The Pasta Factory: Your Borgatti's Alternative

So, we are complete idiots and waited until the day before Christmas Eve to head over to Arthur Avenue and 187th to shop for all of our Christmas meal ingredients. Seriously, we live 10 minutes away, and we chose to go on a day when tourists from all over the NYC metro area flock to the hood and take up all the parking - the municipal lot was at least a 45 minute wait.

After lucking out with a non-metered spot (yahoo!) on Hoffman Avenue, we walked over to Borgatti's with the intention of picking up ravioli. Easier said than done. The line was (not surprisingly) out the door... but we waited anyway. About 30 minutes into the wait when we were finally pretty close to getting inside, an employee came out and announced that anyone waiting for ravioli or manicotti could form a shorter line to the left of the pasta line.

Pandomium of course ensued, and everyone behind us ended up in front of us because we're not nearly as aggressive as all the Westchester morons we were waiting with. We gave up and walked away all huffy without any fresh pasta to show for all our shivering.

We headed down the street to check out a much more reasonable alternative: The Pasta Factory, which is on 187th between Crescent and Beaumont Avenues. There was literally no line there, and the employees were super friendly. A dozen of fresh stuffed shells was $7.50 and almost a pound of frozen tortellini is only $5. I don't have any official price comps for Borgatti's (we usually just get ravioli there, which is $12 per box), but I'm willing to make an educated guess that The Pasta Factory is cheaper.

We've mentioned this before, but don't forget to check out Calandra's Cheese on Arthur Avenue all the way down near Crescent Avenue as an alternative to the famous (and always insanely crowded) Casa della Mozzarella on 187th...

Another hot tip for you: if you do decide to wait in line for pasta at Borgatti's and hypothermia is setting in, step into Roma Luncheonette right on the corner of 187th and Belmont for hot chocolate. I have no idea what they put in the stuff, but I'm addicted to it. Their food is good as well, just don't expect 5-star service or ambiance... it's just a cute little neighborhood spot, made even cuter by the fact that it was the site of ErLu's first date back in college. Nothing like some greasy bacon and eggs to cure a hangover. Goddamn, we were romantic back then!

~ErLu

Another Cheese Option On Arthur Avenue

Okay, so this is just a brief heads up to all the cheese lovers out there. BoogieDowner, like the rest of the turophiles (fancy word for cheese-lovers) within a hundred miles of Arthur Ave., swears by the fresh mozzarella at Casa della Mozzarella on 187th street. As the missus and I tried to purchase some of the famous mozzarella and asiago from the renowned cheese-purveyors, we were met by a line out the door and an old fashioned "take a number" machine. Our number was 74; they were serving 58. It dawned on us that this was the weekend before Thanksgiving and that every foodie in the tri-state area had descended on Arthur Ave. to buy provisions. What to do?

Well, BoogieDowner found a great plan B in Calandra's Cheese, which is all the way down on Arthur Ave. near Cresent. The mozzarella is great and really just a small step below Casa's, and the asiago was actually better! And most importantly... no line. The only annoying part was that there is a $25 minimum for debit cards. Although it's kinda scary that it wasn't that hard for us to buy $25 worth of cheese (keep in mind this is cheese for personal use, we're not hosting Thanksgiving this year).

In any case, Calandra's is a viable option for impatient cheese heads.

*photo courtesy of www.apassionforfood.blogspot.com*

~ErLu