Ye Olde Spaghetti Factory

There used to be this restaurant in San Diego called "The Old Spaghetti Factory" (they are everywhere if you can still find them). It was cheap, good, and always hit the spot. My family had a boat in the harbor, and we would always eat there after a day of sailing. Nothing fills you up quite as good as pasta, meat and a hearty sauce.

Several years went by, and the Gaplamp Quarter area of downtown was growing. Empty lots turned into parking garages, parking lots turned into lofts, and lofts turned into baseball fields. Rent sky rocketed. Stores moved to less expensive areas of town. Restaurants closed down. It was a sad time for all us born'n'raised types.

The saddest thing was that "The Old Spaghetti Factory" was closing its doors after how ever many years of operation due to, their lease being up, needing to renew, and the fact that pretty much even if they were open 24/7/365, without raising prices to astronomical heights, they couldn't afford to be there anymore. Now the closest one to me is about a 2 hour round trip up north in Vista. If I'm in the area, I'll stop, but I doubt I'd be making a special trip.

The building that it was once housed in is now a Hard Rock Hotel and some ritzy fancy schmancy Indian place I think. I'd like to try it, but on principle I feel like I should just pass.

Just the other day at Costco we discovered heaven. The Old Spaghetti Factory has gone the route of others such as Cheesecake Factory, TGIFridays, and Marie Calendars and started selling their sausages in select locations! Yay!

So for dinner I started with this...


Iceberg lettuce, carrots, red cabbage, and cucumber slices with 1 tsp of oil and vinegar dressing and 1tsp of balsamic vinegar. Basic salad.

and finished it off with this...



I was so overzealous with hunger that I forgot to take a before picture until I had torn into the pasta and sausage! But I promptly pulled it out and snapped a few shots. That's about a cup of regular out spaghetti noodles, nothing fancy, and some doctored sauce. Onions, garlic, spices and then topped with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese. And next to it in all its fatty, meaty glory, a single lone Spaghetti Factory Sausage. The calorie count is likely to be astronomical, so I think I'll skip that part.

I will say that they weren't half bad, and actually tasted pretty authentic to the taste I remember growing up. This is definitely a "treat" and not something I even normally have on a regular occasion, but it was there, so I partook.

I'm curious about better ways to eat pasta, besides whole wheat, or even just good suggestions for a decent, non gag inducing whole wheat brand of pasta I can pick up at the store. Let me know.