DAMAGED Goods: MARKY RAMONE’S BROOKLYN’S OWN PASTA SAUCE!

Years ago, when I was writing for an upstart alt-weekly in Oklahoma City called OKAY! MAGAZINE, I had the pleasure to interview erstwhile Ramones drummer Marky (née Marc Bell) in the dingy upstairs dressing room of VZD’s (still my favorite live-music venue) as he was eating, if I remember correctly, a surprisingly healthy dinner for a rock legend. No drugs, no groupies, none of the expected rock trappings—just excited talk of monster movies and punk music as, if I remember correctly, freshly prepared salads and bottled waters were enjoyed. He was (and, I guess, still is) an extremely awesome dude.

Because of that memorable interaction, I’ve always tried to support whatever Marky’s got going on, be it a new album, tour or, as I found the other day while shopping at Denver’s Twist & Shout record store, pasta sauce. Yep, Marky Ramone’s Brooklyn’s Own Pasta Sauce. My taste buds were hanging upside down!

I’m not sure if it’s made from Marky’s own recipe or just something he signed off on, but it’s a surprisingly top-notch pasta-topper. Made from “imported Italian plum tomatoes”, I can easily say that it’s a damn find spaghetti sauce. Thoroughly thick and chunky with a tarty 1-2-3-4 bop that you don’t get from, say, a cheap jug of Ragu.

When I bought it, I had grand plans on how I was going to use it. Maybe something called “Gabba-Gabbagool”? Or how about some “Carbonara (Not Glue)”? Tired of the jar just staring at me as I tried to come up with a suitably Ramones-inspired dish, I ended up making a simple dinner of whole wheat spaghetti and, lacking the ground beef for meatballs, some spicy Italian sausage I had in the back of the freezer, topped off with a healthy helping of some freshly shredded Parmesan cheese.



Turns out, like the best tunes of the Ramones, I didn’t need anything fancy, just the basics. A simple spaghetti dinner did the job perfectly, giving me one of the best homemade Italian meals I’ve had in a long time. It didn’t overtake the food—it just purely complimented it, as a sauce should. It gave me something to believe in, at least pasta-wise.

Probably the only thing that would keep me from using it with every pasta dinner I make—as much as I would love to, mind you—is the price. I paid about $8 for a 24 ounce jar at a record store in Denver. Factor in the gas and all and I’ve paid about as much as a meal at a local Italian eatery. However, according to the website, 10% of each jar goes to the Autism Speaks charity, so maybe it’d be worth it to just buy a whole case and write it off on my taxes. I can do that, right? Or would the IRS take my baby away?

To order Marky Ramone’s Brooklyn’s Own Pasta Sauce, click here.