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An Italian Tries the Best Lasagnas in America-- Only One Made the Cut
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- Published on Feb 13, 2026
- Which Italian restaurant makes the best lasagna in the United States? We decided to find out by visiting all of the most popular places: Olive Garden, Carrabbas, Buca di Beppo, Maggianos and North Italia. Does anyone make an authentic Italian lasagna? Will any pass the Italian husband taste test?? Come along with us to find out and don't forget to tell us who makes your favorite lasagna.
Thank you for all of your love and support! Don't forget to subscribe and turn on the bell so you never miss a new video! You can also follow us on our other socials below! Ciao for now! -Jessi and Alessio
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Would love to see a video of you guys showing us how to make homemade Italian food !!
Biba. Brasselton. In. North ga
I need smell a vision. Taste a vision
Stop hating on Italian American food, it is obvious it’s not going to taste what your husband is used to. Getting bored of the constant same reviews from you guys… let’s try lasagna .. let’s try this let’s try that.. nope not authentic..
Come to my house in Little Rock Arkansas! Sauce cooks for 12-14 hours, 3 layers, 3 types of cheese.
I love you guys but I really wish Northern Italian RUclipsrs would stop saying authentic Italian lasagna has no ricotta. You could say authentic NORTHERN Italian lasagna has no ricotta but southern Italian (not just Sicilian) lasagna absolutely does! I learned how to make it from my grandmother who came from the Campania region and it has no béchamel but plenty of delicious ricotta. The reason most American Italian cuisine seems inauthentic to Northern Italians is that most of the immigrants that came over in the “big flood” of the late 1800s to early 1900s were Southern Italians so their cuisine is by far more prevalent here. Of course it has been Americanized to some extent - especially by the restaurant industry- but you can bet that the Southern Italian lasagna that I put on the table is as authentic as it gets to my people from Cautano!
The lasagna recipe I use is one given to us by our neighbor. They were Italian immigrants from Sicily, and he had a butcher shop. That's where we always bought our meat. Their recipe has ricotta in it. Every now and then I also make Spaghetti sauce that is a recipe from them. It's one of those you cook for several hours. It is a family favorite, and makes a big potful, so I make it when my whole family comes over. My grown grandchildren ask for it.
I agree it was annoying to hear repeatedly.
Lasagna is a Bolognese recipe. Period.
The crazy thing about Italian is that everything is regional in the first place. I dare say that the immigrants coming over to the United States, in effect, created a new region for Italian food where groups came together and used the available ingredients on hand. As a trained chef, I can cook both "authentic" and the Americanized styles, and I prefer the simplicity of what you find that originated in Italy.
@tizioincognito80 It originated in Naples during the 1400's.... not sure where you're getting your information.
I think that lasagna to an Italian is like meatloaf to an American. Everyone has their own way of making it - and we tend to like what we are accustomed to.
Does Alessio have a family recipe for authentic lasagna? I bet many of us would love to make it! ❤
I came here to say the same thing but you beat me to it.
Yes good idea. It’s in Italy!!
Lasagna alla bolognese is the canonic recipe but... You can make something similar (as your taste prefer) like sformato, pasta al forno or a timballo. Or you can prefer make a vegetarian lasagna or a vegan lasagna... Obviously it is not the canonic recipe but for example in my region (Piemonte) we use stewed meat instead ragù and less besciamella, it is a strongest flavour and ligther than the bolognese recipe. You can use all that italian use with pasta (even seafood if you prefer). Aubergine, strongest or ligther cheese, etcc..
The bechamelle sauce is easy to make ... UNSALTED butter, flour and milk .... just make sure the sauce has boiled through else it tastes like flour ....
@janvandenhurk3251 Yes. But I think the key sauce is the bolognese. Everyone’s seems to be different.
My Grandparents came from the Calabria Italy area, and they always used ricotta cheese in the lasagna. The lasagna used a Meat sauce (Pork and Beef), and meatballs that are cooked in the sauce were crumbled and put in the lasagna.
Yes, that’s “authentic” to where our families came from. In Southern Italy, ricotta is completely common. The vast majority of Italian immigrants to the USA are from Southern Italy, so of course that’s what is going to be found in most American restaurants. Now, I’m not standing behind the quality of the lasagne from these chain restaurants, but it’s annoying to have ricotta dismissed as inauthentic when that’s just not the case.
@anitaiovinelli1903
I've worked with a lot of Italian expats (mostly from the north), and their discussions on the American perception of Italian food can get interesting. It seems that a lot of Italian-Americans are traditionally of southern Italian ancestry - especially Sicily. Seems rather similar to Chinese immigration to the west coming from the south to the point where most people associated Cantonese food with China.
That being said, they could enjoy good Italian-American cuisine or even more or less authentic Sicilian cuisine. I remember we went to lunch at a really nice Sicilian trattoria where the owner was chatting it up with all the Italian expates.
When there are multiple different styles of lasagna in Italy, then none of them can called be the definitive "Authentic Italian Style." And this is true of all great cuisines, It is true of Mexican, Indian, and Chinese cooking too. Every province does it a little different and uses different ingredients. And then you bring that cuisine to America and "Americanize it" so it isn't anything like what you had back in Italy. In the end, everyone thinks something is authentic if it tastes just like their own mother made it. And we all had different mothers.
Kidding me?
Lasagna is a traditional Bolognese dish.
Of course there is a more authentic version! The one from Bologna! 😂
@tizioincognito80
Rispondo anche qui e in inglese.
Lasagna as a layered dish is attested in Naples as early as the Middle Ages (around 1300, in the Liber de coquina), with a recipe more similar to the modern version. Lasagna Bolognese, with egg pasta and ragù, established itself later in Emilia-Romagna, during the Renaissance and subsequent periods.
@Genkoprime BS. Terrone.
@tizioincognito80
Smettila di fare disinformazione con le tue bs, ci sarà sempre uno come me che dirà la verità e manderà il tuo ip alla digos.
Ciaone.
Use a scoring system based on 1-5. 1 is bad, 2 is poor, 3 is fair, 4 is good and 5 is great. Leaves more room to rate them objectively
Agree, 3 point score of only 3 parameters is too crude.
I rate your comment a 5.
Agree but throw in the 0. Need one for immangiabile. Lol
Your neighborhood Italian Restaurant has better quality lasagna than chain Italian Restaurants.
I really enjoy your videos but let’s be honest, no American chain restaurant is going to make lasagna anything close to real authentic Italian lasagna. I think each of you should make homemade lasagna and compare each others. That would be a fun video. ❤
Agree. Like shooting fish in a barrel.
Buca di Beppo used to import ingredients from Italy. They were taken over by a large corporation & the quality tanked.
Sad. It used to be such a fun place to go.
That would explain a lot.
That happens so often, in all kinds of restaurants.
@phyllist118 Those darn venture capitalists! They buy companies to make money. In their money making zeal, quality suffers. Look at KFC, Pizza Hut, Boston Market, Buca di Beppo, and now Bojangles. They're many more as these are just the ones off the top of my head. I wish restaurants would remain with their original owners who actually cared about the quality of their product.
Went to the one in AC when it was open, blandest Italian cuisine I've ever eaten.
He thinks the short rib is tuna yet we are supposed to trust his taste buds 😂
That was funny.
Most Italians in the US came from southern Italy and Sicily (as opposed to Argentina and Brazil which were mostly northern Italian immigrants) so ricotta will be the default in almost all Italian restaurants here.
There are a lot of Southern Italian decedents in Argentina too. My father's family moved there from Calabria as many others did too. Argentineans were influenced by Southern Italians too, but I get what you are saying about ricotta cheese.
Well...used to be, nowadays, most use cottage cheese well drained. Either way, I'll take any cheese over bechamel any day.
What this town needs is a genuine Mom and Pop restaurant with actual Italian people making authentic Italian recipes.
prob went out of business because not many people actually like authentic italian food.
@nullakjg767 I don't think that's true. Mom & Pop restaurants are few and far between, though, because you need money to start a restaurant. It's not an easy project.
@phyllist118 well if authentic italian food is so far superior to anything an american could ever make, surley it would make its money back over night? maybe alonsso can be an investor since hes so confident in its appeal.
@nullakjg767Not just Italian, any kind of Mom & Pop.
Mom and Pop in my town is terrible.
I am from Denmark and when we make lasagna its with bechamel. And we make a bolognese sauce.
Southern Denmark and Bavaria Germany had some of the best Italian food I've ever experienced.
Personally as a vegetarian, I think bolognese is gross.
What are you talking about?? My Sicilian grandmother made hers with ricotta and it was a thick piece. Just because you didn't grow up with it that way, doesn't make your way the only way. Go watch Steve Tucci's show, every region has it's own way.
Well they specifically said there are several styles of lasagna and that they don't like ricotta in the lasagna....
@analisantos3207he also said any other way than his is not authentic
*Stanley Tucci
He is from Northern Italy and they make it with béchamel. Southern Italy uses ricotta. They should have said they are looking for authentic northern Italian lasagna.
You are testing American Italian against Real Italian cooking, He comes from up North in Italy where they make Lasagna without Ricotta and with Bechamel instead. he won't like any Lasagna in the states.When he keeps saying Authentic it's to the region in which he is from, my Nonnas where from Southern Italy and they put Ricotta NOT Bechamel in theirs.
.
He's Ignorant that's all.
Excuse me, every region has their specialty in every lasagna dish. North, south and central Italy including the 2 islands in the peninsula .
I am Italian born from the south and married a gentleman from friuli. I cook from the north and the south. As have stated in one of my comments: Si Chiama la Buona cucina gastronomica italiana regionale. Is that clear ?? I truly hope so.
I highly doubt he's only eaten lasagna in his region
So it is not lasagne. Lasagne are from Bologna, period.
I am not an expert on Italian food. In Italy, I have only been to northern Italy, so I do not know what lasagna is like in central or southern Italy. Neither do I know what part of Italy Jessi is from. I think wherever he is from affects his opinion. I think bechamel sauce is common to northern Italy, and the rest of Italy uses ricotta. So what I am saying is that there is not just one Italian lasagna that can be used to judge all lasagnas.
I meant to say Alessio, not Jessi.
Vorrei precisare una cosa che forse non è chiaro
Alessio parla della lasagna alla bolognese che in Italia sanno fare tutti
Io sono del sud e quando devo fare la lasagna faccio la lasagna alla bolognese perché è buonissima ed è perfetta secondo i miei gusti
Mia madre invece che ha 70 anni preferisce quella che faceva da ragazza e non prevede la besciamella ma ricotta salame uova pomodoro e pecorino e odia la lasagna alla bolognese
Poi devo dire che mia madre non la chiamava lasagna ma pasta al forno
Il cibo poi nel tempo subisce variazioni
Non è più la cucina dei nostri nonni che sono emigrati in America anche se la tradizione è rimasta
Every region has their own specialty including Sicily and Sardinia. You may also say the one town recipe is different then the next one. That's why is called LA Buona Cucina gastronomica italiana regionale.
@gio7466...I have heard of a layer baked pasta dish that included salami, it sounded very savory and because it is layered is still a Lasagna to many people!!
Dove in Italia? Noi in Emilia facciamo lasagne strepitose tanto che mio nipotino di 5 anni è chiamato lasagnino😂
Did you see Vietnamese, living in Germany, vlogger Uyen Ninh latest video on Italian food? Apparently Asians like really soft pasta. She thinks Italians don't cook them enough. That was so funny to hear, after always hearing Alessio talking about Al dente. It's all about perspective I guess. I commented that she should try Italian food in the US if she wants softer pasta.
I follow her too 😊
@SummersIdyll food in the southern countries of Europe just have better ingredients, like better fruit and vegetables, because of all the sun. So it's going to taste better.
I think uyen would love to come to the US but visa permission and $ prevent her right now
Yes I saw that too 😃
@saratemp790 also different cultivars. and the soil matters. it all matters.
Alessio casually discounting all of southern Italy with the ricotta comment. Hey in Napoli my family put hard boiled eggs in, not me I think that’s gross but my Italian family.
My family does sausage and hard boiled eggs!!! You're the first person EVER that had said hard boiled eggs❤❤
I had a friend growing up whose parents were from Italy, and it was the first time I heard of sausage and hard-boiled eggs in lasagna!
Lasagne, like most Italian Americans know it, was invented in Napoli in the Middle Ages. This Lasagne had meat sauce and ricotta. Sometimes they put hard boiled eggs or meatballs. Lasagne with béchamel sauce came from Bologna in Late 1800s-1900s.
My Italian Grandpa who was from NYC always added hard boiled eggs to his dishes. He was 1st Generation. His father came from Ischia his mother came from Naples.
Is there any version of lasagna in America this guy would be happy to eat? Maybe have him show us how he makes his own lasagna here. I do understand his opinions though. It's like trying bbq in Italy. We'd immediately be suspicious of every restaurant pretending to make bbq. Would they ever get it right? Probably not.
If you set a scoring card, 1-3, it should not be able to change in the middle of the game! Just my opinion. Imagine in a contest, any contest, and the points change mid way through the contest, not fair. 🤷♀️ But hey! He knows best. 😉
He probably doesn’t even know himself!!!
Sure:any local italian family owned restaurant
He's talking about a northern Italian style lasagna. Most of what we have in the US (esp the chains) are some version of the Sicilian one with Ricotta & Mozerella.
He has shown us on this channel. Check it out.
Scores are so inconsistent lol. Carrabas reigns supreme for reasonably priced chains. Scratch kitchen. Throw snobby authenticity out the window. All about taste. (Coming from a fellow Italian)
My mother's from the foggia region, in Puglia italy,in Alberona and they use a ricotta cheese homemade with a meat sauce
You guys started out appearance, taste, authenticity...
Then ended up authenticity, authenticity, authenticity.
Kidding me? As italian I would not feed those "lasagne" to my dogs.
Terribile...
@tizioincognito80What’s terrible is your attitude. These foods are ok for a quick meal. No one goes into these places expecting a huge quality, homemade meal. And just because it’s different does not mean it’s bad or wrong either.
Where I live we are known for a specific type of food. I don’t go to other places & call it terrible or wrong because that’s extremely rude/uppity where I am from which would be frowned upon.
It’s like saying there is only one way to have pizza. It’s asinine.
Sorry got to have garlic. The more the better.
Where my family is from in Abruzzo, when making lasagna, we neither use ricotta nor bechamel. We make a ragu with tiny little meatballs, onions and garlic, but no sofritto. We layer the lasagna with fresh mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano and a little chopped hard boiled eggs. Herbs in the ragu are always basil, parsley and a bay leaf. And salt, pepper and a little red pepper flakes. It’s interesting to see the different ways lasagna is made in Italy, depending on what region where the lasagna is being made. Personally, I never order lasagna or any pasta dish in a chain restaurant because it’s never going to be the real deal. 😉
The worst lasagna we ever had was in Ireland. We were in Italian restaurant with my husband's cousins, who live in Ireland. They bragged on the wonderful food in this particular restaurant. My husband loves lasagna so he ordered it. I'm not a huge fan of it, it's okay but I ordered chicken marsala. Well neither was terrible, but neither was all that good either. My husband's lasagna was made with cheddar cheese. He ate it, I had a taste, and we both had a good laugh about it later, after we left the cousins.
HARD BOILED EGGS 🥚 ??!! Never heard that one !! I know I sure would never put eggs in my Lasagna, but to each’s own.
I have never liked Ricotta cheese, we always use Cottage cheese and it’s soo delicious 😋
I make Lasagna just as my Mom did, and I’ve never had any anywhere close to it or as Delicious. I’m 65 and over the yrs of course I’ve tried Lasagna at many places in my life. I gave up a long long time ago. I just never order it or Spaghetti 🍝 anywhere. Even at a few small “Italian” restaurants that are not chains, it’s barely edible to me. So if I’m really hungry for it, I have to make my own.
I have learned to make lasagna from Italians all over Italy. Nobody used provolone. Most recipes used ricotta. And the woman from Vasto (Abruzzo) told me about making it with little meatballs but didn't do that anymore because her husband was from Calabria and he didn't want the meatballs. She used ricotta but said some people use bechemel. She used mostly basil, bay leaf, parsleyand garlic. But everyone told me that everyone has their own recipe. Reminds me of Americans and their Bar B Q
@anneturner8439 I learned how to cook from my Sicilian mother in law. There were ALWAYS hb egg pieces in her lasagna. No bechamel. Sometimes green peas in the wonderfully thick meat sauce. Everyone does it differently 😊
If you are getting "take-out", it disrupts EVERYTHING! How many take-outs did you experience in Italy?!
I heard Sicilians use ricotta. My grandma did, and they were full Sicilian. I've never had it any other way, and would miss it if I did.
That off smell was likely because they par cook it, divide it up, and freeze it and you are tasting some freezer burn because it was sealed with too much air in it or not sealed well and likely sat in the freezer for a couple of weeks because it is not a big seller (and we know why). Then they took it out and threw it in the oven to cook the rest of the way. Freezer burn has a similar smell and taste... dirty dishwater.
I found Olive Garden to be overly salty. Of course this was 20 years ago. Other than that is was OK. I like my own but it is VERY American lasagna but that is what I like.
Eew!
I think it’s somewhat unfair to compare it to Italian lasagna, not saying they’re doing that but it’s just different in America so it’s gotta be all about taste. If it’s still good that’s all that matters, it’s just food and nobody’s trying to erase the Italian way but coming from a Italian American family they definitely adapted to American sensibilities, had to use what they had here and often times created something unique in the process. Not to say that I like Italian American chain restaurants because they’re terrible and cut too many corners. My grandma’s food is what I compare everything to.
My Grandmom who raised me was from Naples and she adapted to an American way. I grew up with ricotta lasagna. She hates carrots so there was never any carrots in her sauce base. I think it’s what you grow up with that makes you happy.
True. As Americans. You should be able to express yourself! This is not Italy. 🇮🇹. Just like Italy cannot do American burgers 🍔 😂
if these were just american restaurants that did NOT pretend to be authentic italian food, i would agree with you. But they are, and their unwitting customers believe they are eating authentic italian food.
@HopeLaFleur1975 american burgers are okay. i have had good ones, even great ones. but the average american burger is just okay. America should make great burgers, all the time, everywhere. but no. i can make a better burger at home.
@uliwehnerbut it is... Authentic Italian American food.
After I tasted my first lasagna made with bechemel from La Gondola in Chicago, there was no going back. Bechemel is so simple to make and it replaces that dry, tasteless ricotta. Try it. It is amazing.
I make a lasagna that has Béchamel and ricotta mixed. It’s so good!!
We spent 3 years in northern Italy with the army. Our Italian neighbor shared her lasagna recipe with me. It has bolognese and bechamel in it. No ricotta. Everyone I have ever served it to has done the eye roll thing accompanied by a groan of pleasure. Lasagna is a labor of love and should illicit pleasure in the mouth.
She also shared her bolognese recipe with me. 😘
Yes! Once you’ve had Bechemel there is no going back!
never understood the hesitation to make bechemel. super easy.
The best lasagna is the one made by your mamma makes at home of course.
The second best is the one your wife makes , if she knows how to make it.
Nothings beats mamma's home cooked lasagna !!
I love you Mamma !
Buon appetito !
I've tried to make my own lasagna a few times. To me the secret is, I like a wet lasagna. You have to add a lot of sauce, a lot of meat. Put a few layers of mozzarella as well as ricotta in the middle and a lot of moz on the top. That's how I like my lasagna. Now maybe somebody else says, no that's wrong, I like it very dry with mostly just pasta. I guess we're all different.
I don’t think you like lasagna. What you described, I cannot even imagine what it could be, certainly not lasagne
@janetridgeway2058 troll or stalker
Carabba is a Sicilian restaurant and sicilians use pacorino, Romano. We also use ricotta.
I enjoy your show and opinions, As a American/Italian 2nd generation , We in America have obviously adapted recipes .. I would like to know what American food you have there in italy and judge those place for authenticity
My grandparents are from Italy. My grandfather came from Rionero in Vulture, Potenza. His whole family put ricotta in lasagna but add cinnamon and sugar to the ricotta. When my grandmother married him she made it that way for him and so it got passed down that way. I can't eat lasagna or baked ziti or stuffed shells any other way. No other Italian Americans I've ever known ever heard of it.
After working in food industry, I related so hard to the comment about food smelling & tasting like dirty dish rag water. Once you get that smell deep in your nose and then you start tasting it in the food, that's when hope starts seeping out of life.
In addition, lol, a little marinara in the bottom of my baking pan, (1) layer of pasta, a little marinara w/ lasagna meatballs (same I use in Italian wedding soup), (2) layer of pasta, cheese layer, (mix as previously described), (3) layer of pasta, little marinara w/thin sliced Italian sausage, (4) layer of pasta, cheese layer, (5) layer of pasta w/slight coating of marinara. plastic wrap then foil wrap. That will be baked for 1 1/4 hours @350, then remove wrap, add parm/mozzerella. Bake uncovered until top is golden. 😁 Mangia!
plastic wrap? in the oven?
@bender4489 Yes its restaurant grade specifically for oven use.
I'm telling you.... Costco has one of the best lasagnes I've EVER had. Run don't walk to their freezer section! You will not be disappointed! ❤
It is pretty good!
I'll take an Americanized lasagna any day. I can appreciate the Italian version but I like the meat/cheese and spices of American
Need to have an authentic one in the video to have a standard to go by. This way we can see what a quality one looks like.
appearance would help, that's a visual we don't have to taste to understand.
I heard krispy kreme came out with three "authentic italian" donuts and that the tiramisu one is so bad that it would make Alessio question life
Always fun watching you two agree to disagree and disagree to agree. Alissio compares American food to his mother's ccoking (Italy). So hard to beat your mothers cooking even if it is fried bologna on burnt toast. But we all know what we like. Taste is so individual but you do a good job expressing your opinion and trying to give a fair score even if you change standards and give half scores which end up being a 10 point system. Fun.❤
my Nona (grandmother) from calbria used ricotta with homme made tomato sauce with beef and italian sausage...The use of Bechemella is a northern italian thing, not so much in in southern Italy.
Before watching this I predict a great deal of smirks, head shaking, and eye rolling. 😉
Wrong top on jessi, 🚫 corporate restaurants
Kirkland lasagna as a backup please
Mom n Pop before any of the above 🙄
Many years ago, I used to go to Buca de Pepa and it was really good, but I'm not Italian, so it doesn't really count 😊. I'm surprised that Alessio is not making a homemade lasagna! That would be a good video
Yes, would love to see him make authentic Italian Lasagna and other dishes. Show us what you got.😂
Every one of those lasagna dishes look and dare I say probably tastes delicious.
TBH, many American Italian immigrants come from Southern Italy, more specifically Naples where they do in fact use ricotta in lasagna. My grandmother Lucia would be disappointed to hear that you use bechamel in your lasagna 😂. I’m wondering if you look back to the history of lasagna in Italy you would find more ricotta in the Southern area? Idk hot take but of course everything gets further away from the OG the longer time goes on. I also would never but meat or veg in a lasagna but that’s my hot take 😊
They complain American Italian food is not authentic Italian. Yet, tomato sauce originated from Indians in the New World, tomatoes are not indigenious to Italy, pasta was invented by Chinese, specific use of large sheets of pasta (aka lasagna noodles) is Greek, even the name Lasagna is taken from the Greek language.Ancient Italians were world travellers.They brought these items and more to Italy. Generations later, Italians want to claim they invented it, grew it, etc etc. "Italians do everything the best!" Just ask one of them.
Same. My people come from near Naples as well.
@margaretmattason-tw9cc modern italians have the pride of ancient romans with none of the achievements.
Yes! Southern Italians unite to stop the spread of misinformation! Lol
Okay, going to critique the 2 critics. To be sure, there is the American version of Lasagna and then authentic Italian Lasagna. But the first 2 bite selections from the husband didn't even incorporate all layers of the Lasagna. He took a top portion of noodle and cheese and then took a small bite of sausage or meat.?? And if the bite isn't covered in sauce, you might as well not have even done this video. And last but not least, not one comment. Regarding if it tasted fresh?? Sorry, enjoy your videos, but you get a 2 out of 10 on this one.
Call the Whambulence 😂😂😂
Huh you guys CAN'T say a Italian restaurant cannot use ricotta cheese. I know Alessio is from the north. BUT most Italian immigrants to America came from the south of Italy. THAT why they use ricotta cheese
My father was in the military and was stationed in various places around the world. My mother learned to make certain Italian dishes from a maid they had. She was from Napoli. She gifted my mother a Neapolitan cookbook in Italian, and the lasagne recipe included ricotta cheese. The recipes were oregano forward instead of basil, and to this day I prefer oregano to basil as a seasoning in Italian food. So, is there really an overall “authentic Italian” recipe? The recipes vary by region according to what’s available locally, just like barbecue sauces vary by state in the US. As a military brat who grew up in different places, you’re better off approaching foods without a preconceived notion as to what it should taste like. My first criteria is, does it taste good? After that I can go more in depth about how it’s different than what I’m used to, and weigh it against my preferences, etc. Even if it’s not what I’m used to, I can find enjoyment in a recipe that varies from my own. After all, beef stew is going to be different in France than in England than in Italy, but they’re all beef stew and have the potential to be delicious. Same with a pasta dish or a pizza. It all involves flour, tomatoes and cheese, and it all has the potential to be scrumptious and to gather around the table to good conversation and friendship and family. Growing up, I would have been miserable if I had gone into every friend’s house or restaurant expecting to eat things that tasted just like home. In high school I had a friend who hated spaghetti and would not try anything remotely Italian beyond pizza. Why? Her mother, who was British, made spaghetti by browning hamburger meat and dumping in a couple cans of Chef Boyardee. When I finally got her to try my spaghetti, she enjoyed it and was thereafter always willing to try whatever cuisine I recommended. I have tweaked some of my own recipes over the years because I tried something different and it was good and I could see how it would improve my version. I will always prefer oregano over basil in tomato sauce and I will always prefer lasagne made with ricotta rather than bechamel. I associate bechamel with French cuisine and to me it doesn’t fit with Italian cuisine. I find that the nutmeg in bechamel clashes with the Italian herbs. I also like my lasagne to stay stacked, and the bechamel doesn’t allow it to hold together. It becomes a messy glob on the plate. That’s my opinion, and in the end, it’s all about what tastes good. Buon appetito!
I disagree on the rating method. One out of three is way too limited to properly judge a dish. One out of five is better and one out of ten is my favorite.
I agree
My mother used plane cottage cheese instead of béchamel. Should try it! Also, yes, fennel has no place in lasagna.
Wow...yours is the first to see cottage cheese! My mom used cottage cheese because it wasn't as "heavy" as ricotta. Also mixed in 2 eggs with it. ❤🎉🎉🎉
What is Italian lasagna? Growing up my Sicilian neighbours in Canada put hard boiled egg slices between the layers. This was in the sixties and early seventies.
Good question - lasagne likely didn’t originate in Italy to begin with - the Greeks had similar dishes, and a similar dish was found in England during the Roman occupation.
Tomatoes were not big in Italy until the 1700s either
II would love to see Alessio make his lasagna, please? American Sicilian here and we never used Ricotta or Provolone in ours. However, here in the states just about every Italian/Sicilian make it differently.
Love u guys. I would so so love to see you two do a video with the Pasta Grammer couple. That would be good. I can see Alessio and Eva going off in Italian about "American Italian" food 😂
I love lasagna however I prefer ricotta in my lasagna.
There is nothing non-Italian about ricotta in lasagna. Now Northern Italy sure, but ricotta is not uncommon at all in Southern Italian lasagna. I've had it both ways multiple times in our trips to Italy. Personally I prefer it with bechamel, but if I make it I'm going to make it with ricotta as it is just much easier!
I agree! The reviews are cute and funny, and I personally like the bologna-style Lasagna best, but there are soooo many different types of lasagna in Italy. In verona we have many other ingredients like mushrooms and ham. In napoli they add eggs and ricotta. Italian food is very diverse and I feel like people might think it's very rigid.
I just want to say that it cuts the cooking time in half. Béchamel makes lasagna making time consuming.
Agreed 👍
I'll add that the best lasagna I've had in Italy was actually a vegetable lasagna.
The problem is thinking the original is always best. I call BS.. And I am italian. Some Italian dishes were perfected IN MY OPINION when they came to America. Including Pizza.
So when are y'all gonna open up an authentic Italian restaurant? I wanna try all of Alessios family recipes.
some places in ITALY suck too.. maybe you should make it..
Sicuramente, ma non durano a lungo!
I think it is a great blessing to have food.
I respect food very much, and I wouldn't try to find faults with the food that people cooked for me, who knows how much work is put in there.
I have been to Italy, I know how insanely good the food there is but to criticise everything else is just negative, and such energy can be bad for health.
Being grateful and genuinely kind is very important because this is also what you are telling yourself on a deep level that you are ready to receive the same.
Seeing both your faces this morning makes me so happy!
Agree! They’re too cute.
I'm a humble person, but the best lasagna I have ever had was one I made my self from a recipe in a cook book titled the Tao of Cooking. I'm a meat eater, but this was a vegetarian cook book and it was a spinach lasagna. It had 5 different cheeses in it. Probably a zero for authenticity. I feel a bit sorry for these chain restaurants in your review. They employ a lot of people who have no other job prospects. It only takes a bad manager or a bad cook that night to ruin your order. I also recognize that these restaurant chains get bought up and very often the food quality goes down after this happens. Buca di Beppo use to have a mozzarella appetizer that was a knot of mozzarella sliced up and fried. It was delicious. Then they switched to some sort of pre-breaded crap and I knew the demise of Buca di Beppo was writing on the wall.
Sofritto is used in many foods, Spanish, Greek, Mexican, Puerto Rican, I can go on to include Mirepoix in French, holy trinity in the USA.
Those countries have slight variations to it. The difference between a Italian sofrito and a French mirepoix is the addition of garlic as an example. I even have my own version of an aromatic base I just haven't given it a name yet. It's onion, carrot, jalapeno, and garlic after the carrot has softened.
Is it true that different regions of Italy use different cheese depending on their authentic recipes, including, ricotta, mozzarella, provolone and pecorino? So wide band width of authentic then - because not all regions use béchamel ??? (from comments)
La vera lasagna è quella della regione dell' emilia romagna e presisamente di Bologna
Ed è la mia preferita
Io ho lavorato come cameriera a Rimini durante la stagione estiva sulla riviera romagnola è li mettevano la pasta fresca verde fatta con gli spinaci
Io sono del sud e mia madre quando ero piccola nella lasagna metteva la ricotta, uova, salame , mozzarella e senza besciamella
A Napoli mettono anche le polpettine.
Ogni regione ha la sua versione però la più famosa e la migliore è la lasagna alla bolognese
@gio7466 Yes it gets exhausting hearing Northern Italians saying ricotta is not "authentic" or as Alessio says "not real lasagna"
@MRMATRXZIONNon prendertela 😂
Noi italiani discutiamo di cibo per puro divertimento e litighiamo anche qui in Italia per una ricetta, sugli ingredienti che variano da famiglia a famiglia anche all'interno della stessa regione
Per noi il cibo è una cosa seria ma poi ognuno a casa propria cucina come gli pare
Il gusto è una cosa personale e l importante è mangiare cio che ci piace
Dopotutto Alessio e Jessi hanno un canale you tube e devono intrattenere
Io non me la prenderei troppo
@gio7466 I totally understand and agree.
Huh Alessio in the south ( Italy) they used ricotta cheese in lasagna not bechamel sauce. Just like in some places in Italy they eat spaghetti and meatballs. Such as Teramo.
Honestly I like my local Italian place called caffe positano. The owners are from the town of Postiano in southern Italy on the Amalfi coast in the province of Salerno. They started the place in 1997 or 1998. They haven’t left. Honestly they take pride in their work with great pizza and just the family atmosphere. It’s really the local hangout place, you baseball games or a couple having a date.
Good to see you both 🙏 I love learning about traditional food of any culture
My only recommendation would be to not compare every food to something, even in Italy families make things their own way. I'm not trying to be negative to either of you but I believe you need to change the authenticity rule xx
you're right but we didn't expect it to be so different, we thought it was the same ingredients for each lasagna hahah un abbraccio
Alessio
You should change the category to "American" Lasagna. We make it with Ricotta and even the Italians/Albanians that open restaurants here use Ricotta. So literally Americans are not eating "Italian" recipe, it is authentically American. Many places mix cottage cheese with the ricotta So in closing #imo rate the lasagna as purely the American version. Ricotta is authentically American. My cheese mix has ricotta, mozzarella, Parm/Reg, egg, black pepper, salt, granulated garlic, parsley. I would use this in Manicotti, Ravioli, Calzone, etc. 100% authentic American. I have many pictures of dishes and pizza as well.
I believe they use ricotta cheese in the south of Italy. In the north italy they try to act more French, so they use bechamel
That was my argument as well.
@saratemp790 absolutely my grandfather immigrated from Sicily and his wonderful lasagne absolutely used ricotta.
@cuteasajooliebugmy grandparents were born here but my grandmas side was the the north and my grandpas side was from Sicily.
I like ricotta too but not plain, I think that’s where people make a mistake by not seasoning and adding herbs to the ricotta.
I don’t even like lasagna, but the first time I tried Spaghetti Eddie’s’ lasagna, I was hooked. They even have their own family-recipe tiramisu. So delicious. I live in SoCal. The two of you would probably not like it, at all. I agree with another commenter… very unfair to compare to Italy. I have never been there; never will be.
Where is Spaghetti Eddie?
Twenty five years ago there was a takeout restaurant called Grandma Lee's, it was famous for their lasagna and salads and I still crave it. It was the best tasting lasagna. I had it when I was living in Kingston, ON Canada while in College. I am unsure if the chain was also in the states. Is there anyone else that remembers this place?
Does everyone in Italy make their lasagna the same way? I'm sure different regions make it differently; hence is why there are different ways here in the states!
So basically Allessio makes the best lasagna in the US😂🤌🤌🤌
Actually, the south western portions of Italy do add fennel to their sausage. I think it is quite delicious. In my personal opinion, and it's just my opinion, I like the sausages from Tuscany the least. I do understand what you say about that dirty water in restaurants. When I smell that sour sponge as soon as I enter the restaurant, I know, right away, that the experience is not going to be wonderful.
Vero !
Da noi al sud nel cilento fanno le migliori salsicce
Sia fresche che stagionate
Oltre al finocchio mettiamo anche la polvere di peperone dolce ed molto magra senza troppi grassi
I've never been to Buca di Beppo, but I do have a comment about this part of the video. Although goat cheese is not in the list of what they say they used here, I know exactly what you mean about the dirty water smell from a table cleaning rag and the water. The only food I've ever had in my entire life that smells and tastes like that is goat cheese. It is EXACTLY 100% the same smell (and taste via scent) as my highschool cafeteria had in the air after they wiped the tables with those disgusting rags. I have no idea how they justified that as "cleaning". When I clean at home, whether mopping or countertops, at worst there is a scent of bleach. Perhaps the rags my school used to clean the lunch tables were donated by local mechanics who threw them out after wiping 1,000 car parts down.
This is so frustrating. The utter contempt is really disrespectful to not only these restaurants, but to Italian Americans. This is not authentic for Italy, specifically, but it is very much what Italian Americans would make. I say that as someone whose husband grew up in an Italian-speaking household and who was incredibly picky about good sauce. His grandparents grew everything that went into the sauce except the meat. His grandma and his mother chattered in Italian the whole time they made bolognese and lasagna and arancini and scratch ravioli. It actually offends me that someone would say these lovely old women weren't authentic. Italian American food is just as authentic as the food of any other region where Italians live. Campania, Bologna, Veneto, etc., all have their own expressions of lasagna - and so does every family and every cook. Why isn't it just enough to say what YOU like and don't like about THIS particular dish from each restaurant without saying it's gross and inauthentic? It's just disappointing.
You are american not italian so...
@philidert73 So I'm not allowed to have an opinion about the video? Why is my opinion of a video I watched any less valid than their opinions of the food they ate?
I agree, I feel that way about all foods. I make lasagna from scratch, it is not "authentic" Italian but we love it.
Italian american food is crap.
@LoriFalce for starters teh italian in the video also tasted the food before saying his thoughts, you just watched him eating.. if you are offended it is on you
BTW - Hey Alessio, look what you're missing at home: "Orrore a Gemona (Udine): uomo fatto a pezzi e gettato in un bidone in cantina"
This my be unpopular but I think Alessio can be bossy. Jessi,speak YOUR opinions. You go,girl.
Different parts of Italy use different ingredients. My sister in laws grandmother was from Rome. She introduced me to fennel. I even grew it in my garden because I love it. She put it in her sauce. I love ricotta, bechamel is ok in stuff. I like sausage in it.
Why are you two eating lasagna in the car? 😂
My thoughts exactly lol
Love you guys!!! Thank you for another great video!
Perhaps, for future ratings, you could consider each of you giving your final score (then, average those ratings to give your combined, final average score. If 1 of you rates something as a 3 & the other rates it a 5, your combined final rating would = 4). That way, neither of you has to change/compromise your personal opinion/rating & it gives a more accurate final score overall 🎉
Makes for less frustration too! 😉
Home made wins … and make your own lasagne sheets and béchamel . Those lasagnas looked so heavy
Being of Neapolitan heritage, I can tell you that the only restaurants in the region that used béchamel sauce were Northern or Romanesque. As for Pecorino Romano, it is my family’s daily grating cheese. However, you can’t find a lasagne most anywhere in the U.S. that is as good as any average Italian lasagne. My family would make a big stew with meatballs, sausage and other meats like veal shank. It was cooked in wine and sofrito. Usually served with cabbage . The next day they’d scoop out sofrito, slice the sausage and chop up the meatballs. Seasoning was mostly salt, pepper and parsley and some nutmeg. They’d take the ricotta and add some milk to loosen it up. The sofrito goes down (ours had San Marzano tomatoes too) then everthing was alternated. At the end, some breadcrumbs on top with a little Pecorino. When I was much younger, you’d find a lot of places in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, served a very similar lasagne. And very sad to see about Buca de Beppo. At one point I ranked them very, very high. I used to love their jumbo meatballs. Oh well. Luckily I know how to cook.
Alessio needs. to understand that iItalian food in America was introduced by Italian immigrants that came over. in the late 1800s to. early 1900s. Most of those immigrants came from southern Italy. The flavors and recipes they brought with them are just going to be different from Northern Italian recipes. For example, Alessio keeps harping on fennel in the American. version of Italian sausage. It is likely that some of the immigrants that came here used their localized regional recipes to make sausage which included fennel. It could also be that they couldn't get certain ingredients here and had to make substitutions. Regardless, Americans came to associate fennel with Italian sausage because that was how it was introduced to them by their local Italian butcher shop. In regards to lasagna, the bechamel version is very much a northern Italian style. Southern Italy creates their lasagna quite differently. You. should check out the You Tube channel Pasta Grammar on their northern v southern Italian lasagna video.
Yes! My dad‘s father and mother came from Sicily. My uncle was a butcher. He took their recipe and made the best Italian sausage that I can’t find anything like now that he’s gone and yes, it had fennel because the southern sausages used fennel in the making. I’m sure the sausage in northern Italy is much different but that doesn’t mean it’s not Italian sausage because of what you said most of the immigrants who came to the US were from southern Italy and that is the cuisine that got adapted with whatever American ingredients they could find like chicken Parmesan probably came out of eggplant Parmesan
I just don’t understand the calling it non-authentic because it’s not what your region produced when it is produced in other regions of Italy it’s like me saying biscuits and gravy is not an authentic American food because it’s predominantly comes from the south and I live in the Midwest doesn’t make it in authentic. It just means it’s not something that served where I’m at.
Well said.
Lasagne are from Bologna. Period.
@tizioincognito80Lasagna as we recognize it did originate in Bologna in the 13th century with béchamel sauce. But it was the southern variation with ricotta that was introduced to the US by southern Italian immigrants back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. So to slam this variation of lasagna in the US is just wrong. We didn’t come up with this version.
Dear Olive Garden,
I LOVE your food. Just wanted to say that everyone has different opinions. Don’t change anything- I love your breadsticks, your salad and your dishes!!! ❤❤❤
I love you both also Alessio and Jessi and I certainly appreciate your opinion. Always a fan of these videos.❤❤❤❤❤
If you are trying to find the best lasagnas in America, maybe don’t go to the chain restaurants. I’m shocked Maggiano’s rated so high.
Great video again guys 😂 very funny 👍. I think the scores should have been scored of the ten. Of the three doesn’t give any leeway for subtle differences. Hahaha we have to come to an agreement 😂 so funny 🎉
I’m here for the reviews. Love your content.
Jessi, my former EMT brain can’t see past the missing headrest. Even if you are rear ended at a low speed in a parking lot you can sustain significant neck injuries. I know they can be uncomfortable…but it could really save you from injury if you have it.
Again love you guys!
There was a restaurant decades ago in Boston at Quincy Market that made lasagna with béchamel. My sister and I loved it! but it seems others didn't and the place did not last long. Romagnolis' Table, they had a cookbooks and a PBS show. I wonder if there are youtube videos!
Isn’t Sicily part of Italy? I hear a lot of Italians sort of discount it for some reason.
Different regions have different cultures I think, and maybe sometimes people feel some type of way...even in the US, sometimes southern people don't like "Yankees" etc.
Italy, as we know the country, did not occur until 1861. Prior to Unification, the peninsula was a collection of kingdoms, duchies & and city-states, each with their own rulers & customs & food.
Comparing the customs & foods of each region is an impossible situation.
Ask an American what their favorite 🌭 toppings are & move back....the conversation is going to become animated. Yes, it often comes down to what you were raised on as a child.
Born & raised below the Mason-Dixon line I am, but I know only a very few folks in the south are gonna be a fan of the Chili Slaw Dog. It's the only way to eat a 🌭.
Don't even get me started on my Yankee brethren's style of mustard & relish 😖......
Ketchup 🤣🤢
Sauerkraut😳☹️
Sure, Sicily is part of Italy, but it is a distinct part quite far from Northern Italy where lasagne is from. A Sicilian-style lasagne is a bit like a Hawaiian-style New England clam chowder.
The North Italians stick their nose up to them.
him talking about the ricotta instead of bechamel is kind of funny because my family uses cottage cheese
So does mine! And we love it. I don't like ricotta.
100% Always Cottage Cheese !! I’m 65 and love it this way !! Actually, my Moms lasagna & mine is all I love ❤️ anywhere else is awful !! I quit trying a long time ago !! Ricotta has no TASTE !!!
Love you guys ❤ I’ve been told I make fabulous lasagna!
Maggiano’s Chicken Saltimbocca is to die for.
I infuse my ricotta cheese overnight in the refrigerator with herbs and the other 5 cheeses... makes it very tasty!
Too many confusing flavours. Less is more. If you can get quality ingredients that is..
That sounds good!
I like the modified scoring you ended up with, 0-3 better than just a rigid 1-3 which is too coarse a score imo. I would recommend just a whole number score of 0-5. Simple enough but good number of steps.
0-immangiabile
1-cibo per cani (dog food)
2-niente male (not bad)
3-va bene (ok)
4-wow, abbastanza buono! (Hey, pretty good!!
5-squisito!! Exquisite!!!!
Go to a sit down restaurant for Italian food. A take out is ridiculous.
Lasagna's roots have influences from ancient Greece and a strong connection to Italy, particularly Naples during the Middle Ages. While the Greeks had a dish called "lagenon" which may have inspired the concept of flat pasta, the layered lasagna we know today emerged in Naples. A recipe from the 14th century is considered the The first recorded recipe for this style of lasagna, "lasagne di carnevale," dates back to the 14th century and includes sausage, meatballs, eggs, and two types of cheese The modern version is known as "lasagne di carnevale". So the original Greek-Italian lasagna did NOT have a bechamel white sauce. The "Lasagne al Forno" variation, featuring ragù and béchamel, is another popular style that originated in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna around the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. So Lasagna al Forno is not the original adaptation of the Greek-Italian "lasagna". American style lasagna (not corporate run restaurants) was developed by Italian immigrants, particularly from Southern Italy. They brought their lasagna recipes to the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The key differences like the increased use of ricotta and mozzarella cheese and a more prominent tomato sauce. While the concept of layered pasta with cheese and sauce has ancient roots, the modern American version, particularly the inclusion of a rich tomato-based meat sauce and copious amounts of cheese, became popular in the mid-20th century, partly due to the rise of frozen food and convenience meals. Unlike traditional Italy, in the 20th century in American households both parents worked and neither had time to make a laborious dish like lasagna for a week night meal. So Americans turned to take-out from restaurants or buying frozen lasagna and heating it up. There are many Italian immigrants home cooks I have seen on RUclips and TicTok (Nonna Pia and Nonna Gracie) that make the same dish totally different. There is actually a movie called "Nonnas" based on a real restaurant in Staten Island, NY. The three Nonnas, hail from different parts of Italy. They have a huge fight over the "correct" way the sauce should be made. I think it is really a disservice to all those italian restaurants that serve American style lasagna. They should NOT be rated or reviewed based on one Italian recipe. If you really want to "rate" Italian Lasagna then do that in Italy. If you are going to rate American style lasagna developed by Italian immigrants, then do so based on their criteria.

Veron
Maybe you should revisit Arthur Ave. in the Bronx!
I wonder if anywhere else in the US has original food like in the old country? Italian or any other type? Probably but it would be nice to see where.
i would love to see you guys try italian restaurants local to you that are not chains
Sofritto looking similar to a mirepoix from French cuisine and you see a lot in Louisiana cuisine Buca is in decline I believe; it closed its location here in Gaithersburg, MD two yrs ago. Great review, guys. 👍
Yes, same basic vegetables, but mirepoix is softened in butter, sofrito in olive oil.
I don't think I've ever seen anybody cook with sofrito in Rome. Again I think that's a North Italian thing.
Grandpa was from just outside Napoli. The lasagna Mom used to make had layers of pasta, mozz, and homemade pan-fried pork meatballs. The top layer only was ricotta. I can't stand ricotta, so she made me a separate lasagna in a loaf pan. This was our Christmas dinner for decades.