Let me begin at the end. Leaving the restaurant, I told the chef-owner that I’ve been waiting 15 years for him. It’s my truth; no restaurant has presented such pasta since my mentor Antonio, in his original MoMo Italian Specialities.
Back to the beginning. You enter on the side of the brick building, feeling
it’s a secret trattoria you just happened upon. The entrance doesn’t face a
parking lot or the frontage road to the busy Bush Tollway, but instead, the
view from within looking out is the gorgeous patio of the upscale restaurant
next door. Brilliant!
Miss Pasta’s interior, despite the unappealing counter ordering, is very warmly
inviting. A magnificent picture sets a sweet tone and tables fill the windowed
space. Lucky for W and me, there’s a long bar option which we always prefer,
and here we can watch the chef prepare dishes. He does so in a modern-esque very
small space designed for efficiency, and functions so quietly. That was the
chef’s plan; six induction burners put out finished dishes with amazing speed. Brilliant!
The restaurant’s menu concept pays homage to Italian tradition, and pays it to
such an extent that I think for many diners, it needs explaining. Pasta in
Italy is considered a first course, as is soup, risotto, and more. Primi Piatti!
A few dishes incorporate meat or seafood within the sauce, stuffed pasta, or
rice, but that’s it. The Secondo, or second course, is a protein served with a
side vegetable – never, ever, is pasta degraded as a side dish to this course. At
Miss Pasta there’s such authentic attention given to cooking pasta as served in
Italy, not as found on American menus. Brava!
It is truly a regional menu, so diverse with dishes from the country’s southernmost
to northernmost. Sitting there sipping wine and trying to choose, I realized W
really does hear me when I rant. She summed up their regional offerings as
“from the heel to the veal”. Exactly, Sweets!
The two options we settled on to share were both delicious. They brought me watery eyes with the first bite;
so much flavor perfected in such simplicity. Although W was forgiven for forgetting to
order with the fried eggs, the very fact that Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (garlic,
olive oil, chili peppers, breadcrumbs) offers eggs atop thrilled me! We often
eat it that way when I cook but we never see it on any menus. Spaghetti alla
Puttanesca was bursting with flavor also from minimal ingredients: cherry
tomato sauce, olives, anchovies, capers, oregano, garlic.
The pastas are just so good that you forget you’re eating from a paper bowl, sturdy as it is. Another touch of brilliance considering any or all upscale additions – table wear, table servers, additional cleanup, would only increase costs for the establishment and its customers. This way the restaurant serves the quality of a finer dining experience while supporting a strong casual dining or carry-out status. Still, I’m sure Miss Pasta will hear complaints. During our dinner, we observed a customer say her goodbyes but scurry back in to comment to the owners that they should have a bigger sign.
Are there things I would prefer? Of course, but a bigger sign wouldn’t be one.
Finer pasta strands such as linguine, fini linguine, and capellini would be,
for they are simply personal favorites. And I very much prefer dried pasta for
certain dishes like Aglio e Olio regardless of how excellent the fresh version
may be. And these are!
I really, really wish for a half-priced-wine-bottles-day,
which is a factor that keeps W and I returning most often to our special haunts
which do. The restaurant has limited beverage offerings, and only bottled water
for purchase which probably won’t settle well with a huge majority of diners.
Didn’t with us. To pay $38 for a bottle of wine with no free table water, is a
bit hard to swallow.
But W and I will be returning, probably soon followed by often and morphed into
regularly. Miss Pasta feels familiar in so many ways and I’ve missed this
feeling. Missed it terribly. Ancora!
