The Best Breadstick Strategy To Get The Most Out Of Your Olive Garden Trip

Don't get us wrong, Olive Garden has plenty of delicious menu items, from chicken parmigiana, to fettuccini alfredo, to chicken and gnocchi soup. Yum. However, there is one thing Olive Garden offers that simply cannot be beat –- the almighty breadstick. According to Thrillist, Olive Garden serves more than 529 million breadsticks each year. Although this may seem like a lot, just think about how many baskets the average group goes through over the course of a single meal. Probably two or three, right? And that's if you aren't scheming for additional breadsticks.

Per one Reddit thread, some Olive Garden customers have gone so far as to hide breadsticks in their purses or backpacks, then ask for a new basket. Others don't order anything, and simply gorge themselves on the "unlimited" breadsticks. Fortunately for everyone involved, there's a breadstick strategy that won't make your Olive Garden server want to sneeze on your food.

While you could annoy your Olive Garden server and eat only breadsticks, you could also be strategic about what you order and when you eat it. Go ahead, get breadsticks, soup or salad, and your favorite entree, but as suggested by Life Hacker, set your entree aside. This way, you can eat as much salad/soup and as many breadsticks as you'd like, and box up your entree to take home for later. Who doesn't love leftovers?

The key to this strategy is actually ordering something. According to Reader's Digest, while you may get away with a single basket of breadsticks, servers aren't supposed to bring a second until at least one member of the group orders. The moral of the story is as delicious as Olive Garden's breadsticks are, you don't need to be rude to your server. Don't try to con them out of additional baskets of breadsticks, and definitely don't forget to tip them for their service.