For some reason, today I was absolutely craving Vince's Spaghetti... for those of you who are deprived enough to not know what Vince's is... in Ontario, there is a little family owned spaghetti place called Vince's, it's not the most gourmet Italian restaurant, but they have the best Meat Sauce on their huge portions of spaghetti with great garlic bread! It is one of our family's collective favorite restaurants, and I miss it being here in Utah... that is one of the few restaurants I remember going to as a kid (and Griswold's). I even remember Grandma Hendrickson boycotting cooking for Christmas Eve, so she ordered Vince's for everyone for Christmas dinner...And it's still one of those places we all go when we come home to visit!Anyway... what do you do when you are craving something you can't have? You try to make it yourself, or at least a decent tribute substitute that will satiate your appetite while you have to wait a few months for the real thing. So, first, I tried to google a copycat recipe but to no avail, so I decided just to look for Meat Sauce recipes. I found one called Grandma's Meat Sauce... and I had an A-ha moment while reading one of the suggestions for the recipe. One of the reasons Vince's is so great is because they have this thick meaty sauce, with little bits of meat in every bite- so when the recipe suggested to brown the meat and throw it in the food processor- that made perfect sense to me, and I figured it was worth a try! Naturally, I wasn't expecting it to be exactly like Vince's... but it turned out to be a pretty good substitute and everyone in my family LOVED it!
Fall is not only about soups and stews, but comfort food, and what is more comforting on a rainy day than a big, deep pasta bowl full of perfect al dente spaghetti covered in meaty sauce! Yum... Naturally, I changed the recipe as I always seem to do... but I decided to go ahead and share the original inspiration recipe. You can try it, or make your own changes, but it's worth a try for anyone who likes a thick, meaty sauce. I won't say that Chris even said that mine was better than Vince's because that would be blasphemy. And it makes a lot, so I even froze a couple quarts for when future cravings strike (and at least then I won't have to wait three hours for it!) So here is the link to Grandma's Meat Sauce.
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16 comments:
Oh I am SOOOO craving that now...
Ahh, that was cruel. Vince's. I can't even think of when was the last time I was there. Probably with the swim team before out last swim meet Senior year, as was our tradition. Singing "On Top of Spaghetti" at the top of our lungs until we got kicked out.
Is there any reason I am getting to be a big fat guy? I need to start the Michael Phelps exercise routine to keep up on this diet. Definitely not complaining though. Loving every minute of it.
ok ... now you need to share the changes you made (not that i will ever make this myself ... i prefer the salad and soup and garlic bread myself)
we're fortunate enough to live right down the street from the vince's in rancho cucamonga. so we go there fairly often when robby is needing some pasta in his deprived life. and aidan loves it too.
i second the request for heidi-version.
i used to have vince's meat sauce running through my veins - alas...no satellite restaurants nearby.
when we lived there...tj and i had it monthly.
i still beg for everyone to go to vince's whenever we travel north. usually successfully.
smooches you crazy lady.
just an FYI - It is my understanding that Vince's will ship their sauce to you. I had a friend who lived in Seattle and they would freeze it then ship it. Or when you visit you can buy a gallon freeze it yourself and take it home with you!
Thanks for the tip, I will definitely be bringing it home by the gallon next time the craving strikes!
Vince's Spaghetti Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 small can tomato paste
2 large cans tomatoes in puree
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon basil
2 tablespoon sugar
1 pound ground beef
1/4 teaspoon oregano
Cook the garlic and onion in olive oil for a few minutes. Add the tomatoe paste and an equal amount of water. Simmer for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes in puree that has been broken up. Add salt, pepper, basil, and sugar. Simmer a few more minutes. Brown meat with oregano. Drain and add to tomatoe sauce.Simmer 11/2 to 2 hours and serve over favorite pasta. Enjoy!
This is Anonymous. i got the recipe through a friend who said a previous employee of vince's passed this around after they got fired. Vince's is still my favorite restaurant and i go there everytime i'm in town!
The twang in the sauce is tabasco. The added tangy taste is a red wine of your choice, preferably cabernet or sangria. Minced Garlic, ground hamburger, olive oil, a portion of water. simple heinz tomato paste with touches of oregano, a dash of brown sugar and basil.
I made the sauce for 3 years as an employee at both Ontario and Rancho.
It never tastes the same with home made attempts because the tabasco and red wine is a forgotten ingredient that most people would never guess is in the sauce.
The recipe posted by anonymous is nowhere close to the Vince's sauce. The comments posted by Jay Bee sound much closer to the real recipe, although I suspect the Vince's sauce contains onions. Perhaps Jay Bee could clue us in on the relative proportions of the Heinz tomato paste, water, wine, and Tabasco...
I know this thread is stale, but please elaborate if you see this Jay Bee.
We are huge fans of Vince’s! Family have shipped us frozen quarts of sauce! Great place!
Vince's spaghetti sauce wasn't Tabasco. It's mustard. My whole family worked there and I used to live right behind it on B St
Can you elaborate more? Any idea of the recipe?
Ty!!!💖💖💖
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