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| - Checked out PastaBar tonight and here's my review...
We'll start with the bad:
* Horrible location within the building. The entrance is way down the hallway that you enter off of 1st St. Maybe they have plans to redo that hallway into something more inviting, but it feels like you're walking into some storage area and it's really a shame as the entry doors are quite nice and give a nice first impression once you actually reach them. Would have been great if the entrance was right off the street like Sens.
* No alcohol license. Just read that it's in the works (2 weeks out) and glad to hear that as pasta with no wine just doesn't sit well, ya know?
* Cloth napkins would be nice. It's not a big deal but would give it a better ambiance then a fork/knife wrapped in a paper napkin, especially when you're dropping $20 per person
Now for the good:
* The food is freaking AMAZING! I'm serious when I say it's the best pasta I've ever eaten. That may not be saying that much, as I don't eat pasta often, and if I do, it's usually Buca di Beppo or Olive Garden, but this was some seriously good food.
I had the Chitarra alla Carbonara...guanciale, farm egg, local onion, Pecorino ($17) along with Warm Calamari ($7). My fiance had the Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder ($9). The Pork Shoulder I could have passed on...not that it wasn't good, just didn't really care for the sauce it had on it. The other two items however...I was just about licking the pasta bowl when done, it was that good. The texture of the noodles was spot on, and the mix of the guanciale (bacon made from the pigs head from what I understood) along with the Pecorino (sheep's milk cheese) worked great together.
* Complimentary Valet Parking! Not sure if it's a temporary thing or not, but it was nice, especially on a freezing night like tonight.
* Portion size was good...right in the middle, not too little but definitely not the huge platter portions you would see at Buca di Beppo. Pasta dishes are 4oz-6oz each and they recommend to pair it with a side or appetizer, but really I didn't think it was necessary once the pasta dish arrived.
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