Pasta Night
I first met Renato Poliafito on April 22nd, 2009. I know that because I wrote a post about it when my friend Josh and I trekked out to Red Hook to visit the beloved bakery, Baked, that he ran with his pal Matt Lewis. We immediately hit it off: not just because we both love baked goods — specifically rainbow cookies! — but because our families both live in the same community in Boca Raton, Florida.
Fast forward sixteen years (holy moly), and now Renato is the owner of not one but two fabulous establishments in Prospect Heights. The first, Ciao Gloria, is such a staple in our lives — we order their “Italo Disco Club” (Smoked turkey breast, crispy prosciutto, avocado, tomato pesto, provolone, greens, Calabrese aioli) at least a few times a month — our accountant had us submit a spreadsheet on that sandwich alone.
The second, Pasta Night, opened almost a year ago and, on Saturday night, Craig and I were finally able to pay it a visit.
Pasta Night is the definition of a “neighborhood restaurant.” It’s the kind of place you can stumble into after lounging around all day in your pajamas or going for a sweaty hike; you don’t have to be dressed up, but if you want to be dressed up, that’s fine too. Everyone working there feels like someone you could easily add to your friend group. There’s a little store in front selling Burlap and Barrel spices, pistachio paste, Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes (my fave).
The cocktail menu has just enough familiar items (martini, Negroni, spritz) and enough novelty items (Call Your Mother!, Daddy Issues, Corner Pocket). Craig had the Daddy Issues (Bourbon, Campari, Noix de Coco, ginger beer, lime) and I had the non-alcoholic Blood Orange Sour (Ghia Aperitif, blood orange juice, lemon).
Both were fun and flirty, even the one without any booze in it.
Of course, we were both delighted to see mozzarella sticks on the menu; that was a no-brainer.
These were so reminiscent of childhood — hot, stringy, cheesy — and the marinara sauce on the side was zesty and bright.
The Caesar salad tasted just like a Caesar salad should, which is to say, bold and assertive:
The most difficult thing about dining at Pasta Night is figuring out what kind of pasta to get. I was torn between the cacio e pepe, which came with malfalde, a trendy noodle that’s almost like lasagna and pappardelle had a baby and the Autumn Carbonara with Lumache, roasted squash, egg, bacon, pecorino. I went with the latter because it seemed more seasonal.
For me, this was all about the pasta shape: those lumache are like giant elbows and they’re a pleasure to eat in and of themselves. The carbonara sauce was rich enough to feel special but not so rich as to make you feel sick. And the addition of roasted squash justified the “autumn” in the title.
Craig went with the Bolognese which he happily gobbled up.
If choosing the pasta was hard, choosing the dessert was easy.
Remember when I mentioned how much Renato and I love rainbow cookies aka tricolore cookies (they’re meant to represent the Italian flag)? Well they’re on the menu for dessert.
As if I didn’t love Pasta Night enough already, this pretty much sealed the deal.
What more could you want from a restaurant than great cocktails, a solid Caesar, exciting pasta riffs, and rainbow cookies for dessert? I better notify my accountant: there’s going to be a new regular expense on the books.
Pasta Night / 575 Vanderbilt Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238 / (718) 483-8443
I first met Renato Poliafito on April 22nd, 2009. I know that because I wrote a post about it when my friend Josh and I trekked out to Red Hook to visit the beloved bakery, Baked, that he ran with his pal Matt Lewis. We immediately hit it off: not just because we both love baked goods — specifically rainbow cookies! — but because our families both live in the same community in Boca Raton, Florida.