It depends. If the restaurant can make good handmade fresh pasta, unless you can do the same at home, the restaurant would probably be worth it. However if the restaurant is using store bought dried pasta, yeah you could probably make the same at home if you have all the ingredients for the pasta sauce.

You're picking bad restaurants.

Though I'll agree most of it (at least any chain) is a waste of money. I know of 3 Italian restaurants that make excellent food (2 are run by first gen Italian immigrant families, 1 family immigrated in the 1920's).

But that's my opinion of most food - I can make it just as good, for 10%-20% of the price, at home (and I'm not kidding, I've done the math for most of our 300 recipes).

Our average per serving cost is $2 - we don't eat shit out of a box and most meals are excellent, some are "I'm tired and this is at least good".

This was the phase I reached when I learned how to make cashew cheese at home.

Some of us don't have a loving nonna

I got invited somewhere where it's the only vegan option.

Allthough I've had some Napolis and Arrabiatas that were way better than what I can make at home at actual italian restaurants, kind of wondering whether they just source better (canned) tomatoes or just use olive oil a lot more liberally

I can't be spending 8 hours to cook an amazing pasta sauce

Obviously you've never gone to a 5 star olive garden

My pasta sauces are definitely some of my best work in the kitchen, so I’m inclined to agree somewhat, but I just can’t. There’s some pastas I’ve had that blow anything I’ve made out of the water. You just gotta splurge a little

GOOD post

mostly agree but I had a nice a seafood risotto once that was worth it

Italian food is just white people food with a little salt on top.

some of the best restaurant meals I've ever had were pasta dishes

this was true for me up until recently

I tend to go for stuff that I can’t make at home or that’s a big pain in the ass to make myself. Like, I made lasagna once and it was great but way too much work to feed two people, so I’ll get lasagna at a restaurant. Much like I’m never gonna make pho because that’s an incredible amount of effort for one or two bowls, but on a restaurant scale it’s pretty cheap.