Miss Pasta: A Numerical Pasta Party

Someone sent us a social media post about Miss Pasta, a newish restaurant with a unique concept from chef Giuliano Matarese, formerly at Mille Lire: Fresh house-made pasta with regional sauces made from scratch served in a fast-casual manner. They had us at pasta, of course, so we ventured out for a high-carb lunch recently.

It’s kind of hidden away in a shopping center in Richardson. The entrance doesn’t face the parking lot or the street, so it’s a bit of a challenge to find. Once we did, we were greeted with a long counter display of an array of freshly made pasta with a huge menu hanging over it all: overhead shots of all the dishes one could order, numbered from one to 30.

This made for a clean and concise use of space, and it doesn’t require one to be able to pronounce “fettuccine funghi e tartufo” or “creste di gallo broccoli e salsiccia” correctly. Saying what number you want spares you the embarrassment of butchering the Italian, even if you know your nonna would be very disappointed in you. Così è la vita.

There are several antipasti, including burrata (#4), polpette (#2) and montanara (#5), but we went with the special of the day, the crispy caprese (#29): two pieces of fried burrata in a rich tomato sauce with arugula and grated cheese, drizzled with balsamic vinegar. A nice mélange of ingredients in a sauce that did not disappoint.

Deciding on the pasta to order was difficult with the myriad of choices available in both pasta and sauces: there was spaghetti, fettucine, rigatoni, tonnarelli, creste, tortelli, gnocchi, fusilli and even lasagna, along with a varied selection of sauces that included Bolognese, agio e olio, cacio e pepe, carbonara, pomodoro, tartufo, pesto and vodka. It can be overwhelming.

However, each pasta was married to a particular sauce. You cannot pick and choose. It’s not like you can select rigatoni with pomodoro, or tonnarelli with pesto. Each pasta for the most part has more than one sauce or style available, but this isn’t a pasta version of Chipotle.

After much soul searching, we finally settled on rigatoni all’amatriciana (#16) and creste di gallo broccoli e salsiccia (#17). The rigatoni was in a full-bodied sugo with pork cheek and generously seasoned with chili pepper; nor did it skimp on the grated pecorino Romano. The pasta was perfectly cooked as one would expect and at $16.95 was of a quantity that easily allowed for leftovers the next day. Bonus: the pasta is served in bowls you can take home with you.

The creste included broccoli rabe, salsiccia sausage and pecorino and was topped with garlic breadcrumbs perfectly browned. This, too, was of an ample quantity, and the sauce created was light yet also full of character.

Miss Pasta also offers wines by the bottle or glass, all from a single vineyard, Svetoni, located in the Tuscan hills. Choose from a red, a white, a rosé and a chianti. Espresso is also available, as are bottles of olive oil and packaged pasta to go.

With such a large menu of pastas and sauces all under $20, Miss Pasta will definitely receive repeat visits from us. And if they ever decide to change the ordering process to more of a mix and match, we wouldn’t complain.

3613 Shire Blvd., No. 100, Richardson. Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m; closed Sunday.