Fresher, lighter, texture-perfect and oh-so-tasty…that’s what homemade pasta is all about. Here are four local restaurants with homemade pasta on their menus.
Anthony’s Trattoria
Bill Salvatore, owner of Anthony’s Trattoria, loves talking pasta. “Our homemade Cheese Ravioli” he says, “are a rustic-style — you might say an ‘antique’ ravioli — how they used to make it 100 years ago. Like how the immigrants made it.” And diners love it; it’s on Anthony’s longstanding hit parade of fine pasta dishes. Salvatore explains that the recipe “uses a basic flour and water dough, not an egg dough, and it is filled with ricotta, Pecorino Romano cheese, parsley and eggs. A larger ravioli, it’s basically closed shut with a fork, a fork-stamped closure.” Of course, he says, “We also make egg pasta, using five egg yolks to one pound of flour and no water. It’s very yellow.” It goes without saying that such fresh pasta needs to be eaten within a day or two. The chef uses a couple of cuts for this pasta, including tagliolini, meaning “little thin cuts.” (Tagliatelle means “big cuts.”) For Anthony’s tagliolini, the pasta is “thin enough to almost see through it,” and it’s folded twice,” Salvatore explains. After using a very sharp knife to make one-sixteenth-of-an-inch cuts, “then it all comes unraveled. This is on our specials menu and is very popular whenever it’s offered.” Served alla Marea (referring to the sea), this pasta dish is adorned with lobster, fresh domestic crabmeat, scallops and shrimp in a light tomato sauce, topped with toasted basil breadcrumbs.
900 Byram St., Reading | 610.370.2822 | anthonystrattoria.com
Salute Ristorante Italiano
“We sell quite a bit of pasta,” declares Giovanni Giannotti, the owner of Salute Ristorante Italiano, a restaurant featuring com-pletely authentic dishes. Indeed, some of his chefs journey over from Italy to Berks County to become a part of this extraordinary kitchen. When it comes to pasta, Giannotti says, “Our specialties lie in our homemade raviolis. For example, we make a short-rib ravioli, a seafood and crab ravioli with a pesto sauce, and a vegetarian option called Ravioli Contadina.”
That gourmet veggie pasta is stuffed with fresh ricotta and basil, plus sau-teed eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, sweet peas, red peppers and onions, accompanied by a cherry tomato sauce. Like so many dedicated restaurateurs who make Berks County an outstanding dining destination, Giannotti has poured considerable time, energy and drive into Salute, building a faithful fan base since opening in 2014.
“Other very popular pasta dishes are Lobster Linguine,” he adds, “and a unique dish called Linguine al Salmi, which features pasta with slow-cooked beef tips marinated and cooked for about four hours.”
4710 Penn Avenue, Sinking Spring | 484.577.4833 | saluteristorante.com
Juliana’s
The folks at Juliana’s declare their pasta positivity up front on the menu: “We meticulously mix flour, water and eggs with our passion for food, delivering the most authentic Italian food experience.” Frank LaPuma, owner of Juliana’s in Sinking Spring, confirms that all the pasta at his restaurant is homemade, with the exception of penne. (The penne, he points out, is gluten-free.) “All the raviolis, tagliatelle, the lasagna sheets — are all made in house.” Chef Eddie is in charge of the whole kitchen, making such flavorful favorites as ravioli with spinach, lobster or three-cheeses. Their fresh-made macaroni is served with traditional tomato sauce or meat sauce, and it’s “something not too many people make,” says LaPuma. Most popular and quite elegant is Tagliatelle alla Norcina, delivering crispy pancetta, white cream onions and shaved Parmesan with a truffle-oil drizzle. A genial man, LaPuma settled in Berks via Italy (where he was born) and Manhattan (where he spent years in restaurant life). He loves that “Juliana’s is a sit-down-and-relax place,” and a memorable haven for pasta lovers.
776 Fritztown Rd., Sinking Spring | 484.509.2066 | julianaitalianrestaurant.com
G.N.A. Ristorante
“Our most popular pasta dish is our Salmon Rivieno,” says Tina Grande, owner of this well-loved Italian establishment in West Reading. In full Italian, that dish is Filetto di Salmone Rivieno: “salmon topped with spinach and crabmeat on a bed of homemade tagliatelle pasta.” The pasta is prepared in garlic and olive oil, with bell pepper cream sauce on the side. The presentation alone is enticing. “This fish works especially well — and makes a perfect setting — with our tagliatelle,” says Grande. “That’s because this noodle is a wide noodle. It looks like a ribbon.” The simple truth about this ultimate comfort food? “Pasta can pretty much go with anything — fish, sauce…you name it,” says Grande. Even when she starts out to simply cook up vegetables, Grande confesses there’s something that makes her stop and think: let’s add pasta to this. “Anything with pasta just tastes better,” she concludes. “Maybe it’s because I’m Italian. We’ve been making our own pasta now for 16 years.” G.N.A.’s ravioli are a huge favorite with many patrons, Grande adds. “And you can always count on us for many pasta specials.”
421 Penn Avenue, West Reading | 610.376.1155 | gnaristorante.com
