# Spaghetti in restaurants **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 8, 2014, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178 "2014-03-08T06:55:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/201 "2014-03-17T05:40:10Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > I guess I’m just lucky. I happen to live in an area with a very large Italian American population and hence a large number of Mom & Pop independent Italian grocers who make their own pasta, read sauce, and Italian cured meats. > Spaghetti sauce from any of these small places is head and shoulders above anything you can but in a jar from a grocery chain store. How does it compare in price? ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/202 "2014-03-17T06:17:42Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > How does it compare in price? Comparable to a mid priced grocery store brand. Not the cheapest but not the most expensive either, probably around $2.50 for a 24 oz. jar size. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/203 "2014-03-17T06:34:51Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Comparable to a mid priced grocery store brand. Not the cheapest but not the most expensive either, probably around $2.50 for a 24 oz. jar size. Sounds reasonable. Out here, in Gardena, California, we shop at Ralphs and my Mom usually chooses Paul Newman or Prego, sometimes other brands; I don’t know the price offhand. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/204 "2014-03-17T14:29:18Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I would love to see a recepie for that. Could you post a link to one? Or suggest a Google search strategy? I have tried to use canned tomato sauce and/or canned tomato paste and/or canned tomatoes. But I’ve never been able to create a sauce that tasted better than the Ragu sauce I can buy. If you like the taste of Ragu and are getting it for a buck a jar, I don’t see any reason to try to replicate it from scratch. Ragu is Ragu, and nothing you’re going to make is going to taste exactly like that. I’m assuming when you’re trying to make it “better” you’re going for their particularly taste as a yardstick. My favorite pasta sauce is a simple arrabiata: olive oil, garlic, crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen work well, as well as 6-in-1 if you want the more Ragu consistency like I talked about before), hot pepper flakes, salt to taste, finish with chopped fresh parsley or basil, along with grated parmesan. If I want to get a little more decadent, I might throw in some bacon or pancetta along with the olive oil. Or add some chopped olives, capers, and anchovies. Or even just a simple sauce with crushed tomatoes, olive oil, anchovies, and garlic or oil. Maybe a little oregano (although I tend not to like heavily oregano-ed sauces as much). I cook these for no more than 10-15 minutes. Those are all, _to my tastes_, better than any premade sauce I’ve had. Most premade sauces I’ve had are far too sweet, too cooked, too spiced, and the only one I’ve had that I liked (Rao’s) is absurdly expensive. If I had a sauce for a buck or two that I liked, you bet your ass I’d be stocking up on it. But, except for that one time I had Rao’s, I don’t like any of them. This doesn’t mean I won’t eat them if served, or if I know my wife likes it, but I won’t use them myself, because why? I’m not a pasta fanatic, but for me spaghetti is a treat, so I want to make it the way I like it. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/205 "2014-03-17T17:50:55Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Sounds reasonable. Out here, in Gardena, California, we shop at Ralphs and my Mom usually chooses Paul Newman or Prego, sometimes other brands; I don’t know the price offhand. Amazon sells Prego for $4.74. > **[Amazon.com : Prego 100% Natural Traditional Pasta Sauce 24 oz : Italian Marinara...](https://www.amazon.com/Prego-Natural-Traditional-Pasta-Sauce/dp/B0055QB4WW)** > > Traditional ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/206 "2014-03-17T20:11:08Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Amazon sells Prego for $4.74. > > [Amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/Prego-Natural-Traditional-Pasta-Sauce/dp/B0055QB4WW/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1395078587&sr=8-6&keywords=prego) Yeah, but that $6.00 shipping charge is a bummer. I contacted the company that produces the Paul Newman foods and suggested that, on the Alfredo Sauce jar, they replace Paul Newman with --well, you know–the kid from MAD Magazine. “What, me tasty?” So far they haven’t answered. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/207 "2014-03-17T20:13:07Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Ragu is Ragu, and nothing you’re going to make is going to taste exactly like that. And if you can, I’ll skip dinner at your house. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/208 "2014-03-17T20:17:02Z")
Che sciagura! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/209 "2014-03-17T20:25:03Z")
Che Guevara! ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/210 "2014-03-17T20:27:08Z")
Well, who knows? Maybe Che liked spaghetti… ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/211 "2014-03-18T02:56:21Z")
That’s what Che said! ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/212 "2014-03-18T06:29:24Z")
_¡De acuerdo!_ ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/213 "2014-06-08T15:34:35Z")
I am pleased to say that Olive Garden serves excellent spaghetti, with Italian sausage. Proof that I didn’t have to go to Denny’s, Shakey’s or The Sizzler for the good stuff. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/214 "2014-06-08T17:23:25Z")
You haven’t tasted real spaghetti until you harvest the wild spaghetti plant yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/215 "2014-06-08T17:33:46Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > You haven’t tasted real spaghetti until you harvest the wild spaghetti plant yourself. Too much trouble. I’ve seen the documentary on the Swiss spaghetti harvest. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/216 "2014-06-08T17:57:16Z")
[Spaghetti harvest.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27ugSKW4-QQ) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/217 "2014-06-08T18:05:50Z")
Ok I’m having a problem with my spaghetti tree, it’s growing ravioli. Any advice please?, much appreciated ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/218 "2014-06-08T18:20:40Z")
Your problem is that you didn’t cross-pollinate with a female spaghetti tree. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/219 "2014-06-08T18:36:12Z")
Wouldn’t that be macaroni? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/220 "2014-06-08T21:41:55Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Wouldn’t that be macaroni? riggatoni, I believe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178.md?page=12)