We all need a bit of comfort right now, and a fine bowl of pasta composed of simple but superior ingredients can feel like an edible hug, especially if it’s crafted by the fine folks of Ask for Luigi.
Cheers, then, to the arrival of Pastificio di Luigi, a pop-up sibling of the Crosstown original, operating out of Gastown’s Pourhouse.
Image courtesy of Pastifico di Luigi.
Yes, there are ready-to-eat soups, salads, and pasta dishes available for pickup and delivery, but, perhaps more enticing for those of us who also love a traditional Italian table, there is also a very solid grocery selection.
Create an antipasti spread from house-roasted and marinated vegetables, burrata, a selection of salumi, and—yes, let’s be greedy—some of those signature Luigi meatballs; choose from a rotating list of house-made pastas (long, short, and stuffed); and either pick up some Italian canned tomatoes and olive oil for your own sauce, or do what the Italians would do and grab some prepared cacio e pepe from the deli menu.
Image courtesy of Pastifico di Luigi.
We went simple—isn’t that what we love about Italian cuisine? Roasted red peppers, marinated eggplant, and mixed olives took us back to that lovely little sidewalk trattoria in Rome. A dish of fresh gnocchetti Sardi dressed with Luigi’s excellent pesto sauce, redolent with fruity olive oil and pungent with fresh basil, was sunshine on a plate and (once the water was boiling) took a scant five minutes to prepare.
Image courtesy of Pastifico di Luigi.
But, you may ask, what’s a proper al fresco dinner without an aperitivo? Well, Pastificio di Luigi has you covered there, too: house-made cocktails—do not pass up the negroni—are available in cute, individually portioned glass bottles. Saluti!
Read more in our Food and Drink section.
