Table Talk
Fresh pasta: Who's making it and why
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David Rea
Tina Elsea, co-owner of Caffe Da Vinci, in back, prepares dough to make fresh gnocchi while Eduardo Nanato cuts pastina pasta to be used for wedding soup. The restaurant, 3080 Tremont Road, makes about 40 pounds of fresh noodles every day, according to co-owner Kim Elsea.
The recipe is simple: eggs and flour.
But making pasta, as many restaurateurs will tell you, isn't so easy.
Expensive equipment, manpower and product loss often leads them to dried pasta made from a distant manufacturer. The romantic notion of graying Italian ladies stirring fresh eggs into a dusty mound of flour, hand-kneading the dough and rolling out sheets of pasta doesn't quite match reality these days.
Joe Milano said kitchen space is an issue at his diminutive Caffe Daniela in Worthington.
"I couldn't make it here even if I wanted to," Milano said. The restaurant offers fresh-made cavatelli from Sidari's in Cleveland, plus a variety of dried noodles.
"In my opinion, it's not the make or break of a good dish," he said. "The sauce is the make or break of a good dish."
To Kim Elsea, making pasta is simply tradition. He and his wife Tina are the owners of Caffe DaVinci in Upper Arlington, where workers are churning out 40 pounds of fresh noodles daily for lasagna, ravioli, spaghetti and fettucine.
"I think basically the taste is why, more than anything," he said. "It's so much better than the other pasta. It's like night and day."
The restaurant, like most, uses dried pasta in some circumstances; for example, the rigatoni. But by and large, customers have become accustomed to the soft blond noodles used in their favorite dishes, he said.
"It's just something we've always done," Elsea said. "I think if we changed it, people would definitely notice."
Many central Ohio restaurants turn to Pasta Ditoni's, a fresh-pasta maker located near the Port Columbus International Airport. Goga Bhattal said it's difficult to make good pasta. Temperature and humidity also play a role in
its development and if fresh pasta isn't sold in a relatively short period of time, it gets dry and breaks apart in the water.
"It's an artisan thing," Bhattal said.
Unfortunately, many people associate pasta with something cheap: noodles plus sauce equals low expectations, Bhattal said. In fact, handmade noodles should have a distinct, if subtle, flavor. Pasta DiToni's also makes some signature styles, such as the poblano fettucine, which is shipped to a Mexican restaurant in Indianapolis.
"There's a difference in pasta, especially fresh pasta," he said.
Making homemade noodles isn't exclusive to Italian restaurants. Other types of restaurants are using dough to create noodles and dumplings. Husband-and-wife team Rose and Harry Shan make fresh noodles for the jha jha myun and spicy seafood soup at Spring of China, also known as Pung Mei in Upper Arlington. The long, chewy noodles made from Korean wheat are cut and cooked to order, she said. The restaurant is also known for its many styles of dumpling, also handmade.
Merion Village resident Keith Larmi, who dines out frequently, said he likes fresh pasta but doesn't shy away from the dried stuff.
"You can definitely tell the difference but I can't say it keeps me out of any place," he said.
Where to get dishes with fresh-made noodles:
Bel Lago, 170 N. Sunbury Road, Westerville.
Caffe DaVinci, 3080 Tremont Road, Upper Arlington.
Indochine Caf, 561 S. Hamilton Road.
La Scala, 4199 W. Dublin-Granville Road, Dublin.
Pasquale's, 14 N. State St., Westerville.
Spring of China, 4720 Reed Road, Upper Arlington.
But making pasta, as many restaurateurs will tell you, isn't so easy.
Expensive equipment, manpower and product loss often leads them to dried pasta made from a distant manufacturer. The romantic notion of graying Italian ladies stirring fresh eggs into a dusty mound of flour, hand-kneading the dough and rolling out sheets of pasta doesn't quite match reality these days.
Joe Milano said kitchen space is an issue at his diminutive Caffe Daniela in Worthington.
"I couldn't make it here even if I wanted to," Milano said. The restaurant offers fresh-made cavatelli from Sidari's in Cleveland, plus a variety of dried noodles.
"In my opinion, it's not the make or break of a good dish," he said. "The sauce is the make or break of a good dish."
To Kim Elsea, making pasta is simply tradition. He and his wife Tina are the owners of Caffe DaVinci in Upper Arlington, where workers are churning out 40 pounds of fresh noodles daily for lasagna, ravioli, spaghetti and fettucine.
"I think basically the taste is why, more than anything," he said. "It's so much better than the other pasta. It's like night and day."
The restaurant, like most, uses dried pasta in some circumstances; for example, the rigatoni. But by and large, customers have become accustomed to the soft blond noodles used in their favorite dishes, he said.
"It's just something we've always done," Elsea said. "I think if we changed it, people would definitely notice."
Many central Ohio restaurants turn to Pasta Ditoni's, a fresh-pasta maker located near the Port Columbus International Airport. Goga Bhattal said it's difficult to make good pasta. Temperature and humidity also play a role in
its development and if fresh pasta isn't sold in a relatively short period of time, it gets dry and breaks apart in the water.
"It's an artisan thing," Bhattal said.
Unfortunately, many people associate pasta with something cheap: noodles plus sauce equals low expectations, Bhattal said. In fact, handmade noodles should have a distinct, if subtle, flavor. Pasta DiToni's also makes some signature styles, such as the poblano fettucine, which is shipped to a Mexican restaurant in Indianapolis.
"There's a difference in pasta, especially fresh pasta," he said.
Making homemade noodles isn't exclusive to Italian restaurants. Other types of restaurants are using dough to create noodles and dumplings. Husband-and-wife team Rose and Harry Shan make fresh noodles for the jha jha myun and spicy seafood soup at Spring of China, also known as Pung Mei in Upper Arlington. The long, chewy noodles made from Korean wheat are cut and cooked to order, she said. The restaurant is also known for its many styles of dumpling, also handmade.
Merion Village resident Keith Larmi, who dines out frequently, said he likes fresh pasta but doesn't shy away from the dried stuff.
"You can definitely tell the difference but I can't say it keeps me out of any place," he said.
Where to get dishes with fresh-made noodles:
Bel Lago, 170 N. Sunbury Road, Westerville.
Caffe DaVinci, 3080 Tremont Road, Upper Arlington.
Indochine Caf, 561 S. Hamilton Road.
La Scala, 4199 W. Dublin-Granville Road, Dublin.
Pasquale's, 14 N. State St., Westerville.
Spring of China, 4720 Reed Road, Upper Arlington.
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