Quick running total update

Sorry, work schedule changed...last three visits total: $44.34.

Running total now: $103.96 - the pass has been paid for!!! Next week, I shall take it on its final voyage.

Trip #3

At this point, I'm not even going to pretend that pictures are necessary, mostly because I'm not a terribly adventurous eater and have basically eaten the same thing on all three visits. I've also realized that I can get my money's worth going once a week, saving myself the embarrassment of being some lonely pig sitting alone at Olive Garden demanding more pasta refills and then taking more to go.

Anyhoo, today, it was me, my mom, and my nephew Mr. Baby. I was once again treating my mom to a lovely lunch, and I had the added distraction of Mr. Baby wanting to eat crayons, throw fries, and sit in the booth next to me after he tried to climb out of the high chair.

My mom went with her tried and true: angel hair, meat sauce, and meatballs. I made the mistake of starting with rigatoni and five cheese marinara (breaking my rule of starting with small, less filling pasta) because I like it better than angel hair and marinara. My nephew got cheese pizza and fries, and he screamed with delight when a child-sized portion of milk arrived (he's easy to impress).

We got a giant salad, onions on the side again (see Ryan, not a problem), and I once again overindulged on breadsticks.

For the second round, my mom got rigatoni, meat sauce, and meatballs (joined by another one of my meatballs) that were earmarked for my other brother. I got angel hair, marinara, and meatballs. By the time that arrived, Mr. Baby had tried to escape from the high chair, and because my mom needed a break, I put him next to me in the booth, where he insisted on standing next to me the entire time. I ate one meatball and threw the other one on top of "my mom's" second bowl, and attempted to eat with my left hand while holding onto Mr. Baby with the other.

When our server came back, I asked for another bowl of rigatoni and five cheese, even though I was clearly not going to be able to finish my second bowl, "followed shortly by a to-go box." "Oh, I can box it up back there!" "You won't get in trouble?" "No problem!" She came back with fresh pasta for me and boxed up Mr. Baby's mostly uneaten meal and the pasta that would be going to my brother.

She gave us excellent service and we made sure to tell her. And because of what she did next, I can't tell you her name. She put both pasta bowls on my pass and only charged for Mr. Baby's food. A damn saint, this woman. I added a $20 tip since I basically paid nothing for 4 people to eat (my sister, mother of Mr. Baby, will be getting my third bowl).

Running total: $59.62 - over halfway paid for!!! 
Week one: $14.78
Week two: $15.28
Week three: $14.78 + $14.78

Trip #2

I'm posting this a week late, and I know I promised pictures, but I went for a lovely lunch with my mom and never got around to it. I did, however, continue to maximize my value.

On this trip, our goal was to take a bowl to go to bring to my brother and his girlfriend, who just had a baby and were sick of hospital food.

When we first sat down, I asked the waiter if I had to stick to one topping since my pasta pass says I'm entitled to pasta, sauce, and a single topping. He said, "it's all covered, we just charge for the most expensive topping." Excellent, I thought, imagining steepling my fingers.

My mom got angel hair with meat sauce and meatballs, and I went with angel hair, marinara, and meatballs.

We also got a big ol' salad with onions on the side, which Ryan objected to the week before as if it was a HUGE problem. It worked out fine because we're normal people.

For the second round, I got rigatoni and five cheese marinara, skip the meatballs this round, please. My mom got the same thing and didn't touch it since it was going to be eaten by someone else. Me, I was just being a piiiiiiiiig.

For the third round, I asked for fettuccine, Alfredo sauce, and (gasp) a premium topping: grilled chicken..."followed shortly by a to-go box, please." The server was hip to my game and brought a to-go box out with the bowl of pasta. We then got another one for my mom's dish and were on our way.

My brother's girlfriend was starving and ate both. Then my brother arrived at the hospital with a Costco pizza, which they also ate. No judgment here, as I had just wolfed down several breadsticks, salad, and two generous portions of pasta and meatballs.

Running total: $30.06
Week 1: $14.78
Week 2: $10.99 + $4.29 = $15.28

Pasta Pass Goals

Below are some thing I hope to accomplish with the Pasta Pass

• Get at least three bowls of pasta
• Go twice in one day
• Go before work and leave with dinner for at work
• Go before work and after work (I guess that's twice in one day, too)
• Bring someone who does not know how Olive Garden (or most regular things) works 
• Break even ($100)
• Make money on the deal ($101+)
• Go three times in one week (Mon-Sun will count as the week since it went active on a Monday)

So far my running tab, not including tip (I don't have to pay tax since I paid tax on the pass) is $14.78

Feel free to suggest more goals

Edited to add: my sister thinks I should go in with a bag full of tupperware and fill up containers and then claim to have eaten several bowls of pasta. Might have to save that for the last day of eligibility.

Hayward's finest ristorante

My apologies in advance for the lack of food pictures, we were having too much of a good time!

Anyhoo, I feel like I've let everyone down by not camping out at Olive Garden every day. I did the math, though (roughly), and I don't need to go that many times to come out ahead. First of all, they charge more money for the basic never-ending pasta bowl in these parts - $10.99 to start. Then if you want toppings, you're anywhere from $3.79 a topping (meatballs), to $5.99 (shrimp).

Today I met with Jessie, her baby Eli, and Ryan for a leisurely lunch. I didn't eat before, so I was able to maximize my value.

Since we're classy, we each ordered different wine samples. Ryan got something red, I got something pink, and Jessie got something sparkly.

We then moved on to the appetizer course, and devoured an entire plate of lasagna fritta (fried lasagna sitting on Alfredo sauce and topped with marinara). As I always say, "when you're here, you're pigs!" So we ate it all before we could even get a picture.

We got two giant bowls of salad, one with onions and one without.

Jessie had an all-you-can-eat soup, salad, and breadsticks, while Ryan and I went with the never-ending pasta bowls. Ryan had ziti and meat sauce, while I started with angel hair, marinara sauce, and meatballs. It was delicious.

For round two, Ryan was boring and got the same thing and I got corkscrew (I forgot the fancy Italian name) and five cheese marinara. Since I didn't eat breakfast in preparation for the feast, I was somehow able to finish the second bowl (I also limited myself to one breadstick). I asked the waitress if I could get a bowl to go, and she said no, "but I can bring you another bowl and a to-go box." Perfect! More corkscrew and five cheese marinara, please!!!

Anyhoo, now that I know what I can get away with, look out, Olive Garden! I now feel a bit more confident moving forward with my plan to head over before work to have a bowl of pasta and grabbing a to-go box for dinner later.

Next time I'll get more food pictures.

Running total: $10.99 + $3.79 =  $14.78

Welp...

Yeah, I didn't really think I was going to be able to actually buy one of these things, since they sell out in seconds. I ended up being one of the 22,000 carb-lovers who helped it sell out in less than one second. I really didn't think this through.

It actually ended up being kind of a hassle - first, I couldn't believe I got a pass, then Olive Garden sent an email saying my card had been declined. I was instructed to follow a link to re-enter my payment information, but it kept telling me to "correct the fields highlighted in red," even though there were no fields highlighted in red. I tried on a couple of different browsers without any luck, and Olive Garden's web team, I imagine, was busy keeping the site from blowing  up, so no one responded to my many emails. Then I got a text alert from my bank that the payment had gone through, followed by an email from Olive Garden saying my order had been confirmed. That email was then followed by another email apologizing for the confusion caused by being told my card had been declined. It was definitely a form letter, so it must have happened to a lot of other people, too. How they haven't figured out how to handle payments for these passes after five years is beyond me.

I haven't set up any rules or anything for this, I just know I'm gonna eat a lot of pasta, and on days when I can't choke down any pasta, I'll load up on salad and breadsticks. I'm open to suggestions, which have so far included "blog about it" and "try all of the different combinations, even if they're gross." I've obviously agreed to the first suggestion. I don't know about the gross combinations.

Anyhoo, see you in 10 days when the deal goes live. Wish me luck.