Which Italian restaurant in New York sells the best red sauce?

Rao's, Carbone, Patsy's, Michael's of Brooklyn, and Carmine's sell packaged marinara sauce in their stores: Are they any good?

I decided to gather several bottled marinara sauces from well-known establishments and taste them, not only to see which is the best, but also to evaluate how well they reflect and enhance the brand. The candidates are Rao's, Carbone, Patsy's, Michael's of Brooklyn, and Carmine's. In addition to tasting the sauce straight from the bottle, I also used it in a dish to see how it paired with other flavors. I've listed the sauces in ascending order.

5. Carmine's Marinara Sauce, 32 ounces, $13

The sauce at this Times Square and Upper West Side restaurant chain was bland and tasteless, with barely any tomato chunks and an artificial flavor. The dish: I spread it generously over Raffetto's exquisite cheese and spinach ravioli. Does a rising tide lift all boats? In this case, no.

4. Rao's Sensitive Marinara Sauce, 24 oz, $10

The restaurant, founded in 1896 in East Harlem, is famous for being virtually impossible to get a table unless you make a reservation or know someone who does. This is the Rao's sauce I saw most often, notably lacking onion and garlic. Thick, frankly oily, and sweeter than most, the sauce, which claims to be Italian in origin, gets its flavor from herbs, carrots, and celery. Its extreme simplicity makes it more like a pizza sauce than a pasta sauce. The dish: dry, thick fettuccine (also from Rao's) with fennel-infused pork sausage (from the Sopranos' favorite restaurant, Satriale's) paired perfectly with the sauce.

3. Delicate Marinara Carbone 24 ounces, $9

For a restaurant known for its exclusivity, Carbone's marinara is typically a dollar or two cheaper than others, though the label suggests that buying it means "taking home a high-quality dining experience." The sauce is bright red, thick, and perhaps a touch too sweet, with carrots contributing to its vibrancy. The oil seeps around the edges, and the oregano promised on the label is barely noticeable. The dish: It paired perfectly with poached squid and fusilli, reminding us that marinara means "sailor" and that marinara sauces are especially good with seafood.

2. Michael's of Brooklyn, 32 ounces, $13

This sauce, from Michael's of Brooklyn, a renowned Italian-American restaurant in Marine Park, did not disappoint, although it was a bit too sweet and relied too heavily on garlic for flavor, with an almost citrusy acidity. It surpassed the previous three sauces due to its more intense character, which, in my opinion, works in its favor. This, at least, is a sauce that can be poured over pasta and thoroughly enjoyed. The dish: This sauce, paired with lamb meatballs with onions and served with fresh cavatelli, made for a pleasant dinner.

1. Patsy's Marinara Sauce, 24 oz, $10

The sauce from the veteran Midtown restaurant Patsy's seems made for the bottle: its flavor is a far cry from what they serve in the restaurant. It's thick and spicy, a sauce with character. The dish: mixed with ziti, eggplant, and mozzarella in a free-form Sicilian casserole, the sauce blew its competitors away.