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YouTubeMy parents and sister are coming to Columbus for the Columbus Marathon and are looking for a good place that serves pasta for the night before since they need to load up on carbs for the run. Any suggestions of restaurants? And also, what pasta dish is the best? Also, we prefer non-sports bar type restaurants since the game is that night and it will be loud/crazy at those kind of places.
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Q&A
Good pasta restaurants/dishes?
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placebohigh
The Short North
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Posted 4 years ago # -
Alexandra477
Short North
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Basi
Figlio
Spaghetti Warehouse
I like Surly's spaghetti and meatballs. And there's always Mama's Pasta & Brew (j/k that wouldn't be good for the night before a marathon).
Posted 4 years ago # -
Coremodels
Really close to Explorer's Club.
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the Lasagna at G. Michaels is REALLY good, but honestly for good old fashioned pasta dishes I'd go to Tony's...haven't really had better than Tony's Fettuccini in the city.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Brewmaster
Portland, OR
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We've got reservations at Tony's. You can't go wrong there or Due Amici. Both places have homemade pastas. Tony's is more old school, Due Amici is a little trendier.
I always get Tony's Own Fetuccini (shrimp, crab, scallops and cream sauce), but the cream sauce might be a little heavy for runners. Fetuccini Madonna (chicken, artichokes, capers...) is a little lighter.
Posted 4 years ago # -
somertimeoh
Harrison West
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Thanks, everyone! I don't cook so I have to go out to get my pasta and now I have choices, yeah!!
Any of those places with a good primavera? Must avoid anything with a heavy sauce (don't want to end up like Michael on the Office!!), although it does all sound so good :)
Posted 4 years ago # -
Coremodels
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Mercurius wrote I'd vote for Basi and only on Thurs. Cafe Del Mondo?
As much as I love Basi for Italian, I don't think much of their menu qualifies as "carb up pasta" does it???
That was one of my first thoughts, was Basi, but that was why I skipped it.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Alexandra477
Short North
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Ndcent wrote Barcelona has some nice pasta dishes. Whatever basil tabasco cream sauce I had on this pasta there recently was AMAZING.
I read that really fast and thought it said basil tobacco...and it still sounded good.
Has anyone eaten at Cafe del Mondo? I've wondered about that place.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Mercurius
First Avenue
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From Lisathewaitress
Cafe del Mondo
Guess what? I've made your dinner plans for next Thursday. Wasn't that easy? You don't even have to think about what to order. All you have to do is make a reservation and find some spare wine lying about your house. You say you only have a budget of $40 for dining out this week? Even better.
Located in an unassuming warehouse on 4th street is one of the city's hidden lunch treasures. Many are already familiar with their scathingly Italian espresso, their calzones and paninis, and whatever else has been cooked up for lunch - I've been there on occasion (too bad they weren't open when I used to work at the Smith Brother's Hardware Building), but until recently, I had no idea they served dinner every once in awhile.
When a friend, whose taste I trust implicitly, told me a 4-6 course dinner was served on Thursday nights for around $20, I was incredulous, but excited to see what it was all about. And it's true. It's all true. There's no liquor license, so I came armed with wine in hand. Wine I already had at home, so there was no need to even buy something on the way - I'm really sticking to my budget!
Cafe del Mondo is small and cozy - it's a pleasant, warm orange color and seats about 20 or so. Our server opened out wine for us and we were presented with a plate of simple bruschetta. It seemed simple, tomatoes on toast, but the tomatoes were spiked with a little garlic, and the bread was perfectly toasted.
Next up came a great little salad topped with many things in the Italian vein - olives, roasted red peppers, fresh mozzarella and a good, housemade balsamic vinaigrette. It was the quality of the simple ingredients which shone; the roasted red peppers were seriously good, almost buttery rich. I'm sorry for the picture, I was a little timid, being with a few people who haven't seen my compulsive picture-taking before:
For dinner, we were served sliced pork loin topped with a simple sauce of capers and a few oven roasted tomatoes. On the side was a simple - but perfectly cooked - pile of spaghetti tossed in butter and pine nuts and covered with a little dusting of good Parmesan; it could have used a little salt, but we kept marveling at the perfect al dente-ness of the noodles. Good, not overcooked green beans finished the dish, cooked up with a little bacon and more of those roasted red peppers. Everything was simple, unpretentious, and quite good:
Dessert came - a tall, proud layer cake with simple whipped cream frosting and lemon curd filling. I very unwisely chose to have an espresso, a decision I had 9 hours to regret as I lay in bed cursing my thoughtlessness. I guess I am officially old - gone are the days of chugging pints of coffee all day long and still getting my 8 hours of blissfully unaware sleep. It's all downhill from here, I guess. Soon I'll be giving my waitresses the evil eye and insisting they've slipped regular into my coffee cup, promising them late-night calls of curses and burnings in effigy. It all happened so fast. My, haven't I digressed? I hope no vitriol for little old ladies came through. Here, calm down by looking at this cake:
I ate 1/3 of the cake last night, and then had the rest for breakfast. As I tossed and turned all night, wondering how one measly ounce of beverage could so ruin my slumber, eating the rest of that simple cake for breakfast was my one comfort. That and the promise that on Monday, I can get all the sleep I want.
And so, ladies and gentlemen, I encourage you to break your routine and visit Cafe del Mondo for their Thursday night dinners; my dinner cost $18. No joke - plus, leave a nice tip, remembering your server opened your wine even though you didn't buy it there. Reservations are required and dress is casual. Please specify any dietary concerns, as there is no menu. If you want to be extra special nice, you might want to bring in a little grappa or limoncello for the chef.
Info: Cafe del Mondo 659 N. 4th St in Columbus (Italian Village) 614.294.5000
Posted 4 years ago # -
Coremodels
Really close to Explorer's Club.
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La Tavola is NOT inexpensive, and most importantly, it's pretty light on actual pasta dishes...it is pretty damn good though.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Alexandra477
Short North
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What about that Cafe Bella place on N High? I think you bring your own wine there, too. One of my friends said it's amazing, but I always forget about it.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Coremodels
Really close to Explorer's Club.
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Dragona wrote What about that Cafe Bella place on N High? I think you bring your own wine there, too. One of my friends said it's amazing, but I always forget about it.
never heard of it, so I looked on Cityscape...good reviews, but it was the "Users who like this restaurant also like" that got my attention...
Jack and Benny's
and
The Refectory...
wow, talk about diverse LOL!
Posted 4 years ago # -
shroud
Polaris
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It's probably a bit of a hike for you, but Carfagna's Kitchen is phenomenal. I love their pasta so much I could eat it plain.
I've had a lot of different pasta dishes I love there, so it really depends on what you're into - my personal favorite is probably the Meat Heaven Spaghetti, but the Pasta al Vodka was great as well. I wasn't *quite* as impressed with the creamy pesto - it was on a great fettuccine, but it was a little weak IMO. The gnocchi noodles themselves are great, but the sauce is kind of plain - needs at least a meatball to keep interesting.
Posted 4 years ago #
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