Da Edoardo Restaurant Owner Divulges Spice Secret

Sure, the pasta choice is important when you sit down at Da Edorardo's on Mack. But your real satisfaction comes from the sauce -- it always does anyway, right?

At 's, the Bolognese -- or meat -- sauce is the signature sauce on the menu. And while owner Ed Barbieri, Jr. won't budge on giving us a secret of that sauce, he was willing to share some tasty information about his Napoletana sauce -- a zesty, yet sweet, tomato sauce that stands out among all others.

What is it about the sauce that gives it that extra oomph?

"Well, I do put carrots in the sauce," Barbieri offered. "We start with fresh plum tomatoes and then add all of the typical stuff -- the onions, the garlic, the olive oil. But then we add celery and carrots."

No, you won't find chunks of these veggies in the sauce. They are pureed and added in liquid form, releasing all of their flavor while contributing weight to the sauce. But there's still something else special about this simple, yet exquisite sauce.

"We use a spice bag," Barbieri added. "We don't add the spices directly into the sauce. We put them all in a spice bag. This way the spices release themselves during the cooking of the sauce."

To do this at home, get a piece of cheesecloth and add your spices -- basil, oregano, thyme, even salt and pepper -- and enclose them in the cheesecloth by tying it up with a string. The spices will simmer right along with your sauce. When you are done, collect the spice bag and squeeze out the remaining flavor.

If you are lucky, your sauce will come close to that of Da Edoardo's Napoletana sauce. But you may just want to stop by for a plate of your own -- a few times -- just to remember the exact flavor you want!