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| - Now that I've made a full Pasta and Provisions meal, I feel fully prepared to give an educated review.
Service: Rockin'. The little shop was packed (mostly with Myers Park-esque women who seemed to be staring at me, but I can ignore them) but there was always a friendly and knowledgeable staff ready to help.
I asked what I should make for dinner since I haven't tried their fresh pastas. A mushroom one, and a garlic rosemary was recommended. The person helping me said the linguine should only be boiled for 45 seconds. She got me the right amount, and went to the back where the pasta is cut and prepared, to get the portion. It's nifty to see the pasta come zipping into the cashier area on a wire, hung near the ceiling.
Foccacia (sp?) bread comes in an ENORMOUS wheel, almost the size of a large pizza of car wheel. You can get it cut in half. To go with it, I got a $2.50 bag of spring mix and a container of Greek (I know, it's Greek in an Italian store, but it's fantastic) white bean spread. The bread was light and fresh, the spread so savory and delicious...I ate half the container before dinner. Oops!
There's a freezer section, a few of them full of frozen filled pastas like ravioli in different varieties (seafood, squash, mushroom, crab, cheese, etc.) and frozen sauces. There are freshly refrigerated ones too, like the popular marinara and pomodoro sauces. I chose the pomodoro with 12 meatballs.
I also got some peach soda for bellinis for a New Year's party, and some house cheese blend (parm and a couple other cheeses blended together in a plastic baggie), block of imported fontina cheese, and a small bottle of house dressing.
Everything was delicious. The cooking directions of 45 seconds is spot on for al-dente pasta. Compared to dried stuff, you'll never want to go back. Just the right amount of chew and nice garlicky flavor. The sauce too was super flavorful and blows the jarred Ragu stuff from the grocery store out of the water.
I forgot to pick up a canoli or one of the pie things at the front. Oh well, next time.
PS: The prices are higher than the grocery store, but you really get what you pay for here. Can't wait to plan out another meal here!
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