I've eaten a number of times at Pasta Bar, and am comfortable enough to term its pasta 'good'. Head Chef Alessandro Giustetti might not be always behind the bar, but his eye is on his team. There're 12 pasta items on the menu, and all the pasta is handmade daily. Took the man to Pasta Bar for dinner. It was his first visit and he loved the food. It's a small cute space with an open kitchen that's a little warm around the bar counter, but that's okay for us. Be warned, seating is around the bar on high chairs or at high tables. The regular table seats are very limited and you probably need to book quite a bit in advance to fit groups of six for easy conversation.
The man wanted to eat the beef tripe stew with potatoes, olives and herbs. He bravely chose the tagliatelle with the 24-hour beef ragu and parmigiano. I said 'bravely' because it's a heavy pasta, and very beefy. That ragu held shredded meat rather than minced/ground, lending it more bite. The man loved the restaurant's aged claypot negroni. As long as they have this, he can do without wine here. Hahaha. I decided to try its ciriole carbonara tonight. The server warned me that it would be 'savory'. I wasn't sure what they actually meant; I assumed it meant full flavored and rich, which would be fine by me. The carbonara was simply cooked with guanciale, egg, black pepper, and a mountain of pecorino, as it rightfully should be. It was delicious, BUT, I found the guanciale a little ermmm heavy, as in stinky-heavy. I no like that. Perhaps the 'savory' mentioned referred to this?
The portions of pasta are rather big for me. I need to be very hungry to finish it all. Most days I leave a quarter on the plate. Pasta Bar's sauces are robust and punchy, letting the full flavors of the meat shine through, so the pastas with meats somehow tend to be a little gamey. I don't quite fancy that. I prefer its vegetarian pastas to its meats. I think I shall have its vegetarian pastas from now on. I love the restaurant's take on rigatoni cacio e pepe. The vegetarian eggless lagane with just chickpeas, chilli and spicy garlic is superb.
The man wanted to eat the beef tripe stew with potatoes, olives and herbs. He bravely chose the tagliatelle with the 24-hour beef ragu and parmigiano. I said 'bravely' because it's a heavy pasta, and very beefy. That ragu held shredded meat rather than minced/ground, lending it more bite. The man loved the restaurant's aged claypot negroni. As long as they have this, he can do without wine here. Hahaha. I decided to try its ciriole carbonara tonight. The server warned me that it would be 'savory'. I wasn't sure what they actually meant; I assumed it meant full flavored and rich, which would be fine by me. The carbonara was simply cooked with guanciale, egg, black pepper, and a mountain of pecorino, as it rightfully should be. It was delicious, BUT, I found the guanciale a little ermmm heavy, as in stinky-heavy. I no like that. Perhaps the 'savory' mentioned referred to this?
The portions of pasta are rather big for me. I need to be very hungry to finish it all. Most days I leave a quarter on the plate. Pasta Bar's sauces are robust and punchy, letting the full flavors of the meat shine through, so the pastas with meats somehow tend to be a little gamey. I don't quite fancy that. I prefer its vegetarian pastas to its meats. I think I shall have its vegetarian pastas from now on. I love the restaurant's take on rigatoni cacio e pepe. The vegetarian eggless lagane with just chickpeas, chilli and spicy garlic is superb.
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