We tried Olive Garden's new breadstick sandwiches — here's what we thought
<img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5564bea6eab8ea65231bb2d9-1200-855/olive-garden-breastick-sandwiches-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Olive Garden Breastick Sandwiches 2">
Olive Garden is best known for its soft, buttery breadsticks. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Now the brand is using the signature item to make sandwiches.</span>
<span>The new chicken Parmesan and Italian meatball sandwiches will debut on the menu in June, and Olive Garden invited us to try the sandwiches early.</span>
We'll start with our favorite of the two, which was the chicken Parmesan sandwich. It features breaded chicken covered in melted Parmesan cheese and marinara sauce between two buns and is served with a side of fries.
<span><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5550e18969bedd450802b68e-1160-702/screen-shot-2015-05-11-at-1.05.05-pm.png" border="0" alt="olive garden breadstick sandwiches"></span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The chicken used on the sandwich is the same used in the signature pasta dish.</span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The sandwich is extremely messy.</span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Like the breadsticks, the buns are slathered in butter and garlic salt that stick to your fingers while you're eating. </span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The marinara and melted cheese spill out the sides of the buns, which makes it very difficult for us to imagine eating this sandwich on the go. </span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The first bite was really tasty. It is saltier than the typical chicken Parmesan sandwich, probably because of the garlic salt topping the bread.</span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>The buns are slightly wider than the traditional breadsticks, but otherwise look and taste very similar.</span></span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Here's a breadstick (top) next to a sandwich bun.</span></span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5564c652eab8ea68561bb2da-1200-600/olive-garden-breastick-sandwiches-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Olive Garden Breastick Sandwiches 1">We are big fans of Olive Garden breadsticks and typically eat them without any sauces when we order them as an appetizer. </span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">But the taste of the bread gets somewhat lost when combined with the chicken, cheese, and sauce. </span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Our testers didn't like the meatball sandwich as much as the chicken Parmesan.</span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5564c9416da8114c3eee93b6-814-407/olive-garden-11.png" border="0" alt="Olive Garden">This sandwich, which consists of Olive Garden's spaghetti meatballs with marinara and Alfredo sauces between two buns, felt too heavy for a meal in the middle of the day.</span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The bottom bun got a little soggy from the sauce, which didn't happen with the chicken Parmesan sandwich.</span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">We gave up on eating it with our hands as it fell apart, instead opting for a fork and knife.</span>
Olive Garden has been making menu changes and redesigning restaurants in a bid to attract new customers during an overall slump in casual dining.
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">As part of its turnaround, the company is trying to speed up the time it takes for new menu items to hit the market.</span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Typically, it takes Olive Garden about 10 months to conceive and test new items before they are made available on menus. </span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The breadstick sandwiches, by comparison, took just four months to develop. An employee came up with the idea in February during a retreat in Italy and, four months later, the sandwiches are rolling out nationally. </span>
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