Most recent visit: Nov. 13
A restaurant has to be doing something right, consistently, in order to survive in the Triad market this long. Café Pasta opened in 1984, under the helm of Joe Essa and partners. Joe later transitioned into top leadership roles in some of the nation’s best restaurant groups, including those of Wolfgang Puck and (now) Thomas Keller. Younger brother Ray Essa was involved from the beginning, then took over full time around 1986.
The interior is open and spacious, with tables well separated. A few tables outdoors are available as well. Curbside pickup is provided for takeout, with no contact payment over the phone.
My wife and I eat here more often than any other area restaurant. Above all, we like the food, characterized by forward flavors from fresh ingredients, strongly influenced by Italian traditions, but not constrained by them, either. Value ranks really high. We also like Ray, a constant and entertaining presence on the floor for all guests. This restaurant also has established a wide following for catering large groups, on premises in two large, separate rooms, or on location for area businesses.
I have eaten all the starters and entrees on the dinner menu. I would repeat any. I often start with homemade Italian Sausage, laced with fennel, combined with roasted red peppers and onion strips, resting in veal demiglace. That sausage is also available in the Salsiccia entrée (another favorite), bathed in a Parmesan cream sauce with a touch of marinara.
When I hosted a wine dinner here last year, I chose Spinach and Artichoke Dip for the first course. Artichokes have a pronounced flavor that often overpowers other ingredients, but this recipe is balanced, undergirded by Parmesan and cream cheeses. Toasted pita chips are tasty in their own right.
Breaded Three Cheese Ravioli bear a crisp exterior, giving way to a lush blend of mozzarella, ricotta, and Romano cheeses. Marinara sauce lends bite on the finish. Fried Zucchini also benefits from crisp texture, sprinkled with grated Parmesan and Reggiano cheeses. Marinara sauce is standard; you might also consider asking for ranch dressing.
Crusty Firecracker Shrimp are tender, their natural flavor enhanced with sweet chili sauce and bang-bang sauce of mayonnaise, white wine, Italian and Cajun herbs, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper. Crab Cakes use lump crabmeat in just enough breading to hold them intact, enhanced with tangy remoulade sauce. This kitchen serves Calamari two ways- fried with Pomodoro sauce or sautéed in olive oil and presented over salad with lemon-garlic aglio e olio. This kitchen uses fresh squid- unusual in the Triad.
The House Salad is based on mixed lettuces plus tomato and sliced red onion. Dressings are homemade. Ranch is my wife’s favorite; I like it, too, but they are all good.
The pasta section of the menu leads off with Lasagne. If you have not had this perennially popular dish here, you should. It’s a fairly heavy, family Italian style preparation, based on ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, blended with beef Bolognese sauce. My favorite!
Bolognese sauce also appears in Spaghetti Bolognese, which adds mushrooms and roasted peppers in a fairly spicy Roma tomato sauce. I think the “wild” part of Wild Mushroom Ravioli is more a function of personality than origin, but the flavor of the primary ingredient in tomato-vodka-cream sauce is indeed woodsy.
In South Beach, angel hair pasta hosts scallops, artichoke hearts, and roasted red peppers in Parmesan cream sauce. Again, the key to this dish’s success is balance, tilting toward the lighter side. Cajun Penne sidesteps from Italian, while still maintaining the traditional influences. Andouille sausage joins chunks of chicken and large shrimp in marinara sauce over penne pasta.
Ray added “and Grille” to the name of the restaurant to reflect that the menu offers more than “just” pasta. The entrée I order most often is Salmon, either blackened or crusted with almonds. The spices in the former are more intense, but not overpowering, whereas the nuts provide a more easygoing flavor profile.
This is a good place to mention vegetables. Here, the watchword is variety and complexity. “Mixed vegetables” is one standard side. It’s not just one or two, it’s a medley of broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, red and green peppers, and onions. Potatoes- roasted or mashed- are another. I like to customize by substituting spinach “Ray’s way” (wilted in hot olive oil with lemon, garlic, and feta cheese) for the starch. There are prettier, fancier vegetable preparations among a handful of area restaurants, but none better.
Three chicken dishes here are classics- Chicken Marsala (in a brown sauce simmered with mushrooms and sweetish Marsala wine), Chicken Parmesan (lightly browned, coated with melted Parmesan cheese, served over spaghetti), and Chicken Piccatta (with a sauce of lemon, butter, and white wine studded with green peppercorns). All winners.
Off menu specials serve either or both of two purposes- lower price (usually between $10 and $12- click the “Like” Facebook link on the restaurant website to be notified) or fresh seafoods that are not always on the menu. In the latter case, I was particularly enamored with Grouper Risotto. Pan seared to a light crust, the fresh flavor of the thick fish blended beautifully with the creamy flavor and texture of the risotto.
When the plague struck and restaurants were subsequently allowed to reopen in one configuration or another, Café Pasta began opening on Sunday and Monday evenings. Although dine in continues as usual, these nights are especially popular for featured family meals- large portions configured to provide a complete dinner for up to eight people- for takeout. (Again, subscribe to the Facebook feed to see what’s available.) These can be provided oven-ready, to finalize at home.
No matter what other dishes you order, Cheesecake is essential for a close. This is my favorite preparation, a light, ricotta-based family recipe from Ray’s mother.
Quality, value, flavor, personality- reasons shared by many that explain why Café Pasta has been around so long!
The Link LonkDecember 03, 2020 at 12:13AM
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Chow down with John Batchelor at Café Pasta - Yes! Weekly
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Pasta
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