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Having heard good things, I went with 3 people last night.  A very disappointing and bland bolognese with watery sauce, friend had the primavera, also bland with undercooked large chunks of the tough part of asparagus. 

Have to say Cafe Mediterraneo is the best by far maybe because the chef/owner is Roman.

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anyone who peddles boxed pasta cooked in advance deserves your ire! Trattoria in San Antonio, Alex pasta in Ajijic and the two italian restaurants in La Canacinta all make their own pasta and do the best job possible. I went to the place named above and felt both my mother and grandma rolling in their graves!

 

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This will start a war, I'm sure, but I'm willing to bet there is no one here who could even tell the difference in a blind test. Furthermore, boxed and dried pasta is much preferred over fresh for a variety of reasons. "Fresh" is a misconception and mostly a marketing ploy.

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Oh, definitely, buy the imported stuff. But with the dry, a slow boat is not an issue, and I have read lots and lots over the years (because I don't just know this) about the quality of good, dried pasta. In particular, the sauce determines the shape and thickness of the pasta that should be used, and dry is better for most heavier sauces. But the big thing is, I think, something I alluded to but did not detail: dry means you can get this stuff from overseas without worrying about the freshness. And eggs are usually fresh, as is the flour, when it's made. I would say that it still "boils" down to my point: no one can tell.

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5 hours ago, HarryB said:

anyone who peddles boxed pasta cooked in advance deserves your ire! Trattoria in San Antonio, Alex pasta in Ajijic and the two italian restaurants in La Canacinta all make their own pasta and do the best job possible. I went to the place named above and felt both my mother and grandma rolling in their graves!

 

I know one Italian restaurant in La Canacinta, Osteriia, what is the other one?

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22 hours ago, ComputerGuy said:

This will start a war, I'm sure, but I'm willing to bet there is no one here who could even tell the difference in a blind test. Furthermore, boxed and dried pasta is much preferred over fresh for a variety of reasons. "Fresh" is a misconception and mostly a marketing ploy.

Hard pasta is used with olive oil based sauces, while soft pasta is used for butter/cream based sauces. One is not better than the other. 

(see Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan, the Julia Child of Italian cuisine)

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5 hours ago, El Bizco said:

Hard pasta is used with olive oil based sauces, while soft pasta is used for butter/cream based sauces. One is not better than the other. 

(see Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan, the Julia Child of Italian cuisine)

That is a generalization. That is a preference, it would seem, of opinions. But half of that may be correct. I go back to what I said: I challenge anyone to identify the difference in a blind taste test.

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I enjoy the homemade pasta at Mediterraneo but think it is a little over priced.  I enjoy a salad with my pasta and can't understand why Italian restaurants Lakeside don't do this.  The Olive Garden chain in the states is known for their big bowls of salad that goes with the pasta.

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2 hours ago, ComputerGuy said:

That is a generalization. That is a preference, it would seem, of opinions. 

No, not really. I know you like to cook. Please do read about this in the reference cited. If you can not access it, CG, let me know and I will PM you the salient info. I am interested to know what you think. 

 

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I disagree. But I won't be reading that. I have read more than enough articles from experts on both sides, over the years. One more article isn't going to change what I articulated, especially since I know the science behind it. I appreciate the offer, though, sincerely. And I am sure there are others who will find it interesting.

Now, if you were to disagree that exposing more surface area when chopping fresh garlic for your pasta does not lead to more flavour, then I would happily argue that with you on a different level.

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Bizco....if only it was so simple......firstly there are over 200 shapes of Italian pasta ,the majority of which are seldom made fresh or by hand . Hazans book is probably over thirty years old ,in those days Italian  cuisine was totally regional....obviously no longer . Offhand  I can bring to mind about  fifty pasta sauces many of which have become interchangeable with both hard and soft pastas .  “ These days “ generalizations would exclude many of the most iconic Italian pasta dishes . Soft pastas with ragus... hard pastas with creamy buttery sauces . Sorry but in my working experience I have seldom seen two Italian chefs agree on almost anything..

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