When I was a kid, Bob’s Big Boy served their spaghetti with chilli on it. I remember it smelled like dog food.
I grated the rest of the parmesan the other day. Just got back from the store with a fresh chunk, more unsalted butter, a shallot, more cream, a couple of portobello mushrooms, salad, rolls for making garlic bread, fettuccine noodles, and tiramisu.
And you were able to find the spaghetti under all that? 
No, we had spaghetti last week. But I was reminded the SO mentioned last night she wanted fettuccine alfredo.
O.K., you made it sound in the OP that you’d tried spaghetti in a large number of restaurants and in each of them you found something on the plate under the spaghetti that looked (and perhaps tasted) like dishwater. That’s not a huge sample. I’ve eaten spaghetti in perhaps a couple of dozen restaurants in my life. In none of them have I ever seen or tasted something like dishwater. No one else in this thread has reported seeing or tasting dishwater. So your four or five observations don’t seem to be typical.
Uh. At least your plate was clean to start?
Holy cow! Your girl is very lucky.
I’m melting over here.
She said I’m very receptive to suggestions. I was cooking a giant omelette a couple of hours ago (ham, bacon, onions, tomato, cheddar) and she said quietly, ‘I want ice cream and tiramisu.’ I got out the ice cream we had left in the freezer, and the tiramisu I bought this morning – which she didn’t know about. 
Damn. Now I want to sleep with you
When I get spaghetti in restaurants, it’s as a side dish (something like chicken parm gives you a choice of spaghetti or ziti). I’ve never seen any water left on the plate when I was finished.
Typical? Probably not–just a fluke; something that happened to be, in the South Bay area here. Still and all, I prefer homemade spaghetti and I always have.
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):
The problem is coming up with a plausible way that the earlier noodles would not also taste like dishwater. The water only appears after you’ve been eating for a while, right? So the water had to be in the noodles, getting squished out.
The only thing I can come up with is that the dishes weren’t adequately rinsed, and the improperly dried noodles added water that then mixed with the soap to make dishwater. But that seems odd to have happened to you five different times.
Starchy water from improperly drained noodles is just so much more common. And you taste somewhat with your eyes–if something looks like soapy water, it’s going to taste a little bit like soapy water. If the noodles tasted soapy the entire time, I’d be more inclined to believe this did not play a factor.
Heck, I’ve known eggs to taste soapy when I wasn’t sure if I rinsed of the pan or not. And then to be later told by someone that they saw me rinse it. The mind is a very tricky thing.
OK, I have to admit, that’s one restaurant spaghetti dish I will order, a Cincinnati chili four- or five- way.
I know. Sometimes I make it. Only, I call it ‘spaghetti with chilli’. It’s just that Bob’s version smelled like dog food.
Just to be clear, Cincinnati chili is not at all the same as spaghetti with “regular” chili on it. and I’ve never heard it called Chili Mac, I think of that more of Mac and Cheese with Hormel Chili poured on top. Cincinnati chili is a totally different beast. The meat is almost granular, and it is seasoned with cinnamon and some say chocolate (although I don’t taste that).
My wife is driving back from Cincy right now… I should have asked her to pick me up a 5 way. Oh well, I had to settle for the porterhouse I grilled instead.
My mother used to make chili mac with her skillet chili, which was nothing like the Cincinnati dish. I think it’s a Minnesota thing.
The Cincinnati chili I’ve had in restaurants has a lot of broth, but prefer mine a bit thicker. I just let it reduce a bit before adding the tomato paste.
Yeah, Cincinnati chili is much more “brothy,” or spaghetti-sauce like. And there’s a decent hint of “Christmas” flavors in it – you know, clove, cinnamon, allspice, that ballpark of flavors – which gives it it’s distinctive taste. You can get an idea of its viscosity at about 0:40 in (2:45 remaining) here.
Oddly enough I just made chili, a vegan recipe my sister turned me on to.
Off to make macaroni…
They must not be cooking the spaghetti long enough.
HAH! I’m tempted to try it. Wouldn’t it be mush?