# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/81 "2014-03-10T13:00:33Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The corollary to my rule is that I also avoid eating \*anything \*at places that also serve pizza. The logic behind this is that since pizza made at places that aren’t strictly pizza joints is inherently inferior, restaurants that serve pizza alongside other dishes are OK with serving inferior food - which means that their standards are pretty low to begin with, and anything they serve is suspect. > > In short, if there’s pizza on the menu, then the food is probably mediocre. Come to NYC and you’ll find many places where your maxim is not so. ---
**Author:** ![Frank\_Merton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Frank\_Merton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank_Merton)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/82 "2014-03-10T13:07:44Z")
Of all the world’s cuisine, Italian is my favorite, and simple spaghetti is among my favorite dishes. I may change my mind. No, no chance of that; no matter how cheap the place so long as it isn’t in the States one will get good spaghetti and no dishwater, and even in the States I would be very surprised (just be sure some French don’t own the place). ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/83 "2014-03-10T13:15:03Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > terentii writes: > > \> It’s called chili mac, and it’s the state dish of Ohio. > > I assume you’re joking, but just to clear things up for everyone, no, it’s not the state dish: > > [List of U.S. state foods - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_foods) > > I haven’t been able to find any reference online to it being the state dish. I spent twenty-three of the first twenty-nine years of my life in Ohio, and it wasn’t until long after leaving Ohio that I even heard of Cincinnati chili or chili mac. Cincinnati chili isn’t even that well known outside the Cincinnati area. You should try to be more literal in your day-to-day interactions with other people. They will come to appreciate it, I bet. ---
**Author:** ![Frank\_Merton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Frank\_Merton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank_Merton)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/84 "2014-03-10T13:56:36Z")
As a rule, I think the more you spend for the spaghetti, as opposed to ambiance, the better it will be, and this takes some asking and checking around if you are new to a city. I have known people however who are dead flat unaware of bad spaghetti so long as it is cheap. Sometimes I envy them; they are missing a lot but they do save money. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/85 "2014-03-10T14:39:23Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > terentii writes: > > \> It’s called chili mac, and it’s the state dish of Ohio. > > I assume you’re joking, but just to clear things up for everyone, no, it’s not the state dish: > > [List of U.S. state foods - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_foods) > > I haven’t been able to find any reference online to it being the state dish. I spent twenty-three of the first twenty-nine years of my life in Ohio, and it wasn’t until long after leaving Ohio that I even heard of Cincinnati chili or chili mac. Cincinnati chili isn’t even that well known outside the Cincinnati area. Everybody knows that the Buckeye is the state food of Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/86 "2014-03-10T14:41:24Z")
Labrador Deceiver, I’ve seen that kind of exaggeration far too many times on the SDMB. In such posts, the poster exaggerates just enough and not too much so that most people reading the post will assume that the exaggeration is correct and will thus believe it, as the poster intended. With the smaller group of people who notice that it isn’t correct and say so, the poster will reply, “What’s wrong with you? Didn’t you know I was exaggerating for effect?” I consider this sort of exchange to be deceptive. The SDMB is supposed to be about fighting ignorance. If I wanted to be manipulated, I could watch the average TV or print advertisement. They are deceptive in the same way. They slightly exaggerate and then claim that it’s mere puffery and not an outright lie (and legally they are allowed to do so), so you can’t sue them for fraud. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/87 "2014-03-10T14:54:03Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Labrador Deceiver, I’ve seen that kind of exaggeration far too many times on the SDMB. In such posts, the poster exaggerates just enough and not too much so that most people reading the post will assume that the exaggeration is correct and will thus believe it, as the poster intended. With the smaller group of people who notice that it isn’t correct and say so, the poster will reply, “What’s wrong with you? Didn’t you know I was exaggerating for effect?” > > I consider this sort of exchange to be deceptive. The SDMB is supposed to be about fighting ignorance. If I wanted to be manipulated, I could watch the average TV or print advertisement. They are deceptive in the same way. They slightly exaggerate and then claim that it’s mere puffery and not an outright lie (and legally they are allowed to do so), so you can’t sue them for fraud. If you’re referring to my post on Cincinnati chili, I genuinely did think it was the state dish of Ohio, based on the many articles I’ve read on chili in general. My memory may have tricked me, or perhaps I was misinformed; either way, I don’t mind being corrected if my information was wrong. Instead of suggesting it was my intent to deliberately mislead you, a simple “I believe you’re mistaken…” will suffice. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/88 "2014-03-10T15:08:39Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The corollary to my rule is that I also avoid eating \*anything \*at places that also serve pizza. The logic behind this is that since pizza made at places that aren’t strictly pizza joints is inherently inferior, restaurants that serve pizza alongside other dishes are OK with serving inferior food - which means that their standards are pretty low to begin with, and anything they serve is suspect. > > In short, if there’s pizza on the menu, then the food is probably mediocre. The absolute best pizza in the world can be found at a small Italian restaurant in Providence, RI that serves many dishes besides pizza. People drive up from NYC just to eat there, especially for the pizza. I think you’re rule of thumb is more for strip mall type places. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/89 "2014-03-10T15:09:18Z")
Sorry, terentii, but I was replying to Labrador Deceiver’s comment. He/she claimed that I was being too literal. He/she apparently claimed that I should have realized that you were deliberately exaggerating for effect. If you were simply misinformed and not deliberately exaggerating for effect, then I have no quarrel with you. I have a quarrel with Labrador Deceiver, who seems to think that I can’t point out a mistake without being told that I’m being too literal. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/90 "2014-03-10T15:12:44Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Come to NYC and you’ll find many places where your maxim is not so. I used to live there, and though it’s been a while, as far as I can remember the Italian places I used to go to didn’t serve pizza, nor did my favorite pizza places serve other food. I’m sure there are exceptions. To be fair, my wife makes terrific pasta, so we didn’t go out for Italian all that often. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/91 "2014-03-10T15:20:01Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Sorry, terentii, but I was replying to Labrador Deceiver’s comment. He/she claimed that I was being too literal. He/she apparently claimed that I should have realized that you were deliberately exaggerating for effect. If you were simply misinformed and not deliberately exaggerating for effect, then I have no quarrel with you. I have a quarrel with Labrador Deceiver, who seems to think that I can’t point out a mistake without being told that I’m being too literal. This is getting funnier by the post. God forbid someone should exaggerate or be wrong about the fucking state dish of Ohio. Those of us reading along figured that chili mac is a popular and unique regional dish. That’s about the beginning and end of it. Whether or not it’s the official or unofficial dish of Ohio doesn’t really matter. Pistols at dawn!!! ---
**Author:** ![Frank\_Merton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Frank\_Merton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank_Merton)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/92 "2014-03-10T15:22:51Z")
I think the best Italian I have ever had was in St. Louis, and it wasn’t the spaghetti but the antipasto, that they took out of a big barrel, as much as you wanted. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/93 "2014-03-10T15:51:31Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > It’s called chili mac, and it’s the state dish of Ohio. For real chili mac, you have to have Cincinnati chili, which has an unusual blend of seasonings. Personally, I love the stuff and make it to put on chili dogs (along with chopped onions and lots of yellow mustard): > > [http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beef/CincinnatiChili.htm](http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beef/CincinnatiChili.htm) For what it’s worth, I read this as a straight-up claim that this Cincinnati dish (with its peculiar spice list for chili) is in fact the state dish of Ohio. I do not see a hint of sarcastic or parodic intent. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/94 "2014-03-10T15:56:32Z")
I sure didn’t think he was being sarcastic. I figured he was saying it’s the state dish of Ohio, the same way people say smoked brisket is the state food of Texas. It may or may not be official, but it’s obviously a popular dish. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/95 "2014-03-10T16:25:54Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > But that reminds me. The SO said she has a hankering for fettuccine alfredo. I’ll need to run to the store today to get a block of parm. What do you suppose your purpose was in composing this part of your post? ---
**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 10, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/96 "2014-03-10T19:01:21Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Everybody knows that the Buckeye is the state food of Ohio. A former roommate grew up in Ohio and he said Vension a l’Orange was the state dish and he made it for us a couple of times. It was really good. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/97 "2014-03-10T19:09:02Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I sure didn’t think he was being sarcastic. I figured he was saying it’s the state dish of Ohio, the same way people say smoked brisket is the state food of Texas. It may or may not be official, but it’s obviously a popular dish. Okay, I see. The state I live in has legislators with nothing better to do than come up with a yard-long list of state dishes, each more fattening and artery-clogging than the last. So when I went to [Ohio.gov](http://Ohio.gov) and saw _no_ state dishes, I was mildly surprised. I did like that the state fruit of Ohio is the pawpaw. I live on the very western fringe of the pawpaw’s range and have planted 3 in our backyard. They are _quite_ delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/98 "2014-03-10T19:22:49Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I assume you’re joking, but just to clear things up for everyone, no, it’s not the state dish: > > [List of U.S. state foods - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_foods) > > I haven’t been able to find any reference online to it being the state dish. I spent twenty-three of the first twenty-nine years of my life in Ohio, and it wasn’t until long after leaving Ohio that I even heard of Cincinnati chili or chili mac. Cincinnati chili isn’t even that well known outside the Cincinnati area. I wouldn’t take that list as gospel. It lists cornbread as the state bread of South Dakota, but has a picture of fry bread, which is the official state bread. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/99 "2014-03-10T22:10:56Z")
I worked as a dishwasher in a restaurant back when I was in high school. Spaghetti was cooked, drained, portioned out by weight into baggies, and put in the fridge. When a portion was needed, they’d dump the pasta (sans baggie) into a strainer and put the strainer in a pot of boiling water that was only used for this. Once it was warmed up, they’d just pull the strainer and dump it onto the plate. So, I can easily imagine the cook not waiting for it to drain completely or not giving it a shake or 3 to get rid of remaining water. And I can see it being starchy water too, as we didn’t serve a lot of spaghetti (it was more of a breakfast food place), so they probably only changed the water daily. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178/100 "2014-03-10T23:43:48Z")
I love spaghetti, and tomato sauce is a staple of mine. I’m weird about it though, I can’t have any bits of tomato or tomato skin in the sauce. For this reason, I rarely experiment with restaurant spaghetti. Back when I was braver I learned a life/sauce changing thing with an experimental spaghetti order in a Greek Family Restaurant: carrots in the sauce. It’s a lesson I’m glad to have learned. Dougie Monty, speaking of sauce, watery sauce can leave a puddle behind as well. Lots of Parmesan cheese and stirring can sometimes rectify this situation. Soap bubbles, I have no answer. (Maybe, as the football players say: rub a little dirt on it. The soap and dirt may annihilate each other.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaghetti-in-restaurants/683178.md?page=6)