Restaurant to Another World Episode 3 Review: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce / Chocolate Parfait

This week’s episode of Restaurant to Another World is serving both main course and dessert. It also discusses some very questionable methods of exploiting other people’s recipes and the healing properties of ice cream Sundays. I don’t care much about sugar, but since I’m a pasta extremist, I was interested in checking out the only dish the Chef cooks and I’m actually familiar with.

Japanese Original Episode Title: ミートソース / チョコレートパフェ

Plot

An old, rich, fat, yet supposedly lovely guy, has a pasta company in the other world and makes huge profits by selling pasta and sauces. He introduces his grandson to the Nekoya, where the young man realizes his grandfather’s company’s products are nothing but an unworthy imitation of what the Chef cooks. The old man tells his grandson that his pasta empire lies on his shoulder now or something. Wow.

In the second segment of the episode, Adelheid (where on earth do they get these names?), a sickly young princess who had been introduced to the Nekoya by her grandfather as a child, is forced to move to the countryside because of her poor health. There, she rediscovers the Nekoya, and orders a chocolate parfait, just like when she was a child. The next day, she seems to be feeling better.

Episode Highlights

That dodgy merchant guy: I was expecting Alfade to be some sort of villain; not sure why. His whole behavior seems to me like that of some evil corporate douchebag, or even worse, the merchant of Venice. If you don’t know what this is, I suggest you take a break from life for a while and read a book.

‘It’s as if the animals were raised for the express purpose of butchering them’: I’m sure every single vegetarian loved that part. What a brutal thing to think about while you’re having a meal. And then casually keep eating. *hugs tree*

Your spaghetti is WRONG: As I said, I am pretty damn demanding with pasta. I briefly worked in a pasteria and was lucky enough to have several Italian chefs for friends. This being an anime on amazing food, and the Chef himself being a culinary mastermind, when they ordered the meat sauce spaghetti, I expected a proper Bolognese, because, well, the best (if not only) meat sauce to be served with spaghetti is Bolognese, because anything else doesn’t properly mix with it. Instead, what came to the table was a spaghetti dish served with a meat and mushroom ragu ON TOP. ON TOP. A place like this serving the pasta sauce ON TOP. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Here’s a tip, ‘Chef’: unless you cook the pasta in the sauce, the flavor is not infused in it, so you basically eat plain pasta and plain sauce. Not to mention that the pasta (especially spaghetti) gets all dry, sticky and rolled into unattractive flavorless chunks. So when you cook pasta, you need to strain them a couple of minutes early, and toss them in the sauce over low heat. Then, season with fresh herbs (which he also failed to do), mix in and serve. Ideally, you also need to mix in the cheese right before serving. And garnish with freshly ground pepper and olive oil, not grated cheese powder and pre-made hot sauce. OVER AND OUT

Bald Saruman guy: Adelheid’s grandad need to shave his head or buy a toupee and remove that rhinestone from his forehead. He looks like a raver from the 1990s.

Adelheid is a slob and a weirdo: She’s still wearing the same dress she was travelling with the morning after. That can’t be good. Not to mention she initially neglects the sweets her maids bring her, then goes to the Nekoya and orders ice cream, which, wait for it, improves her health. I mean come on, let her have a soup or something, the woman’s got a cough…

Themes & Trivia

Chef is not interested in profit: According to Alfade, the Chef is more interested in making people happy through food rather than making money out of it. Another what-a-noble-anime-hero moment right there. It never ceases to amaze me how this type of qualities are always exalted in fiction yet criticized in our society.

Why is the Nekoya always empty?! It’s supposed to be a popular visiting spot for the residents of the other world, yet in every episode there’s nobody eating in there apart from the newbies. There’s not even a need for a waitress. The only part of the show where the restaurant seems full is during the opening.

Adelheid: The Germanic version of ‘Adelaide’, a name traditionally given to female, since it means, well, ‘nobility’. Its short form is… guess what: Heidi. There is an anime for that. One of the many anime endeavors in German culture (also see Fullmetal Alchemist, Attack on Titan, Elfen Lied, Blue Exorcist).

At least cross-check your references for god’s sake

Get your food porn straight! Even google knows how pasta is supposed to be made, it’s not really a secret. As for this episode, a failed meat pasta recipe and chocolate ice cream don’t even remotely float my boat. I’d rather go for a grilled cheese sandwich. I’m hoping for something closer to my palate’s preferences next time, because now I’m just feeling sad and hungry.

Did you like Episode 3 of Restaurant to Another World? Let us know in the comments below by using either the forum or the Facebook tab! Join us in our new forum and let’s talk about our favorite series! Also, don’t forget to check the rest our Summer 2017 reviews!

NEXT TIME: Omelette Rice / Tofu Steak (オムライス / 豆腐ステーキ)