Will Brooke make a best in the borough bodega pasta? Or will Justin prevail shopping at the most expensive grocery store in NYC? Find out as we pit these two chefs in the FINAL Grocery Showdown!
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00:00 - Dirty high five, dirty high five pasta hands.
00:01 - Dirty high five.
00:02 - I got parsley in my eye.
00:03 (laughing)
00:05 I'm okay.
00:06 How's it going everyone?
00:07 It's Justin.
00:08 - And I'm Brooke.
00:09 - As recipe developers,
00:10 we truly put out like a hundred recipes a year
00:12 and a huge part of being able to do that
00:15 is learning how to source ingredients
00:16 and take inspiration from grocery shopping.
00:20 - We're gonna put those skills to the test
00:21 in Grocery Showdown.
00:23 To get started, we're gonna spin our big old janky wheel
00:26 and decide who gets what grocery store.
00:28 - Then we're gonna shop at our respective stores
00:30 for the exact same dish,
00:31 but taking inspiration from what the grocery store
00:34 has to offer and all the incredible produce,
00:36 ingredients, et cetera.
00:37 - Finally, we'll bring everything back here
00:39 and show you guys what we found at each grocery store.
00:43 - Finally, we're gonna cook it out in this here kitchen
00:45 to determine whose dish
00:47 and what grocery store reigns supreme.
00:49 - And there's two ways you can win.
00:50 One, you can have the cheapest budget.
00:52 Two, you can have the best tasting meal.
00:54 (upbeat music)
00:58 - For our Grocery Showdown season finale,
01:02 we will be making pasta.
01:06 - Oh!
01:07 (imitates air horn)
01:09 This is a big one.
01:10 This is a big one and I'm very, very glad we left it
01:13 for the final episode.
01:14 - This is so open-ended, I feel like.
01:16 - I'm psyched.
01:17 And there's a lot that you can do.
01:18 You can make a dessert pasta.
01:20 You can make something meaty.
01:21 You can make something simple and fresh.
01:23 Truly the best way to show off the skills
01:26 that we've gained in the last couple episodes.
01:28 - Yes.
01:29 - Before we get into it,
01:29 we have to go over our rules once again.
01:32 So first of all, we can only spend $25.
01:35 - Rule number two, we can use whatever spices, oils,
01:40 equipment that we can find in our super well-stocked kitchen.
01:43 - Number three, we wanna be using what the store provides.
01:46 So if there's a store brand, get it.
01:47 - Last but not least, to make this pasta feast,
01:50 (laughs)
01:53 we only have 45 minutes.
01:55 - Whoa!
01:56 I just can't get over you rhyming like that really, Kash.
02:01 - It's just in my blood.
02:02 - Oh, fair enough.
02:03 Shall we get the wheel?
02:04 - We shall get the wheel.
02:05 - My big janky wheel, here we go.
02:10 - She's so cute.
02:11 - Couldn't be more ecstatic
02:12 because today we are being full, real New Yorkers.
02:16 (laughs)
02:17 We're doing one thing that every person in New York
02:20 goes to almost every day,
02:21 and the other thing that people who come to New York
02:23 think is important, but it isn't actually,
02:25 but New Yorkers might actually secretly like,
02:27 and that is bodegas and eataly.
02:31 Okay, I'm gonna stop my accent.
02:32 (laughs)
02:34 I don't lay any claim to that accent.
02:36 - I was about to say,
02:37 you will not catch me joining you with the accent.
02:39 (laughs)
02:40 Won't be joining you on today.
02:42 I think bodegas are the unsung heroes of the city,
02:45 just in general, but let's talk about eataly.
02:47 Mwahaha.
02:49 I love eataly so much.
02:51 It's literally like Italian food Disney World to me.
02:54 - That's very funny that you say that.
02:55 They literally made an amusement park in Italy
02:58 that is eataly themed.
03:00 It's like food eataly themed.
03:02 It's like eataly world in Italy.
03:04 - You know, I don't think I knew that,
03:05 but now I have a new life goal.
03:07 - Yeah, we gotta go.
03:07 I will spin-- - You get the final spin.
03:09 - For the last episode of the season, I will spin.
03:11 This is pretty major.
03:12 I think, hey, high five.
03:13 - Yeah, man. - Above the wheel.
03:14 We've done amazing.
03:15 We've kept our sportsmanship up, kind of.
03:17 - Kind of. - Kind of.
03:18 - I feel like I've been hustling.
03:19 (laughs)
03:21 You know, I disagree.
03:22 (laughs)
03:24 - What kind of pizza are you thinking about making?
03:25 - Um, I don't know.
03:26 Good, better than yours, bye.
03:28 First she steals from a store,
03:30 then she steals from a me!
03:32 (blowing)
03:34 Let's do this.
03:37 (screaming)
03:37 - Ahhh!
03:38 No.
03:45 - Ohh!
03:46 - No.
03:46 No.
03:47 No.
03:47 No.
03:47 - Hahaha!
03:48 - No.
03:48 No.
03:48 No.
03:49 No.
03:49 No.
03:50 No.
03:50 No.
03:50 No.
03:50 No.
03:51 I have been loving the streak
03:52 of getting the Bougere store,
03:54 and I can feel that you're roiling on the inside.
03:58 (laughing)
04:00 - This bull (beep)
04:01 (laughing)
04:03 It sounded okay when I thought
04:04 you were gonna get bodega.
04:05 (laughing)
04:06 - Yo, honestly, I think that there is
04:08 some really incredible stuff that you can do
04:10 with bodega groceries.
04:11 I think that mine's gonna be even better.
04:13 (laughing)
04:15 - Do we have to make the pasta from scratch?
04:17 - If you want.
04:18 - I don't want.
04:19 - Yeah, don't do it.
04:20 I believe in you.
04:21 - I don't.
04:22 - I think it's gonna be great.
04:23 I think my pasta's gonna be great.
04:25 Shall we go?
04:26 - Let's go.
04:27 (laughing)
04:29 (upbeat music)
04:31 - You're gonna be so mad at me.
04:49 - I'm already mad at you.
04:50 (laughing)
04:51 - When would you prefer to be upset?
04:53 - Now, let me get it out the way.
04:54 Can I go first?
04:55 - Okay, so, well, I was gonna say
04:56 you'd probably be more upset after I go,
04:58 so maybe you should go now so you can get it across.
05:00 - No, no, I know.
05:01 I don't want you over there laughing at me in your head.
05:04 - So you're going first.
05:05 - I'm going first.
05:06 - Okay, go ahead.
05:07 - Yeah.
05:08 - First of all, let's call attention to the bag.
05:10 (laughing)
05:11 Which I love, genuinely.
05:12 - That is the most important thing.
05:13 This is a very much quintessential bodega design for a bag.
05:17 - They've gotten over that iconic red and white bag
05:20 that has, like, thank you, thank you, thank you over it.
05:22 Now this flower bag has become very New York.
05:25 - This is the girl for bodega bags.
05:26 - I use this for recycling.
05:29 I use this for my little garbage bag in the bathroom.
05:32 - Oh, your bag inside of other bags?
05:33 - Yes, yes, but also for my baby trash can in the bathroom.
05:37 - So the bodega that I went to,
05:40 it wasn't the slummest of the bodegas that are out there.
05:43 It was probably on the nicer end.
05:45 The one Justin tried to send me to
05:46 did not even have a deli counter.
05:48 That was a complete setup.
05:49 So Mark and I found one that had a couple more things
05:52 for me to work with, but still very much a bodega.
05:54 We even asked people that work there
05:55 if they considered it a bodega and they said yes, so.
05:58 - That seems borderline.
06:00 You have to ask the staff if it's a bodega.
06:03 - When I show you what I got,
06:04 you will be certain that I was at a bodega.
06:06 - No, I'm sure.
06:06 - I only got four things from the grocery store.
06:08 I'm sorry, from the bodega.
06:09 - What?
06:10 - That's all I could afford.
06:12 First thing, obviously I need a pasta,
06:14 so I got some ronzoni spaghetti.
06:17 Got a pound of spaghetti and it was $4.99.
06:20 This is two ounces of anchovy fillets for $4.49.
06:25 I did half my budget already, didn't I?
06:26 - Yeah, (beep) me.
06:27 - I know.
06:28 So since I did have a deli counter, I got some cheese.
06:33 It's a quarter pound of mozzarella cheese
06:35 and this was $3.70.
06:37 And last but not least, I got a salad.
06:40 This build your own custom salad was $7.
06:43 There was going to be no other way
06:45 for me to incorporate fresh veg into this pasta
06:48 in any way, shape, or form,
06:50 unless I got a build your own salad.
06:52 I didn't get any dressing on it,
06:53 but I got ingredients in the salad
06:54 that I'm gonna take apart and put into the pasta.
06:57 There's spinach in there, some sun-dried tomatoes,
06:59 and onions and artichokes.
07:01 - This is a new fangled thing in the last five, 10 years
07:03 that they realized that they could capitalize
07:05 on people wanting salads,
07:06 so they added a dumpy salad section
07:09 to their deli counters.
07:11 This, even for a bodega salad, looks underdone.
07:15 The fact that we're not filled to the brim with spinach.
07:18 What bodega did you go to?
07:20 - They hate me, apparently.
07:21 This is gonna be like most of the flavor in my pasta.
07:24 Then I have a little bonus ingredient.
07:25 I honestly, I don't know what this is.
07:27 I asked for balsamic vinaigrette.
07:30 - Who is this?
07:31 Is this supposed to be?
07:32 - This is salad dressing, allegedly, right?
07:34 So I was like, let me hear.
07:34 - They literally gave you red wine vinaigrette.
07:36 - I haven't tasted it yet,
07:37 but it's giving very much just vinegar, but we'll see.
07:40 - There is some stuff, I don't even know if you can see it.
07:42 There is like stuff floating.
07:44 But I don't know if that's stuff
07:46 that's supposed to be in there.
07:47 - I know, I don't know.
07:48 - I can't identify the bits.
07:51 And that's it.
07:53 - I'm actually just sad.
07:54 (laughing)
07:55 I'm actually just bummed out.
07:57 'Cause not only did you like have to spend a ton of money
08:00 on all the things that you got,
08:01 'cause bodegas are weirdly expensive.
08:03 It's also just like a bunch of like,
08:05 can you just look at this pile of stuff?
08:07 - Can you not?
08:08 (laughing)
08:09 - This is...
08:09 - It's a bunch of nonsense things.
08:11 And I'm gonna make a nonsense pasta.
08:13 But I think you were pretty darn close
08:16 if I do the math correctly.
08:18 I think you spent like $21.
08:19 - Close, I spent $22.84.
08:22 - Woof, my goop.
08:24 - And I had to put something back.
08:26 That hurt my soul.
08:27 Oh my God. - I cannot believe that.
08:29 I'll be real, the problem here for those people
08:32 who are gonna be like, what bodegas are you going to?
08:33 We're in Midtown Manhattan.
08:34 (laughing)
08:35 - Also that.
08:36 - There is a dearth of quality bodegas
08:39 with quality ingredients.
08:40 So obviously if we had been in any
08:42 of the four other boroughs,
08:43 we probably would have been a lot better off.
08:46 - I'm gonna be fully honest with you.
08:49 I knew as soon as it rolled eatily onto my side,
08:54 that if you were just struggling to get that
08:56 at a bodega in Manhattan,
08:58 I was not going to limit myself at all.
09:02 (laughing)
09:04 I asked Julia what I could spend.
09:08 Instead of what is the minimum,
09:11 I asked what is the maximum.
09:14 - That's a choice. - So I'll let that inform
09:16 what we did because I'll be real.
09:18 I do care about the competitive stuff in nature,
09:21 but this is the finale.
09:22 I wanted something fantastic
09:23 and I also want us to eat something really yummy.
09:25 - I can't say I would have done anything different.
09:28 I'm not gonna lie.
09:29 - But I thought this was gonna be more comedic,
09:32 but it's actually, I'm just gonna be really sad.
09:35 But let's do it.
09:36 All right, the first thing that I got,
09:38 there's a lot of counters in Eataly.
09:39 There's like, it's divided amongst the butcher,
09:43 the salami guy, the cheese guy.
09:45 And I beelined because I never got the opportunity
09:48 'cause I wasn't spending my own money.
09:50 I went directly to the seafood counter
09:52 and I saw these incredible, incredible
09:55 Patagonian wild shrimp.
09:57 These are such big boys.
10:00 These Patagonian wild shrimp are $14.03.
10:04 - Oh, okay.
10:05 - Weirdly enough, despite looking the best
10:07 of all the shrimp, they were the cheapest.
10:08 And I think it's because they can't convince people
10:10 in America to buy shrimp that are full like this,
10:14 that look gorgeous.
10:15 - They look beautiful.
10:16 - I know, I'm very excited to cook with them.
10:18 - Can I just express how stressed out I am
10:22 about the amount of butcher paper I see?
10:24 (laughing)
10:26 - Next, we have some beautiful, cleaned squid for $8.76.
10:31 The next thing I have to go to the fridge for
10:34 because this isn't technically, this is not,
10:36 I don't count this as part of the cooking.
10:37 This is literally just to keep us safe in terms of eating.
10:40 I've been purging some clams.
10:43 These are manila clams.
10:45 They were $8.56.
10:49 This was just the seafood portion.
10:51 I'm already past the budget.
10:52 - Just the seafood portion.
10:54 - This is just the fresh seafood that I bought.
10:56 Now we're moving into the produce section.
10:58 This was something I was very excited about going into.
11:00 I knew what season it was.
11:02 We are, for context, we are in early May,
11:06 which means we are in ramp season.
11:09 So this was two bunches of ramps for $3.99.
11:14 - Like if you have the opportunity to shop
11:18 at an incredible market like Eataly,
11:20 take the time to talk to your grocer.
11:22 Take the time to do a little research beforehand.
11:24 When you're there, what season it is,
11:26 so you know what's good and how great these things look.
11:28 Ramps are part of the allium family.
11:31 They are one of my favorite ingredients of all time.
11:33 They're so delicious.
11:34 So always be making sure that you're doing
11:36 a little bit of research before you go to the store
11:38 so you know, or at least have the knowledge
11:40 of what's in season.
11:40 - Yeah.
11:41 Honestly, I'm starting to emerge from my sadness
11:44 and just getting kind of excited about eating.
11:46 (laughing)
11:48 This pasta.
11:48 - One of my favorite things ever that you can't find
11:52 in anything but specialty grocery stores,
11:54 these are sea beans.
11:55 This was $1.19.
11:57 Next, some of the best parsley I've ever seen in my life,
12:01 $1.99.
12:03 - Is that it?
12:04 - Nope.
12:05 - How?
12:05 - Nope, nope, nope.
12:06 Next, two lemons.
12:09 Two lemons, guess how much?
12:10 - $4?
12:11 - No, you're over aggressive.
12:12 This was $1.98, but insane considering.
12:15 These are each $1.
12:16 Garlic, 65 cents.
12:18 And now we can transition into the more specialty
12:22 ingredienty side, sort of.
12:23 - Sort of, sort of, sort of.
12:24 - I'm gonna head out now, guys.
12:25 (laughing)
12:26 I'm gonna go home.
12:27 - Just in case, I don't love how the sea beans taste,
12:29 I was able to go to the just in case category.
12:31 I got capers also, $4.50.
12:34 I might wanna throw a couple in there, you know?
12:36 - You know what's wild?
12:38 That's the ingredient that I put back at the bodega,
12:41 was a little jar of capers.
12:42 - I might give you some.
12:43 - I'm gonna take some.
12:44 - Okay, okay, okay, okay.
12:45 - It's not a might, I'm taking some of your capers.
12:46 - This Parmesan cheese is $4.190 a pound.
12:50 And this little blockety boy is $14.67.
12:54 - That's just disrespectful with this poor boy.
12:57 - Again, I may grant you some.
12:58 Smell that.
12:59 - Mm.
13:00 - It's so yummy.
13:01 - It's crunchy in the middle, isn't it?
13:03 - Uh-huh.
13:04 Also, I've totally forgotten to mention,
13:06 there's a whole pasta counter that is like,
13:08 literally like a deli counter of your jeans
13:10 with just different shapes and stuff.
13:11 They have one of my favorite shapes,
13:12 which I went ahead and purchased.
13:14 This is a little bit more than a pound of pasta.
13:16 I may not even use all of it.
13:18 It was $14.50.
13:20 This is Malfadine, my favorite pasta shape far and away.
13:24 - That's like the cut up lasagnas, right?
13:26 - Like the edges of lasagna long style.
13:29 It's like the perfect meal.
13:31 - It's been like half an hour ago.
13:32 (laughing)
13:33 - Two last things.
13:34 One is a little bit of, again, of an annoying thing
13:37 you're gonna be annoyed at.
13:38 Both of them you are, but this is like,
13:40 our fats are included, but I was feeling fancy.
13:42 So I got Italian butter.
13:44 This was $8.90.
13:47 This looks so good.
13:48 I mostly bought this so I could take the majority of it home.
13:51 (laughing)
13:52 - You did not even need to do that.
13:54 - Nope, didn't need to, but hey,
13:56 I got clearance and I wanted to do it.
13:57 Oh, I actually have a third thing I forgot.
13:59 'Cause I had to go to a different,
14:00 I had to go to the Eataly Wine Store to get it.
14:02 Mark's just over here pointing at my ingredients
14:04 and laughing.
14:05 That is what's happening right now.
14:07 - So the way that New York works,
14:09 you can't buy alcohol or wine in the grocery store.
14:11 So I had to go to the Eataly Wine section
14:13 and I got this Italian white,
14:15 mostly for you to drown your sorrows in,
14:17 but also for me to cook with.
14:20 - I'll take that, that's fine.
14:21 You're a true friend.
14:23 - This bottle of white wine is $27.21.
14:25 And also bribe the judge.
14:27 And this was the last thing.
14:29 And this was a little hateful.
14:32 It is an ingredient that is locked behind a fridge.
14:35 That is how expensive it is.
14:37 They give you a receipt for it.
14:38 You have to pay for it and then come back and grab it.
14:40 It is such a small amount of it too,
14:42 which is so funny considering how much I spent.
14:45 - If you think this is the disrespectful thing.
14:47 - This is.
14:48 - Out of everything that I have seen so far.
14:50 - Wild sturgeon caviar, $45 for 0.35 ounces.
14:55 I love caviar.
14:58 I was doing seafood pasta and I wanted to go for it.
15:01 An extra splurgy ingredient
15:02 now that I haven't been splurgy already.
15:04 I didn't think truffles would work.
15:05 And then I saw the huge caviar fridge
15:07 and Chelsea and I got very excited and I got caviar.
15:11 - Is this a joke?
15:13 Is this a joke?
15:15 - No.
15:15 What do you think the damage was?
15:17 - See, I blacked out in the middle of your haul.
15:19 So I stopped adding it up in my head.
15:21 But if I was a guessing math girl,
15:25 I would say your total haul was 1.34.
15:29 - 1.34, 72.
15:33 - Unfortunately, I spent $175.02.
15:37 That is how many times the budget?
15:42 - That is seven times.
15:43 - Seven times the budget.
15:45 - What I spent on my four ingredients plus this.
15:51 - The (beep) up thing of all of this,
15:54 there's a good chance that Brooke will beat me
15:55 'cause she's just better cooked than I am.
15:59 - This is truly, you just need to know
16:00 that this is all compensation.
16:02 This is all just me, imposter syndrome.
16:05 I think that I just need to pull out something to win.
16:10 - I have to pick through this salad, y'all.
16:11 (laughing)
16:14 These are red onions.
16:15 I don't even want red onions in a pasta.
16:17 This is all they had.
16:18 - I'm excited to cook with all this amazing stuff.
16:22 - Let's get it over with.
16:23 - Let's do it.
16:24 - Let's do it.
16:25 - I think it's gonna be great.
16:26 - I'm not excited.
16:27 - Light at the end of the tunnel,
16:28 you're gonna like what I make.
16:30 And light at the end of my tunnel
16:31 is I know I'm gonna like what you're gonna make.
16:32 - And light at the end of your tunnel is you're gonna win.
16:34 That's the light at the end of your tunnel, bro.
16:36 - I'm not gonna win because I spent seven times the budget.
16:39 It's full cheating style.
16:41 Okay, 45 minutes cooking pasta.
16:44 Are you ready?
16:45 - I'm ready.
16:46 - Okay, we're ready.
16:47 Three, two, one, let's get it on!
16:51 I'm gonna cook off the seaweed components
16:54 slightly separately and then bring them all together.
16:56 And I'm kind of combining produce and stuff.
16:58 So my first step is I'm gonna chop up some ramps,
17:00 get my calamari nice and sliced up
17:02 'cause it's already cleaned.
17:04 And then I'm going to cook it all together.
17:06 It's going to be delicious.
17:08 - So they had an option for elbow noodles or spaghetti.
17:11 So I went with spaghetti.
17:13 I also probably could have made my own pasta,
17:14 but I could not afford eggs.
17:16 So there's that.
17:18 I'm not gonna use a full pound
17:19 'cause I already am struggling for flavor
17:21 and I don't wanna like take away what flavor
17:23 I do have with too much actual noodle.
17:26 - Fair enough.
17:27 - And something that I learned from you, actually,
17:29 I'm doing less water than I usually would
17:33 because you're always harping on like how to get
17:35 like really starchy pasta water to make a better sauce.
17:38 And I need help wherever I can get it.
17:39 So I'm doing that.
17:41 - I'm a big starch boy.
17:42 I like all starches and I like starchy pasta water.
17:45 And the easiest way to do that,
17:46 like I'll honestly cook pasta in a pan like this
17:49 with like an inch of water if I'm cooking flat pasta.
17:53 And then you'll literally pull out that cup
17:55 and it'll be cloudy.
17:56 - I want these to be like little baby rings
17:58 and I'm gonna keep the squiddy boys whole.
18:01 How's your salad picking, your foraging, hunter gathering?
18:05 - Honestly, it's feeling real ancient over here.
18:07 I'm feeling like I've got like burlap clothing on
18:11 or something, just foraging for my various vegetables.
18:15 But they gave me a pretty decent amount of each thing.
18:18 So I'm low key, I've got some optimism, kind of.
18:21 I'm honestly so sad about the fact that these are red onions
18:24 'cause I just feel like that's really not the look
18:26 I was going for.
18:28 And our judge is gonna look at me like I'm crazy.
18:31 Everyone hates red onions.
18:34 - I love red onions.
18:35 - Unless you're at a bodega making a salad.
18:37 That's the only place where they exist in the world.
18:38 - There's that one chef on "Chopped"
18:40 who's always like,
18:41 "I can't believe you put raw red onions in this dish."
18:43 And I'm the opposite of him.
18:45 I'm fully like, "Bring 'em on, I want the stinky mouth."
18:48 - Well, they won't be raw, which is good.
18:50 I'm gonna cook them with these anchovies.
18:51 Just kind of like what I would do
18:52 if I was making an anchovy garlic pasta.
18:55 - Yeah, delicious.
18:56 - Yeah, so it's kind of like a cross between that
18:58 and a spinach artichoke pasta.
19:01 But the only dairy I have is this mozzarella.
19:02 - You're like borderline making a
19:04 Alison Roman shallot pasta anchovy tomato moment.
19:07 - Is that what I'm doing?
19:08 - Yeah.
19:09 - I was not aware.
19:10 - Just play into it.
19:11 - Yeah, that's exactly what I meant to do, totally.
19:14 I think I'm gonna use some of this anchovy oil,
19:16 which I didn't think about until just now, but.
19:19 - That's a good tip.
19:19 That anchovy oil is filled with umami and salt.
19:22 It's a delicious thing to use when cooking.
19:25 But also those anchovies are low-key,
19:27 like packed with a lot of it.
19:28 Also, it's gonna release a lot of that oil
19:29 and they'll melt in as well.
19:31 - Yeah, I don't wanna go too crazy with it
19:32 'cause I don't want it to be like a mouthful of anchovies.
19:35 Were you a throw the pasta against the cabinet kind of kid?
19:38 - I'm sorry?
19:39 - Did you throw pasta against the cabinet
19:41 to see if it was done?
19:41 - I was civilized.
19:43 I didn't do that.
19:44 - I don't even know if it works.
19:46 It was just fun.
19:47 So when I learned that that was a thing people did
19:49 to test pasta, I was chucking pasta at all the cabinets.
19:51 - And I'm sure your parents were so pleased.
19:53 - I don't think my mom knows that I did that actually.
19:55 (laughing)
19:55 So, sorry mom.
19:57 - This squid's gonna go so fast.
19:59 I'm not trying to really cook it through.
20:01 I'm trying to like get a little bit of color, not go nuts.
20:05 - Oh, oh, oh.
20:09 - Okay.
20:11 - I almost threw away all my pasta water.
20:14 Okay, my pasta's cooked.
20:16 My salad is picked.
20:18 Actually, let me taste this.
20:20 - Can I taste it too?
20:21 - It's like a mystery liquid with one oil slick in it.
20:24 That's definitely just vinegar.
20:30 That looks really good, oh my God.
20:34 - Thanks.
20:34 - I'm gonna try a tiny bit of this anchovy oil.
20:39 A little bit of olive oil.
20:41 I just wanna cook these anchovies over like medium heat
20:48 until they start to really break down
20:49 and like melt into the oil.
20:51 - This is very much like a bodega dinner, right?
20:58 Like having the primary protein be anchovy.
21:01 - A tinned fish, yeah.
21:02 - And like just kind of figure it out.
21:04 Like I have many a time been coming home at like nine o'clock
21:08 when all of the grocery stores
21:09 in my neighborhood are closed
21:11 and just needing to improvise with something.
21:12 And this is giving very much that energy.
21:15 - And honestly, I think that if I was in a pinch
21:18 and a bodega was all I had at my disposal,
21:20 I wouldn't be mad at having this for dinner at all.
21:23 - So I have these clams that I've been-
21:24 - Purging. - Purging.
21:26 That is helping get some of that grit
21:28 and that disgustingness out of there,
21:30 making these a lot better eats
21:32 so that we're not dealing with a sauce
21:35 that has a bunch of sand in it.
21:37 Because most shellfish is incredibly like just dirty.
21:43 Not in that like dirty, bad to eat,
21:45 but dirty like physically like dirt and sand and grit.
21:49 So helping to purge, but some people don't do it,
21:51 helps to like clean up your sauce.
21:53 - I added my sadly chopped red onions
21:57 to my sadly chopped anchovies just to help them along.
22:01 And I want the onions to get soft
22:02 while the anchovies also start to like turn into mush
22:05 a little bit.
22:06 So you're not getting like really big bites of anchovies.
22:09 It's kind of supposed to be interspersed
22:10 throughout the whole pasta.
22:12 It's adding the sun-dried tomatoes.
22:13 So those go, actually, should I do the artichokes first?
22:15 - You don't know.
22:17 I'm gonna add the sun-dried tomatoes now.
22:18 - Guys, here's the thing.
22:19 Come here.
22:20 Brooke's a better cook than I am.
22:22 So no reason to ask me answers.
22:25 - That was so many sun-dried tomatoes
22:26 now that I'm looking at it.
22:28 I just don't want this to be bland.
22:29 Oh no!
22:30 - No, that'll be good.
22:31 That'll provide flavor.
22:32 - That's my only thing.
22:33 I don't want it to be bland.
22:35 - I'm so nervous.
22:36 You've got me nervous and I can't peel this carpet.
22:38 - I have no idea why you're nervous.
22:39 - Because I bought all this nice stuff
22:42 and then Rob's gonna come in here
22:44 and be like, "This is fine."
22:45 (laughing)
22:47 - He's gonna be like, "How did you only spend $25?"
22:50 - You're exactly right.
22:51 He would never be medium on anything.
22:52 He's either gonna be like, "This is trash,"
22:54 or "This is delicious."
22:55 - Oh, I love this.
22:56 - And I'm so worried he's gonna be like, "This is trash."
22:58 The only thing I honestly think
23:00 is I definitely could have bought more clams for this.
23:02 - You could have bought so many more clams.
23:04 - A linguine a la bongole, or spaghetti a la bongole,
23:06 usually has three pounds of clams.
23:07 This is just under a pound.
23:09 But I was figuring I was getting
23:10 a whole other pound of seafood,
23:12 so I didn't wanna go absolutely insane.
23:14 - Can I make a confession?
23:15 - Go ahead.
23:16 - That is the first time I've heard somebody
23:18 say that out loud in what I feel like is correct.
23:20 - Okay, wait, wait.
23:21 (laughing)
23:22 This is really important.
23:23 Brooke, what did you think it was?
23:27 - I don't think that matters.
23:28 - No, no, no, it does matter.
23:29 I need to hear it.
23:30 - Vognoli?
23:30 (laughing)
23:34 I never broke down the phonics.
23:38 It's fine.
23:39 - Vognolis.
23:39 (laughing)
23:41 - You're a loaf.
23:43 Is it broken?
23:43 Oh no.
23:44 (laughing)
23:46 Justin, what am I about to do with this cheese?
23:50 - Eat it?
23:51 - No, it has to go in the pasta somehow.
23:54 - You could just sprinkle it,
23:55 like make it really, really fine.
23:56 - Yeah.
23:57 - Like you're doing parm style at the end.
23:58 - Like a snow on top or something?
24:00 - Mm-hmm.
24:00 - Okay.
24:01 It's a little saltier than I would like it to be.
24:03 I feel like this is gonna be kind of a salt bomb situation.
24:07 - Could be.
24:08 - 'Cause I've got all these umami things.
24:10 - There we go.
24:11 - And I've really only got the cheese
24:12 to kind of balance it out, but it's fine.
24:15 Everything's fine.
24:16 - I have shrimp that I haven't even touched.
24:17 - Justin.
24:18 - It's okay.
24:19 This is, hey man, I always am doing more than I should do.
24:23 - You are.
24:24 - And I regret it every time.
24:25 (laughing)
24:26 So yeah, malfedine are essentially like the ends,
24:30 those curly ends of lasagna made into long pasta.
24:35 Super yummy.
24:42 Good morning, clammies.
24:44 Get in there.
24:48 - I kind of just want to watch you cook at this point.
24:51 I'm no longer invested in my pasta.
24:53 - All right, I'm gonna take this out now.
24:54 Another big pro tip when cooking pasta,
24:56 oh my God, look at this,
24:57 is that you want to, if you're making a sauce
24:59 with your pasta, under, like,
25:02 even take it under what you'd want to eat it at
25:04 because you're gonna finish it in the pasta itself.
25:07 Pasta texture and pasta doneness
25:09 is a science in and of itself
25:11 that we all need to learn a little bit.
25:13 - I'm gonna just toss the spinach in here raw
25:16 and let that wilt from the heat of the pan.
25:19 And honestly, this does not look bad.
25:21 It low-key looks kind of healthy,
25:22 which I'm hoping Rob is excited about.
25:24 - Yeah, Rob likes healthy things.
25:25 - He likes healthy things.
25:26 - Also, Rob, outside of work, is a vegetarian.
25:30 - Also not.
25:31 - Oh, but this is pescatarian.
25:32 - Yeah, those are anchovies. - I forgot, I forgot.
25:33 - I don't have to tell him about the anchovies.
25:34 I'll have a good time. - Yeah, just lie.
25:35 - Why would you tell him?
25:36 That's me.
25:37 - Would you like some wine?
25:38 - Oh, yes, absolutely.
25:41 I'm gonna need that.
25:42 - How convenient that I'm next to the wine glass, Rob.
25:47 - Sometimes I like to give it a shake.
25:50 What we're looking for with clams
25:51 is you want them to open up,
25:53 and if any don't open,
25:54 you can give them an extra 30 seconds,
25:55 sorry, after about four minutes.
25:57 And if they still haven't opened, chuck 'em.
25:59 - Would you? - 'Cause those boys are dead.
26:00 - I didn't hear anything you just said.
26:01 - I was explaining that if they're not open
26:03 after like five, six minutes, they're dead.
26:04 - Okay.
26:05 - Want some?
26:06 - No, I'm okay.
26:08 I'm trying to win.
26:10 I'm trying to be serious, actually.
26:11 - That's one of us.
26:13 - They're popping, they're pipping and popping.
26:15 - Oh, they're so cute.
26:16 - I love 'em.
26:16 Watch me cut myself on the butter.
26:22 Do you wanna just try this straight up?
26:24 - Absolutely, I wanna try it straight up.
26:26 - There was buffalo butter,
26:29 but I was worried that was gonna be too funky for this.
26:31 - That might've been fun.
26:32 - We're over here eating raw butter,
26:36 and it is delicious.
26:39 - It's just so good.
26:41 I'm gonna be a nice girl and let Justin use a Big Burner.
26:44 Because I'm low-key done,
26:46 and now I'm just wondering if there's anything else
26:48 I need to do to make my pasta suck less.
26:50 - These boys are going right in here.
26:52 I'm gonna season while we go.
26:57 Okay, while that's happening,
27:01 I'm gonna add some butter to my sauce over here.
27:05 I'm just gonna enjoy myself while I watch Justin cook.
27:09 So I'm pretty much done with my scumbag pasta.
27:12 - Once I flip these, I'm gonna do lemon and sea beans.
27:18 And then I just need to finish off my sauce,
27:21 which I'm gonna add a little bit of lemon to,
27:23 and parsley, and maybe some cheese.
27:25 - Oh, we need a plate still, don't we?
27:32 - That's not chopped.
27:33 - Yeah, wanna go get a plate?
27:34 Go get a plate.
27:35 - I'm plating mine in my pot.
27:36 Going in.
27:42 I should probably just leave these until I'm topping.
27:45 Hey, putting my hands into hot sauce.
27:48 Good, good, good.
27:49 - You're in full panic mode right now.
27:51 - It's fine.
27:52 How much time we got?
27:54 - Like three minutes, I'm sure.
27:55 (Justin screams)
27:58 - You know what?
27:59 I'm gonna see if this mozzarella's gonna melt.
28:01 I'm gonna see if it will.
28:02 I'm gonna see if something will melt.
28:03 I don't know if that's gonna happen.
28:05 - Where is my tongs?
28:11 - You know what?
28:12 Screw it.
28:14 - Oh, my cheese.
28:15 - All right, clean up, clean up.
28:18 You gotta do it.
28:19 - Friends.
28:22 That's good, that's good, that's good.
28:23 You're making it too salty, that's good.
28:25 Thank you.
28:25 - I didn't salt this yet.
28:27 Thank you for reminding me.
28:29 - Five, four, three, two, one.
28:31 (Justin screams)
28:34 - We did it!
28:39 Yay!
28:40 Dirty high five, dirty high five, pasta hands.
28:44 - Dirty high five.
28:45 - I got parsley in my eye.
28:46 (Justin laughs)
28:48 I'm okay.
28:49 I'm sweaty.
28:51 Do I have pit stains?
28:51 This shirt doesn't show, right?
28:52 - No, you don't have pit stains.
28:53 - I do in reality, though.
28:55 (Justin laughs)
28:57 (upbeat music)
29:01 (upbeat music)
29:03 - I'll be real, that one wasn't as stressful.
29:05 - It wasn't.
29:06 - As in the past.
29:07 - We might've been able to eat that out
29:08 in 30 minutes, I feel like.
29:09 - I would've been.
29:10 - At least mine.
29:10 - Yeah.
29:11 45 minute pasta is long.
29:12 - It is.
29:13 - I think our judge would agree.
29:14 Speaking of, our resident food expert,
29:17 our boss, our jefe, Rob Satius.
29:21 Bring him down.
29:22 - Bring, bring, bring, bring, bring.
29:22 (Justin vocalizes)
29:25 - All right, pop.
29:26 - Thank you, everyone, thank you.
29:26 (all laugh)
29:27 - Come play.
29:28 - Be seated, be seated.
29:29 - Mark, sit down.
29:30 - Whatever.
29:31 (all laugh)
29:33 - I'm ready to taste what you heard.
29:35 - Are you in a good mood today already?
29:39 The two stores for today were Eataly and a Bodega.
29:44 - Okay.
29:45 - I'll be real, you're gonna know immediately
29:46 which one is which.
29:47 (all laugh)
29:48 - Let's hope otherwise.
29:49 - This is some spaghetti.
29:51 - Sun-dried tomatoes.
29:52 - Spinach, anchovy, lots of anchovy.
29:55 - Some capers.
29:55 - Artichoke.
29:57 Two types of cheese.
29:58 - Yeah.
29:58 - Get in there.
29:59 - I'm gonna get all the top and bottom.
30:02 - What are the things that you are looking for
30:04 when thinking about a pasta and its quality?
30:06 - Not over sauce.
30:07 So this is some good ratio or whatever it is.
30:13 What I'm also looking for is to make sure
30:16 the pasta is seasoned.
30:18 - How do you feel about the cook on the pasta also?
30:21 - Ah, the cook on the pasta.
30:22 - Yeah.
30:23 - That's why I'm gonna try again.
30:24 Some people push the al dente thing too far,
30:27 but this is right.
30:28 And one way I do this is I actually break it like this.
30:31 Oh no.
30:32 - How are you feeling about all the different components?
30:34 - One of my issues is, like how am I gonna eat,
30:37 what is this?
30:38 - Artichoke.
30:39 - Oh, okay.
30:39 Oh, it's chicken.
30:40 - It does look chickeny.
30:41 - It's not chicken at all.
30:42 - It's not chicken.
30:43 I wanna be able to incorporate everything in the bite.
30:45 - That's fair.
30:46 - And this is a little, it's a little hard.
30:47 - Unwieldy.
30:48 - Yeah, but let me try the artichoke.
30:49 Let's see if the artichoke's cooked properly.
30:50 - Artichoke, veg.
30:51 - My friend.
30:52 Yeah, it is.
30:56 It's a little salty.
30:57 - It's a little salty.
30:58 - It's a little salty.
31:00 Yeah.
31:01 - And there's, I feel like a lot of salty elements
31:02 going on in there altogether.
31:04 You would eat that for lunch though, yeah?
31:05 - Oh, I'd eat it.
31:06 I'd eat it.
31:07 I'd eat it.
31:08 But yeah, watch out for the salt.
31:09 So maybe what I would do with the artichoke
31:11 is to cut them a little smaller, slice them.
31:15 Whatever you do, I don't really do.
31:16 - That's a good note for you, Justin.
31:17 - Alrighty.
31:18 So this next one has a couple of extra components.
31:21 Do you wanna start with the first one, Brooke?
31:23 - This is the first component of this dish.
31:25 - Okay.
31:26 - Something weird.
31:28 - Yay!
31:31 - I'm strong.
31:32 A little pinot grigio to compliment your-
31:34 - From Italy.
31:35 - Exactly, from Italy.
31:37 - And then there's one final additional component.
31:39 So first of all, I'm gonna take this recloj off.
31:42 Jesus.
31:43 We're gonna add a little bit of something else
31:46 to the end of this.
31:48 - A little caviar on top.
31:49 Not a big deal.
31:50 - Justin, also so people know, it looks-
31:52 - Oh yeah, totally the bodega pop.
31:54 - It looks like I'm being really gross
31:58 by using a plastic fork for caviar,
32:01 but we don't own mother of pearl spoons.
32:03 And you can't use metal with caviar
32:06 'cause it will interact with the caviar itself.
32:08 So plastic is actually, weirdly enough,
32:10 probably the next best thing after mother of pearl.
32:12 - Maybe a spoon though, instead of a fork.
32:14 - We only have plastic forks.
32:15 - I'm not here to judge.
32:16 - It's fine, I'm breaking it up.
32:17 - This one is obviously a seafood pasta.
32:20 You've got some calamari in there,
32:22 some head-on shrimp, some clams, a little white wine,
32:25 some sliced garlic, fresh parsley, sea beans,
32:28 and also ramps 'cause it's ramp season.
32:30 Everyone wants to ramp it up.
32:32 - A little bit of lemon as well.
32:34 - This is ambitious.
32:35 I'll tell you right now, I'm gonna start with the pasta.
32:38 Excuse the hands in there.
32:42 - No, please.
32:44 It's not that we have our own chair there.
32:45 - Pasta's perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect.
32:48 Little squid.
32:49 - Over or okay?
32:51 - It's okay.
32:52 - Okay.
32:52 - It's okay.
32:53 - Okay.
32:54 - Let's go in for the kill.
32:56 Talk to me about the preparation on this.
32:57 - So whoever did this decided to not devein it.
33:02 - Why?
33:04 - Because they didn't know how to do that
33:06 while also maintaining the beauty of the head-on shrimp.
33:10 - Oh, okay, yeah.
33:13 Sweet.
33:15 - I know some folks don't have a preference
33:16 for working for their pasta.
33:18 How do you feel about it?
33:21 - I don't like working.
33:22 - Rob wants to retire.
33:26 - Can we take this out?
33:27 - Yeah, take that guy out.
33:28 - Well, make sure you're getting the produce.
33:30 Make sure you're finding a ramp, a sea bean.
33:32 - Sea bean, sea bean.
33:32 - Yeah, get some sea beans in there.
33:34 - What the hell's a sea bean?
33:35 What do you think a sea bean is?
33:37 - It's a meat, they taste like literal grass capers.
33:40 - It's like a fancy, it's a fancy sea weed.
33:42 - It's a fancy, yeah, that's a good way of saying it.
33:44 - Grass caper.
33:45 - All right, I got the caviar, the pasta.
33:48 - Shrimp, clam, momam.
33:50 - I got it all.
33:51 - Did you eat it all in one bite on your tour?
33:52 - Absolutely not.
33:53 [laughing]
33:54 There's no way to do it.
33:55 Obviously, this is bodega,
33:58 the pizza, and that's--
34:00 - How could you tell?
34:01 - Years in the industry.
34:03 [laughing]
34:06 Okay, this is Justin's, and this is Brooke's.
34:11 - Why, what, why?
34:12 - I just, I internalized both of you.
34:16 - He said Justin does the most maximalist cuisine.
34:20 - Justin, boom, boom, boom, boom.
34:23 - In fairness, so as you can tell,
34:26 I blew the shit out of the budget.
34:27 [laughing]
34:29 I spent seven times the budget.
34:31 It's our finale, I wanted all of us
34:32 to have a little bit of a treat.
34:33 - Honest to Godness truth,
34:35 I know which one I really wanna eat,
34:38 I wanna dig into.
34:38 [dramatic music]
34:41 It's this one.
34:42 [laughing]
34:44 Do you wanna know why?
34:45 - You're a liar.
34:46 - No!
34:47 [laughing]
34:49 You wanna know why?
34:50 This is, there's a lot, and this is beautiful,
34:54 but then I gotta take this apart,
34:57 then I gotta do this with my fork,
34:59 then I gotta, I don't know.
35:01 But it tastes really good,
35:03 but this is like, I can be,
35:05 I can just sit in front of the TV,
35:08 or whatever I do.
35:09 - Or whenever I do.
35:10 - Whatever I do, whenever I do, and just enjoy it,
35:13 and this is, the balance of flavors is really good.
35:17 Really good.
35:19 - I mean, the only negative is the,
35:22 you're hard to choke.
35:23 - Oh my God.
35:24 - The only negative, the only negative,
35:26 the only negative of that.
35:28 - I'm gonna weep.
35:29 [laughing]
35:30 - But this is what I'm saying.
35:31 I knew this whole time that I wasn't gonna win.
35:34 This is not Rob's vibe.
35:36 Can I say one thing about yours?
35:38 - Yes, please.
35:38 - First of all, try mine.
35:39 - I did, yours is delicious, honestly.
35:42 - This is the type of thing,
35:43 and there's a place near my house
35:45 that serves as an appetizer,
35:46 like day old spaghetti, and it's a cold spaghetti dish.
35:49 This cold, at like a picnic, would be so good.
35:53 - That's a good point.
35:54 I actually, ooh, I love that.
35:56 I'm really proud of myself.
35:57 I also was still under budget, I wanna point that out.
36:00 I still didn't spend $25, I put things back,
36:04 and honestly, I did not think that.