all the while eating little more than fast-food-quality grub.
This really cuts to the core of the matter. If you have any ability to cook, you can cook better Italian food than Olive Garden, but we don't all live in situations conducive to dinner dates at home for whatever reason. If you (and your date or dinner companion or whoever) delight in the "Chain restaurants as kitsch" thing, you'll have a good time, but you are mostly paying to sit in the building, the food almost feels incidental.
This really cuts to the core of the matter. If you have any ability to cook, you can cook better Italian food than Olive Garden, but we don't all live in situations conducive to dinner dates at home for whatever reason. If you (and your date or dinner companion or whoever) delight in the "Chain restaurants as kitsch" thing, you'll have a good time, but you are mostly paying to sit in the building, the food almost feels incidental.