagerty writes, adding: "Arlene Gunderson, who walked by our table, knows the menu and said she loves the choices at Applebee’s."
The wait staff, Hagerty observes, is mostly comprised of University of North Dakota students:
They don’t come around asking if everything is all right. Instead, one of the managers said they are encouraged to show their own personalities. None of this, “Hi, I’m Nick, and I will be your server. And I enjoyed the friendly and relaxed manner of our server, Miguela. She was there when we needed her. She did not intrude.
Hagerty notes that Applebee's is a place where customers tend to linger and chat" and "study the dessert menu." (Hagerty and Brown shared a brownie and "one of the small gooey, chocolate desserts on the menu. They’re called Dessert Shooters and are $1.99.")
She concludes: "Seating usually is quick in booths or at tables with windows all around. Service is good. Menu is extensive and takes study if you are not a regular here. Rest rooms are good."
Last year, Hagerty reflected on her unlikely fame in a column entitled "The Olive Garden, one year later."
"My world has not been the same," Hagerty wrote. "I went viral, and I didn't even know what that meant."
She has since become one of the paper's most popular columnists. Hagerty's review of Ruby Tuesday, published in February, generated thousands of page views. ("The name was taken from Rolling Stones song, 'Ruby Tuesday,'" she wrote.)
Hagerty's review of the Olive Garden read like something out of The Onion.
"The place is impressive," she wrote. "It's fashioned in Tuscan farmhouse style with a welcoming entryway."
Hagerty, a former features editor for the paper, told Yahoo News that she was paid $65 for her review.
"I do not bill for expenses," she added. "I pay for all of the food I eat when I visit restaurants."
