Marilyn Hagerty, Who Wrote Viral Review of Olive Garden, Dead at 99

North Dakota newspaper columnist Marilyn Hagerty, who took the internet by a storm with a glowing 2012 review of her local Olive Garden, has died. She was 99.

Her daughter Gail Hagerty said that the journalist died on Tuesday, Sept. 16, from complications related to a stroke, CBS reported.

Hagerty is survived by her daughter, Gail, son, James “Bob” Hagerty, and eight grandchildren. Her late husband, Jack Hagerty, died in 1997 and her daughter, Carol Kay Hagerty Werner, died in 2011.

Born in Pierre, South Dakota, Hagerty quickly entered the journalism world, writing city briefs for the Pierre Capital Journal as a teenager, her obituary on Legacy reported. She used her journalism degree from University of South Dakota to work at Aberdeen American News and KFYR radio in North Dakota, then taking some time off to raise her children.

Hagerty wrote for the Grand Forks Herald for nearly 70 years. She covered local eateries in her restaurant column “Eatbeat” and wrote about lifestyle news until 2024. Her last article, published on Oct. 26, 2024, described the “delightful” autumn in Grand Forks, from University of North Dakota’s upcoming hockey game to speculation about when to expect the season’s first snow fall. 

But her neighborhood culinary prowess reached a global scale with a review shared on March 7, 2012. 

In the review, Hagerty reported on her trip to the newly opened Grand Forks Olive Garden. She described it as “the largest and most beautiful restaurant now operating in Grand Forks,” writing warmly about the “welcoming” interior design and “comforting” chicken Alfredo.

The article skyrocketed, making national news and inviting online trolls to comment on her work. The late Anthony Bourdain publicly came to Hagerty’s defense as soon as one day after her viral story was published, posting, “Very much enjoying watching Internet sensation Marilyn Hagerty triumph over the snarkologists (myself included).” He later wrote that “Marilyn Hagerty’s years of reviews” represented “a history of dining” that “too few of us from the coasts have seen.”

Bourdain ended up publishing a book in 2013 of columns by Hagerty called Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 100 Reviews. He also wrote the foreword for the book, which was under his publishing imprint Ecco.

In the book’s introduction, Bourdain praised Hagerty for her “flinty, dry, very sharp sense of humor,” adding that “she misses nothing” and he “would not want to play poker with her for money.”

“This is a straightforward account of what people have been eating — still ARE eating — in much of America. As related by a kind, good-hearted reporter looking to pass along as much useful information as she can — while hurting no one,” he continued, adding, “this book kills snark dead.”

Hagerty continued her chain restaurant review fame, writing straightforward reviews of Ruby Tuesday, Buffalo Wild Wings and follow-up visits to Olive Garden.  

She also judged a Top Chef challenge during the series’ 10th season, which aired in December 2012. Hagerty was also awarded the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media in 2012.