Fast Casual Pasta, where you at?

MY MILWAUKEE FRIENDS: If you haven’t been to Egg & Flour yet to see the talented Adam Pawlak whip up some incredible, fresh, pasta, then you’re severely missing out.

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Truthfully, blows my mind at the lack of “fast-casual” pasta joints you can find around Chicago. This has been a topic on my mind ever since I visited Egg & Flour! Where’s the RPM quality but Noodles and Company pricing? Legit, all my friends are probably annoyed by me talking about this so much. But where you at?

I am going to look back on this post in a few years from now when 100 or so fast-casual pasta joints are popping up all over the city and say “I told you so” when they’re the trendiest thing since almond milk.

ANYWAY, we had – the Caprese salad, The Bucatini (my spirit noodle and personal fave), The Pappardelle with bolognese, The Creste di Gallo and one magical dish Adam created with pesto, pistacios and burrata.  some of the best pasta I have ever had. Each pasta, we gushed with every bite. Made with thoughtful, quality ingredients that couldn’t have been more amazing.

But of course, a concept like this pops up when I no longer live in Milwaukee. 😉

I did check out the new pasta joint in Fulton Market this past weekend – Italianette. It’s one of the only places in Chicago that I’ve seen that offers a similar feel. I love the number of food halls Chicago has to offer. It’s so nice to bring a group of friends and each person something different and then sample a bunch of things

We shared the arugula salad which was the perfect summer salad. The Cacio e Pepe, classic, peppery and delicious. The Pomodoro (which was my least fave out of the three. Looking back, I think I just ordered the wrong thing for my mood. Needed to have gotten the Ragu… next time! The burrata on top of the Pomodoro was perfect and melted ever so lovely.

There’s a spot in Aster Hall that I haven’t checked out yet – Lil’ Boots which offers this concept with really cheap prices – I will need to check it out and report back.

But until then, much love to my pasta lovers out there.

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