The finest ingredients are often best showcased in dishes where you do nothing to the ingredients at all. Does that makes sense? At any rate, a simple pasta pomodoro or pasta with tomato sauce is my benchmark for an Italian kitchen/restaurant. If they can't do that dish well, I don't typically bother to return to try other dishes on the menu. Pasta pomodoro is so simple, yet is rarely done right outside of Italy. In its purest form, I like the red sauce on spaghetti or spaghettini. Fresh basil is a nice addition. Good mozzarella, the sauce and penne works well too. Getting further astray, with bacon and chili peppers I like the sauce with bucatini and the variations multiply exponentially from there.



Content from...