GO HANG A SALAMI

Notes: 7 layers of noodles VERY saucy (tomato meat sauce - big chunks of meat, and carrots). Flavourful tomatoes, not sweet or spicy. Amazing cheese pull, mozzarella on top layer and throughout. The cheesiest lasagna so far. Review: A top tier lasagna. Everything you would expect from lasagna. So much cheese, some stuck to the tray lid. Even after letting it sit for 10 minutes after taking it out of the oven, the cheese pull went from pan to plate and was difficult to cut, it just kept pulling. Because it is SO saucy, it is kind of sloppy to serve. Kids say that this is their favourite lasagna so far. Details: Sweet Paradise Bakery Gourmet Meat Lasagna Paid $32 on sale (Regular $34) ~5 lb *What differentiates the Meat Lasagna and Gourmet Meat Lasagna at Sweet Paradise is the amount of layers. There is one additional layer in the Gourmet. served

Notes: 7 layers of soft tender homemade noodles lots of flavourful stewed meat - not tomato based tomato sauce layer on top, and a little tomato sauce slathered on noodles throughout no mozzarella on top, a few layers throughout, that gives some cheesy pull Review: This is an extremely high quality lasagna. It's not so cheesy and tomato-y like many others and instead relies on the quality of the noodles and meat. You can taste the love (and hours) put into constructing this beauty. Noodle quality (and quantity) really makes or breaks a lasagna, and these homemade noodles set it apart from all others. The taste of the stewed meat really makes this special, it is incredibly tender and flavourful - I did not miss having tons of cheese. Really delicious -- as others who ate with me said "this tastes how lasagna should taste". Details: Miceli Bakery  Meat Lasagna Paid $50.00 at Miceli Bakery ~ 5 lb packaging served

Notes: 6 layers of noodles more ricotta than sauce sauce has a slight spicy kick to it layer of mozzarella on top & one layer of mozzarella mid-stack to make a cheesy pull Review: This is a well made lasagna, but it made me realize that I don't really love ricotta and spinach lasagna; not sure if it's because of the texture, or that the overall flavour is just more bland in comparison to bolognese lasagna. What this lasagna made clear is that béchamel is the clear winner in the béchamel vs. ricotta debate. I would steer away from buying ricotta & spinach lasagna ever again (from anywhere), but will definitely try Pan Del Sol's meat lasagna and/or meat & mushroom lasagna in the future. Details: Pan Del Sol   Spinach & Ricotta Lasagna Paid $39.99 at Pan Del Sol 5 lb packaging served

Notes: 7 layers of delicate(thin) noodles sauce spread evenly across a few layers creamy béchamel on alternating layers a little bit of cheese on very top meat is perfectly seasoned and tasty Review: This is one luxurious lasagna. Can really taste that quality ingredients used. It's not sweet, or tinny, there are no overbearing flavours. A well balanced lasagna. And the thin layers of noodles make all the difference.  Others lasagnas are the same cost, BUT are almost double in weight - so this one is about double in cost. When I picked it out of grocery store freezer, I was surprised that it was about 1/2 as deep as most other frozen lasagnas. Details: Pretto's Pasta The Queen of All Lasagna Paid $29.99 at Strathcona Market 1.7 kg / 3.75 lb ***update: Roma Bakery also sells for $24.99 packaging served

This inclusion warrants some context and an explanation for why I would even find myself at East Side Mario's . I blame it all on poor planning on a Saturday night . A friend and I were hit with the reality that we did in fact need a reservation to go to any restaurant we wanted to eat at on a Saturday night, or be faced with a 1 hr 30 min - 1 hr 45 min wait when entering the door. After walking around downtown and checking out six different restaurants, we drove to the land of big box stores and chain restaurants, knowing that we would be able to find a table without having to wait. This is to explain that I never planned to include East Side Mario's in lasagna reviews (or any chain restaurant at all). But since none of the other menu items were enticing I reluctantly ordered the lasagna - (at least I could add it to the blog?). I apologized to my friend that I would be the embarrassing person taking pictures of my food at  East Side Mario's. Notes: Four layers of t...

Notes: 5 layers of noodles VERY saucy (bolognese) Sauce is fairly sweet Layer of cheese on top Very little ricotta in some layers Not a lot of meat in it Review: Taste is good, but it is certainly sweet, and not cheesy enough Details: Zarky's Fine Foods Paid $29.99 at Zarky's  2.27 kg / 5 lb packaging served

Notes: 6 layers of noodles basic tasting bolognese cheese only on top 2 layers (not a lot) Lozen said: "a very basic but decent lasagna" Review: hits the spot when craving lasagna. Would probably only purchase if on sale. Details: Mama Yolanda's  Gourmet Bolognese Paid $27.99 at Fortinos Supermarket 2.72 kg / 6 lbs **update: Lococo's sells for $13.99 packaging served