- Make me a reservation at this fancy place.
(laughs)
Does it not need a reservation?
What y'all laughing about?
(upbeat techno music)
Good Mythical morning.
- Italian food comes in all shapes and sizes,
and price points from frozen to fancy
and everything in between.
It's been commodified.
- Well, you pulled that right out of your butt.
- Yeah, I did.
We'd done it with Chinese food,
and today we're gonna decide if expensive is really better.
What's the sweet spot for grabbing the best Italian food
for your buck.
It's time for Naked Foods.
Naked Italian food edition.
Naked.
- Yeah, all this Italian food is going to be naked.
Stripped of its accoutrements.
It's gonna be commodified.
- Yeah, it is.
- So we've judged it based only on the dish itself.
- Yeah, we'll be tasting--
- Well, we haven't judged anything.
- Well, we will have.
- That's what we will--
- We will have judged it
by the time you're watching this,
we will be judging it.
We'll be tasting Italian dishes
from four different price points.
All of which will have no frills
or specific presentation at all.
They are the grocery store freezer section.
Then fast casual restaurants like Domino's and Savarro.
Casual sit down restaurants like Olive Garden and CPK.
That's short for a California pizza kitchen,
and two of the fanciest fine dining Italian restaurants
in Los Angeles, Rossoblu and Il Pastaio.
- Ooh.
We'll pick our favorite dish,
and then Stevie's gonna reveal
where our favorites are from and how much they cost.
So that in the end,
we will know how expensive each of our tastes are
in Italian food, and overall what's really worth paying for.
- Bon journo!
(upbeat music)
This is spaghetti and meatballs.
- Emphasis on the meatball on this first one.
Good gosh, look at the cross section on that puppy.
- [Rhett] That's a lot of meat.
- Yeah, and I'm just going to go for a quarter of that.
Not a lot of sauce on this one.
- Nope.
- Light on the sauce, heavy on the ball.
(slurping)
- I like it.
- [Link] That's a good ball.
- I mean, it's not great.
I'll go full ball on this one.
- A lot more sauce here, and it looks like the,
the sauce has been mixed into the spaghetti.
- It has a dog food quality to it.
Doesn't it?
The meatballs tastes like dog food,
which means you'll probably like it.
Cause you like animal food.
- [Link] I couldn't really taste the meat ball.
It's kind of tasteless.
- Now, I would guess that this is fancy
cause look at those noodles, man.
- I just tasted that meatball.
Not good.
- [Rhett] This looks like some hand...
- [Link] This is some thick noodle.
- [Rhett] Hand noodles.
- These noodles, thickness.
(slurping)
- Oh, and a little spicy?
And those meatballs are not just beef,
they've got some other things in there.
I likey that.
- Yeah.
Now this looks great.
I'm just joking.
It just kind of looks--
- [Rhett] This looks pretty simple.
- [Link] I'm gonna eat off the same,
same ball that you ate off.
- Oh, there's way too much.
- Eating noodles is cumbersome.
- Way too much pasta.
I'm gonna drop some of this pasta onto this plate.
- This meatball kinda looks like the first meatball,
but, it doesn't taste nearly as good.
- These two are definitely better,
but this is a pretty, I mean no bones about it, man.
That was the best one.
- Exactly, no bones about it.
Number one is my favorite.
- [Stevie] What do you think it is?
- I think that's,
I think this is probably the most expensive,
Mr.Fancy pants here.
- This here could be like Sbarro.
- I think this is, this is...
- Oh, this is my--
- Next down, like, one tier down.
- [Stevie] Yeah, you're both correct.
So the first one is Olive Garden's
spaghetti and meatballs for $16.78.
- Olive Garden.
- [Stevie] Then next you have Stouffer's classic spaghetti
with frozen meatballs for $2.69 at Target.
- Sick 'em, boy.
- [Stevie] Then you have Il Pataio's
Bucatini con Polpette della Nona
for $21.95, and Sbarro's spaghetti and meatballs
for $7.89 and, Rhett, you did choose the fanciest one,
so it's time for a fancy pants dance.
- Already, this early.
(classical piano music)
(game show music)
This is chicken Alfredo.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, yeah.
- It is.
It is.
- And they're all for totally different.
This has got like some yellow egg noodle bull snips.
- It's good though.
The noodles are good.
The chicken is a little...
- Undesirable.
- The chicken is just too simple.
- It's like a chicken stroganoff situation.
Oh, this looks fabulous doesn't it?
Right out of the frozen box it seems.
- Kind of pasty and millie.
- And with the addition of the broccoli,
that is being demoted.
- Yeah, you don't need to,
don't complicate it.
Don't put broccoli in there, okay?
- My fork tried to jump out of my, my fa-hand.
My fa-hand.
Ooh, mm, this tastes good.
- It's good.
- It's salty.
It's garlicky.
- I got to taste those two again, but...
- Ooh, God.
You don't even know if that's your favorite?
Now this one looks what I would call rustic.
Thanks for cutting that.
- Why you gotta come,
I mean, there's look how big the thing is
and you're going to right here where I'm going.
(laughing in background)
- Cause if you're, if you're cutting some of the chicken,
cut some of it for me too.
It feels like you also have a fork.
- Again, I'm gonna do the same thing again and drop some.
- [Link] Hmm.
Kind of bland.
This one right here.
It's clearly a winner for me.
I don't, it just tastes dramatically better.
The actual, sauce.
- I'm gonna have to spend a little bit more quality time.
- It's really good here.
Pull up a chair, make me a reservation at this fancy place.
(laughing in background)
Does it not need a reservation?
What y'all laughing about reservations?
- [VOICE] Reservations optional.
- How much are you gonna eat before you vote?
You know you want it.
- I actually think that I prefer this one.
I do not like the chicken, but the noodles are very good.
So I'm...
- That's different.
- [Stevie] Okay, what do you think about your choices?
- I think this might be Olive Garden.
- No, I think that's the fanciest cause it's so strange.
Pushing too hard.
- [Stevie] And Link, you believe yours is a place
that requires reservation. - I'm probably
still at Olive Garden
- [Stevie] Okay.
So the first one is Il Pastaio's
chicken fettuccine alfredo for $25.68.
The second is Stouffer's chicken fettuccine alfredo.
$2.48 at Walmart.
- $2.50?
- [Stevie] Yup.
Link, you are digging the Dominoes chicken alfredo
for $6.99.
- Domino's?
That is good, Domino.
- [Stevie] The final one is Olive Garden's
chicken Alfredo for $19.49, and--
- I'd like a table by the window, Mr. Domino.
- Yeah, that's pretty much anything in the front.
- [Stevie] We're gonna have to,
we're gonna have to fancy pants dance it again, Rhett.
- Oh, oh, I mean, always.
Okay, okay.
- Domino's, let me tell you--
- Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
(classical piano music)
(laughing in background)
I mean, he's gonna start just choosing the one
he thinks is the fanciest just for that.
- I was sure that that was a fancy one
cause of the big chicken, man.
I thought this might be like Sbarro or something,
but I liked it the best.
- You know where to find me.
- I can't help it, I got good taste.
(game show music)
This is pepperoni pizza.
- Oh, and before we eat it,
wanna invite you to go over to the Mythical Kitchen channel
because Josh and Nicole,
they're at it again with unboxing recipes.
Actually, they're taking Ritz crackers
and making the better recipe
out of the two things, so check that out.
I love stuff with Ritz crackers.
- Ritz is good.
- And they also have a podcast,
"A Hot Dog is a Sandwich",
where they debate food debates with each other,
as they're debating, check it out,
wherever they podcast.
- Grab a slice.
- I will, and I'll eat it.
See how easy that was?
That's just sweet sauce.
- And think that might be Domino's?
- A little bit spicy.
- I like all pizza?
- That's good, it's real good.
- [Rhett] This has got this fancy pepperoni's on it.
- [Link] Are they fancy or are they just little and curled?
(laughing in background)
- That's good.
- The pepperoni's are so overwhelming.
I can't taste anything else.
- It's a little salty.
- Boy, it is salty.
And this one?
This one's thin.
The crust, I think might be the star of this one.
- That's a well balanced piece of pizza.
- A bit crunchy.
- That's a good piece of pizza right there.
That thin crust.
- That right there is nothing but salty pepperoni's.
I can't taste anything else.
I think that's the fanciest.
Wait a second.
I think this might be the fanciest.
Just look at it.
(laughing in background)
- I mean, honestly, it's not bad.
- That is a thick slice of frozen pizza.
- I mean, it's not bad,
but it's definitely not one of the best.
It comes down to these two, but this is just too salty.
So I'm on team--
- I almost voted for one, but this is great.
- [Stevie] What do you think it is?
- They got a wood fired oven at Olive Garden?
- That might be CPK, honestly.
- No.
- [Stevie] Yeah, it is CPK. - Oh, it is?
- [Stevie] Yeah, so that one's CPK
hand-tossed pepperoni pizza for $15.99.
And then from Rhett's side,
we have Domino's pepperoni pizza for $14.49.
Rossoblu's pepperoni pizza for $25,
and then CPK and then DiGiorno,
rising crust pepperoni pizza, $5.19.
- Yeah, man, this CPK.
I always order something, well,
what I would call fancier from CPK.
- That is, still a (inaudible) pizza,
but, it's just, it was so much salt.
Like just too much.
- They blew it.
- I couldn't take it.
(game show music)
- [Stevie] This is chocolate cake!
- This is chocolate cake!
(laughing in background)
- Wow.
Ah ha!
- What?
I wanted the tip.
You can have the tips on those
because you're closest to them.
- Oh, that's a spongy.
Not great.
- Weirdo.
Not horrible, but I'm very intrigued by this.
Look at all those layers.
- Oh, that's good.
- What is that?
Like a cream cheese?
- Yeah.
Maybe.
- Wow.
- That's good.
- That's rich.
- But I don't think that that's the fancy one.
I don't know, but it's very good.
- Oh, you don't?
Think that's Domino?
- I don't think it's Domino's necessarily.
What is this, a powdery cake.
That's a flourless chocolate cake.
- All right, I got to redeem this one, cause...
That one's better than this one.
- Which I typically like flourless chocolate cake,
but something about that is like, it's missing something.
Like I need a sauce on that.
- It's missing a key ingredient.
Like flour.
- Yeah.
- Now this one...
- I'm coming out of the backside on this one.
- This one is, it's got a darkness to it.
It's just like a wet brownie.
Like if you spilled water on a brownie,
that was like a little too hard,
but then it got kind of wet on top.
- Yeah, exactly that.
- This one is, this one is so fun.
That is a really, really tasty dessert.
- So interesting.
I got to vote for that too.
- [Stevie] And it's from?
Oh, I was asking if you knew where it was from.
- No.
(laughing in background)
- I don't know.
I have no idea.
Not the frozen section.
- [Stevie] It's from Olive Garden.
- Olive Garden, what?
- OG bringing it.
- [Stevie] It's their chocolate lasagna for $7.99, and then.
- Yeah, you're doing something right there.
- [Stevie] From Rhett's side, we have Pepperidge Farm's
frozen chocolate fudge layer cake for $2.82.
- Not bad.
- And this is--
- Even though I spit it out the first time.
- [Stevie] That's the fine dining restaurant, Il Pastaio.
Flourless chocolate cake for $10.25,
and then Sbarro's chocolate cake for $3.25.
- Sbarro's wasn't bad.
- The thing about dessert, the fancier the place is,
more than likely the desserts aren't gonna be good.
- I don't agree with that.
I'm a huge fan of flourless chocolate cake,
but usually it needs to have something with it.
- This right here?
- Olive Garden, y'all doing something right
in the dessert factory.
- [Stevie] Okay guys, I have your meal totals,
and Rhett, you have spent $71.61 for your Italian meal.
- That's not a bad night.
- Link, you've spend $47.75.
- You know what?
- I'm gonna spend that extra money
on going back to Domino's.
- Thanks for subscribing and clicking that bell.
- You know what time it is?
- Hi, I'm Ibanska.
- I'm Viviana.
- And we're from Puerto Rico.
- And we just drove two hours
to taste Blue Bell ice cream for the first time.
- [Both] It's okay.
It's time to spin the wheel of mythicality.
- That seemed a little pre-planned.
A little pre-planned.
- You know you loved it.
- Click the thought link
to watch us assess a bunch of stupid pizza cutters.
A good measure to (inaudible).
- And to find out where
the wheel of mythicality's gonna land.
- [Woman] It's gonna be a classic, all butter pie dough.
Well, ours is gonna have the beautiful buttery flavor.
Who gives you permission to act this way?
- You know what?
The sad thing is, is like,
this isn't like a bit, this how I cook at home
and I feel like you know that.