So Olive Garden Has an 'Italiano Burger' Now, and We Taste-Tested It

In its continuing effort to spread the love of authentic Italian cooking to the American masses, Olive Garden is making ... a burger.
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In its continuing effort to spread the love of authentic Italian cooking to the American masses, Olive Garden has tapped into Grandma's recipe vault and emerged with the Italiano Burger, a traditional Italian meal also known as a cheeseburger with fries.

Could this unexpected accord between classic Italian cooking and lowbrow American fare be the greatest thing ever? We kind of hoped so. So we ran to the suburbs.

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WHAT IT IS

In English, "Italiano Burger" translates to... um, well, we have no idea. But whatever it is, it's topped with a pizza's worth of mozzarella, plus crispy prosciutto, Roma tomatoes, arugula, and aoli, then sandwiched between an Italian roll. This has huge potential.

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THE BUN

This thing looks, feels, and tastes like one of the endless breadsticks that DO INDEED COME WITH THE BURGER!! Woo. Which means it's delicious, but also that it has a bottomless, soup-sucking absorbency that essentially sucks the burger dry of juices. It is the Brawny of buns.

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