pasta shop

I’ve been wanting to eat at the pasta shop for ages now, because they supply a lot of the fresh pasta for the casinos and restaurants in Vegas.  Talk about going to the source!  If you are ever near Tropicana and Eastern in Vegas, you HAVE to give this restaurante a try.  It’s seating area is not very big, so it would be advisable to make reservations in advance.  Dishes are in the price range from 12.95-23.95, but are worth every penny.  Wow, the depth and dynamic flavors of their dishes are out of this world.  It’s your traditional pasta comfort food, but soooo much better and authentic.

For an appetizer we decided to try their artichoke special.  This is very traditional Italian food.  I usually wouldn’t order this, but the artichoke was sweet yet tangy and flavored the olive oil balsamic mixture that we dipped our garlic bread in. 

 

For the main course, I had the chicken davita, which was a mix of lightly breaded chicken, fried eggplant, mixed vegetables, pasta and fresh mozzarella.  What really amazed me about this dish was the pasta sauce that gently coated the fresh, spongy pasta.  There is just something about fresh pasta that is like no other.  It’s delicate and spongy, and very different from dried pasta.  The sauce had to be made with sweet bell peppers because it tasted like it was simmered and reduced down for hours.  So sweet and full of rich tomato flavor.  I couldn’t stop eating it! 

Chris had the baked rigatoni, which was your traditional pasta, sauce and cheese, but it was different, not generic and definitely not non-fat!  You could tell it was home-made, full of love.  Our friends, Mike and Melissa, had the chicken marsala, which we had a bite of.  I usually don’t ever get chicken marsala, but this is something I would want to get again.  It was rich, yet sweet with the marsala wine and caramelized onions. 

Paired along with all of these dishes, we brought a Fireblock Grenache ($15 corking fee), which worked perfectly.  It was fruity and mellow to blend with all  the different flavors, but still had a nice oaky bite to it, but not too powerful.  I would say this is a great beginner red wine, but very enjoyable.  If anyone can find this wine in Vegas, I’ll personally buy you and me a bottle because we can’t find it anywhere!  My mom has to truck it from North Carolina because we did find it there.  For dessert we had the traditional tiramisu.  And while it could have been stronger on the espresso flavor, it was creamy rich, yet light and satisfying all in one.  The Pasta Shop is definitely a place I would love to go back to.  The service was great, the waiter sarcastic and friendly, the ambience eclectic and the food . . . amazing.

     

Italian is my favorite food by far and I love supporting great local restaurants.  What’s your favorite local restaurant and why?