'Pathetic' Olive Garden reviewer Marilyn Hagerty proves her cynics wrong as she prepares to launch History of American Dining book one year after her famous column

Marilyn Hagerty became an online sensation after she published an earnest review of the chain restaurant Olive Garden in the Grand Forks Herald last year, which was immediately picked up by amused bloggers across the country.
The 86-year-old columnist was swiftly catapulted to food critic stardom, and now one year on, she has returned to the Italian restaurant for a follow-up review, and the launch of her new book.
Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 100 Reviews, will feature an assortment of Mrs Hagerty’s Eatbeat columns from her 30 years at the Herald - including reviews of 'truck stops, fast food places and all kinds of restaurants,' and even one hospital cafeteria.

From pathetic to praise: Marilyn Hagerty, 86, was catapulted to food critic stardom with her Olive Garden review; now one year later, she is launching a new book

Published with the help of one of her first cynics, cookbook author and television host Anthony Bourdain, Mrs Hagerty's book is due out on August 27.
'She's been writing a food column in Grand Forks for 30 years,' Mr Bourdain said to Eater.com last year.
'What we have is a sincere, genuine reportage of food that people don't really see or talk about. ... I see her life's work as a history of American dining.'

 

Her initial Eatbeat review of The Olive Garden in Grand Forks on March 7, 2012, came under the the headline 'Long-awaited Olive Garden receives warm welcome.'
Mrs Hagerty praised the $10.95 chicken Alfredo ('warm and comforting on a cold day') as well as 'the two long, warm breadsticks,' the nicely dressed waiters and the restaurant's 'welcoming entryway.'
It received millions of hits online, resulted in an appearance on the Today Show and a spot as a guest judge on Top Chef, much to the dismay of snarky food critics who laughed at her 'unsophisticated prose'.

Endearing: Mrs Hagerty praised the $10.95 chicken Alfredo ('warm and comforting on a cold day') as well as 'the two long, warm breadsticks'

But her poise under the initial criticism endeared her to the masses, and she quickly gained praise for her clear, concise and 'readable' reviewing style.
'I went viral, and I didn’t even know what that meant,' Mrs Hagerty writes in her newest Eatbeat review.
'First, there was the online critic who said the review was pathetic. Others followed, wondering why anyone would critique an Olive Garden restaurant. They couldn’t know that I write about truck stops, fast food places and all kinds of restaurants.
'Then, there was a barrage of commentary from kind and gentle people. At one point, 1,300,000 hits were reported. There were TV trucks from the “Today Show” and “Piers Morgan” in my driveway, and national television shows such as Anderson Cooper, Jay Leno and “Top Chef” on the line.
'And Anthony Bourdain was doing an about face and praising my work. To top it all off, I received the Al Neuharth Award for excellence in journalism for 2012 that had gone before to the likes of Garrison Keillor and Walter Cronkite.'

One-year anniversary: For her follow-up review of the chain, she writes, 'The food is predictable, down to the four or five black olives you find in the salad bowl'

While most of today's food writing is littered with overwrought analogies, Mrs Hagerty’s unpretentious style makes sure to include useful observations for any diner, no matter the Michelin star rating, or lack thereof.
For her one-year anniversary follow-up review of the chain, she writes: 'The food is predictable, down to the four or five black olives you find in the salad bowl. The vegetable soup is hearty and satisfying. Children are well-treated with color crayons and choices including a little cup of grapes as one of the side dishes.'
Mrs Hagerty's son James, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, and his mother's biggest fan, attempted to explain his mother's sense of work ethic.
'When she was successfully treated for breast cancer two years ago, she used the occasion to write a review of the hospital's food. It was right up there with the cuisine at Olive Garden,' he wrote in his own column last year.
'My mom has her own style of reviewing restaurants: She doesn't like to say anything bad about the food. Her regular readers read between the lines. If she writes more about the décor than the food, you might want to eat somewhere else.'
As Mr Bourdain told his Twitter followers: 'Very much enjoying watching Internet sensation Marilyn Hagerty triumph over the snarkologists (myself included)'