On Tuesday, November 24, 2009, my wife and I met up after work to get dinner and attend a Wolfmother concert (see earlier review). For the dinner portion of the evening we went to Pastagina. It's a chain eatery that I'd seen in mall food courts such as the Beverly Center. In Downtown L.A., Pastagina had a small, sit-down eatery in the building that also included the Ralph's Fresh Fare and the Market Lofts in the South Park neighborhood. This building is attached to the apartment building where we used to live in Downtown L.A. a few years ago. That was before there was a Ralph's, Market Lofts, and Pastagina. They were still under construction back then.
On Tuesday I left work at the usual time and walked to my sister- and brother-in-law's home that's in South Park near Staples Center. My wife drove down from her work and parked in the parking garage for my sister- and brother-in-law's home. We actually arrived at the parking structure at about the same time. We visited with our sister- and brother-in-law a bit and left sometime after 6 pm to have dinner. Pastagina was a standalone shop among many other businesses on either side of the Ralph's Fresh Fare/Market Lofts building. We just walked up Hope Street to get there. It was a very small eatery with only 5-6 tables and 6-7 more seats at a counter near the window. The décor was very simple: walls colored orange below and white above where they hung photographs of pasta, chefs and related images. It had a high ceiling with exposed piping indicating a loft style and consistent with the Market Lofts condos in the floors above. The floor consisted of large gray stone tiles.
The entrance to Pastagina led right to the register counter. The small open kitchen was right there behind the counter to the left. High on the wall behind the counter was a large menu with all the pasta selections along with salads, soups, beverages, and desserts. It listed the first two options, tomato and basil and primavera as vegan. Customers could choose between about 15 different toppings including the seasonal "Special of the Month" and five different types of pasta including spaghetti, penne, fusilli, and multigrain angel hair. Pastagina's specialty is that they have the technology to make freshly cooked pasta to order in a fairly short amount of time. I believe that they were a fairly new chain. The cashier handed us a take-home menu that listed the locations: Beverly Center, Little Tokyo, Irvine, Grand Avenue (Downtown L.A.), and Market Lofts where we were. It said they'd be opening locations in Westwood, Santa Ana, Koreatown, El Segundo, and Cypress. The take-home menu also lists catering options. My wife noticed one difference between the take-home menu and the posted menu: the take-home menu said that the primavera topping had cheese while the posted menu said it was vegan.
The dessert options consisted of many different kinds of gelato displayed behind a large glass counter to the right of the cash register. We placed our orders and the cashier gave us a plastic number. We sat down at a small table and as we waited we noticed that they played salsa music over the speakers. It only took 10-15 minutes for our orders to arrive and it looked like the cashier did all the cooking. I think she called our number and I went to the counter to get the orders. They both came on one tray in wide, shallow bowls with the Pastagina logo on the rims. Each order came with a small piece of bread that looked like a miniature French or Italian loaf. I had ordered the primavera and specified "no cheese" to ensure they followed the posted menu that listed it as "vegan" and not the printed menu that said it came with cheese. They followed my instructions. The primavera was very good with the pasta cooked perfectly, just slightly al dente. I chose fusilli pasta since I hadn't had that for a while. It came with tomato sauce and vegetables including asparagus, peas, carrots, and red bell pepper. They were cooked just right, retaining much of the crunch and flavor. Despite being a vegan dish it was a decent amount of food. The accompanying bread was also good, tasting fresh.
My wife enjoyed her seafood pasta on multigrain angel hair. It was also free of dairy so I could have had it. The sauce included shrimp, calamari, and baby clams along with diced tomatoes and garlic. My wife had the tropical coconut gelato for dessert that she also enjoyed.
While we ate other parties came in, placed orders, and usually got them to go. The restaurant had one restroom for patrons only who had to borrow the key from the cashier. It's hard to find a free restroom in Downtown L.A. The ones at Macy's Plaza shopping center cost 25 cents to use. Anyway, we left Pastagina at 6:45 pm, well satisfied and ready for the concert.
In late March 2010 we wanted to eat at the Market Lofts Pastagina before going to the Tears for Fears concert. Unfortunately we found Pastagina to be closed down and we ate at Ralph's Fresh Fare. In early May 2010 I had hoped to eat at the Pastagina I had seen in the Beverly Center after my doctor appointment. But I found it also to be closed down. I hope the chain hasn't closed down completely. At least we enjoyed it very much during our one chance.
On Tuesday I left work at the usual time and walked to my sister- and brother-in-law's home that's in South Park near Staples Center. My wife drove down from her work and parked in the parking garage for my sister- and brother-in-law's home. We actually arrived at the parking structure at about the same time. We visited with our sister- and brother-in-law a bit and left sometime after 6 pm to have dinner. Pastagina was a standalone shop among many other businesses on either side of the Ralph's Fresh Fare/Market Lofts building. We just walked up Hope Street to get there. It was a very small eatery with only 5-6 tables and 6-7 more seats at a counter near the window. The décor was very simple: walls colored orange below and white above where they hung photographs of pasta, chefs and related images. It had a high ceiling with exposed piping indicating a loft style and consistent with the Market Lofts condos in the floors above. The floor consisted of large gray stone tiles.
The entrance to Pastagina led right to the register counter. The small open kitchen was right there behind the counter to the left. High on the wall behind the counter was a large menu with all the pasta selections along with salads, soups, beverages, and desserts. It listed the first two options, tomato and basil and primavera as vegan. Customers could choose between about 15 different toppings including the seasonal "Special of the Month" and five different types of pasta including spaghetti, penne, fusilli, and multigrain angel hair. Pastagina's specialty is that they have the technology to make freshly cooked pasta to order in a fairly short amount of time. I believe that they were a fairly new chain. The cashier handed us a take-home menu that listed the locations: Beverly Center, Little Tokyo, Irvine, Grand Avenue (Downtown L.A.), and Market Lofts where we were. It said they'd be opening locations in Westwood, Santa Ana, Koreatown, El Segundo, and Cypress. The take-home menu also lists catering options. My wife noticed one difference between the take-home menu and the posted menu: the take-home menu said that the primavera topping had cheese while the posted menu said it was vegan.
The dessert options consisted of many different kinds of gelato displayed behind a large glass counter to the right of the cash register. We placed our orders and the cashier gave us a plastic number. We sat down at a small table and as we waited we noticed that they played salsa music over the speakers. It only took 10-15 minutes for our orders to arrive and it looked like the cashier did all the cooking. I think she called our number and I went to the counter to get the orders. They both came on one tray in wide, shallow bowls with the Pastagina logo on the rims. Each order came with a small piece of bread that looked like a miniature French or Italian loaf. I had ordered the primavera and specified "no cheese" to ensure they followed the posted menu that listed it as "vegan" and not the printed menu that said it came with cheese. They followed my instructions. The primavera was very good with the pasta cooked perfectly, just slightly al dente. I chose fusilli pasta since I hadn't had that for a while. It came with tomato sauce and vegetables including asparagus, peas, carrots, and red bell pepper. They were cooked just right, retaining much of the crunch and flavor. Despite being a vegan dish it was a decent amount of food. The accompanying bread was also good, tasting fresh.
My wife enjoyed her seafood pasta on multigrain angel hair. It was also free of dairy so I could have had it. The sauce included shrimp, calamari, and baby clams along with diced tomatoes and garlic. My wife had the tropical coconut gelato for dessert that she also enjoyed.
While we ate other parties came in, placed orders, and usually got them to go. The restaurant had one restroom for patrons only who had to borrow the key from the cashier. It's hard to find a free restroom in Downtown L.A. The ones at Macy's Plaza shopping center cost 25 cents to use. Anyway, we left Pastagina at 6:45 pm, well satisfied and ready for the concert.
In late March 2010 we wanted to eat at the Market Lofts Pastagina before going to the Tears for Fears concert. Unfortunately we found Pastagina to be closed down and we ate at Ralph's Fresh Fare. In early May 2010 I had hoped to eat at the Pastagina I had seen in the Beverly Center after my doctor appointment. But I found it also to be closed down. I hope the chain hasn't closed down completely. At least we enjoyed it very much during our one chance.
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