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Pasta Trenta


ComputerGuy

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Few places are as consistently good as Pasta Trenta, at 33-A Constitucion. Ate there last Saturday, and for what is still a very reasonable price, two very hot and delicious types of pasta were presented. I like the cosy surroundings, the lemon-freshed water jug, and the sliced bolillo with butter to start. Their bruschetta is tantalizingly fresh. A fairly large bowl of shredded parmesan is always presented with your meal. They've streamlined their menu, so the choices are not overwhelming. The owner runs a pretty tight ship, but I do wish the wait staff were a little friendlier. (Oh, they do their job, but that is about it: no bedside manner at all. Come cuenta time, we had to tear them all away from their cell phones.) As I recall, my pasta with clams in a red sauce (and a very nice homemade sauce, so far superior to what restaurants often serve out of a can) was $120.

I believe hours are 1 to 10; closed Thursdays.

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  • 10 months later...
On 12/7/2017 at 9:32 AM, AngusMactavish said:

Was it actually a bolillo or a birote?

Having just gone back, I think I can say it was a birote, a little saltier, but I'm not sure.

We went on Saturday night, and started with a spinach salad with apple, walnuts, gorgonzola, amongst other items. There was some kind of honey sauce, and I have to say, it was absolutely terrific. Not only that, it was a mountain of salad, for 65p. SO much better, and so much fresher (and I do mean fresh), than a lot of so-so salads around town for a lot more money. The pasta dishes were excellent, as usual, fresh and hot with a jug of freshly grated parmesan. We wondered why we were waiting so long for the bruschetta appetizer, and were happily told that everything is made from scratch every time. Putanesca was $115; tocino con melle (apple) over fettucini was $130. This is a place well-worth remembering.

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  • 4 months later...

I'm expecting the price of seafood to rise soon, as it tends to do every year at Easter here. In the meantime, I was pleased to see on Saturday night that Pasta Trente still has the same reasonable prices as last October. As usual, the food was fresh and hot and so tasty. This visit a special kind of bean soup (couldn't catch the word) started the meal off well. They have a new menu, too. Service was excellent. These people really know their business.

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  • 4 months later...

We went again this past Saturday. As usual the food was excellent. I've noticed the "bedside manner" improved over our visits, as the owner gets to know us better. And this visit a young man, a busboy who did most of the waitress's job, was exceedingly pleasant. But I have to comment on the music, dammit.

A guitar player/singer, a local guy we've all seen around plenty of times, was set up by the door. This is the second time on a Saturday night, so I guess it's become a regular thing. He's very good. But this restaurant is the size of a hospital closet, and you simply cannot wail your lungs out, no matter how nice the tune, in an area that small where diners are trying to have an intimate meal. Eventually, the steadfast drinkers started arriving, singing along and cheering. We were almost done and escaped, finally. But that is two otherwise lovely meals ruined.

I will call ahead if we plan to go back (and I would like to; best pasta in town, in my opinion), and check out the music schedule. But I won't be going back if the dog situation happens again. Halfway through our meal, a friend of the owner's came in with a huge bulldog. It sat around various tables, on a leash, as she moved around: for example when she went behind the bar to pour a wine, so did the dog. And here's the rub: pretty soon, two gals came in, each carrying cutesie-wootsie lapdogs, sat beside us, and parked the dogs on their laps. Paws on the table half the time. At which point, the bulldog... no longer able to contain itself... started barking. And the little ones started squawking. The owner was oblivous.

That's just too much for me. It's a frikkin' restaurant, not the neighbour's house.

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I don't know. It's not a topic that tends to come up. I wonder why anyone would when pasta takes a very few minutes to cook. is this important to you? A more pertinent question would be "Do they make their own?". In any case, I would be hard-pressed to tell the difference.

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I image they make their own pasta then cook it half-way and refrigerate it.  When needed they put it in boiling water to bring it up to temperature and complete the cooking process.  This is the way high-faluten restaurants do it to be able to get the food out as fast as possible.

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Some pasta lovers in my family think the pasta is very poor quality after having tried this establishment several times.  They prefer Alex, the Italian restaurant in La Canacinta, and a couple of others.  Said they would not being going back.  They are vegetarian/vegans, so don´t know if that makes a difference.

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Computer Guy, that is an unbelievably funny story ... but only if it were fiction.  I am a dog lover down to my bones and only a couple of times have I been aggravated by a dog in a restaurant.  But this does take the cake.  When they start barking at each other and being allowed to "visit" the tables it is time to speak up.  Also, you describe this place as being small ... that is not a place for one dog much less 3!

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Over the past 2 - 3 years I  have dined at Pasta Trenta more than a dozen times and never been disappointed. To cook and serve different pastas at the same time..not only aldente but also hot is a tough task ,no matter whether the pasta is fresh , blanched or dried .Luckily l have managed to avoid screaming kids , barking dogs and live music .The room is just too small with only about six tightly packed tables .Personally I prefer dried pasta , its easier to cook aldente and incidentally many fine dining restaurants Italian and otherwise blanch certain pastas .

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I'm with Ian on this one: the "granddaddy myth" has us believing that everything fresh is better.

"Many may not realize that fresh pasta, pasta fresca, and dry pasta, pasta secca, are different types of pasta. Dried pasta is not simply fresh pasta that is dried. It is made using a different dough, without eggs, which are usually the primary ingredient, besides flour, in fresh pasta. This in itself produces a different texture and taste, not to mention color. As well, all those various shapes? You can’t make those with fresh pasta."

The quote is not an opinion. It is fact. https://culinarylore.com/food-myths:is-fresh-pasta-superior-to-dried/

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A quality imported dry eggless pasta from Italy such as a spaghetti, capellini or linguine is fine.  However, when it comes to thicker wider pastas, you cannot beat the homemade pappardelles at either Alex's or Taverna Quattro Mori.  

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I get several brands of whole grain and vegetable pasta at WalMart (ironic, considering their poor selection on some items that sell much more briskly). They impart all kinds of interesting flavours. Some of which are entirely unsuitable for certain dishes. Kinda like using brown rice when making Asian food, such as basic stir-fried rice. And you are right: have not seen whole grain pasta offered at any restaurant here yet.

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I do suggest keeping imported Italian pasta in the freezer , it definitely inhibits the “ arrival of the weevils “  Over the years I have found Italian pasta to be  more likely the culprit in bringing these little *uckers into my kitchens .

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