Pasta Cucina: Family Restaurant, Home-Cooked Italian Fare

Italian food is a staple in my family.

My grandfather owned an Italian restaurant frequented by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio, and long after he retired, he'd gleefully cook up favorites like pasta fagiole and lasagna, using whatever he had in the fridge to spice them up. My aunts base their signature dishes on recipes that were brought over from Italy by their grandparents, and every Christmas Eve they cook up calamari, veal, chicken parmigiana and pasta -- it's tradition.

Because eating Italian food is second nature, everyone in my family is a critic, and they won't hesitate to tell you what they think. Especially my cousin Bill, who is notoriously hard to please and likes to describe Italian dishes in the type of language favored by Walt Clyde Frazier.

"This chicken cutlet," he'd say, "is terrible! Lackluster and subpar!"

So it was with that in mind that I headed to Pasta Cucina in New City, accompanied by a friend of mine we call The Fed, because he works for Homeland Security.

"I'm thinking of going with the penne vodka," I said to The Fed as we browsed our menus, "but it seems kind of pedestrian for a restaurant review."

He thought about it for a second, then shrugged and said it would be a good barometer of the restaurant's offerings, because "if you're an Italian restaurant and you can't get penne vodka right, well..."

The Fed went with a main course that included lobster and ravioli, and after the waitress took our orders, she returned with a large salad bowl that she placed in the middle of the table, setting each of us up with small salad dishes. The salad was fresh, and the tomatoes tasted like they'd been picked earlier that afternoon from a local garden. Our communal salad was lightly covered in a mild Italian dressing, and The Fed commented that he liked the self-serve aspect, allowing each of us to take as much -- or as little -- as we wanted.

Pasta Cucina's high-ceilinged main dining room is about average size as far as family restaurants go, peppered with the usual Italian decor, tall windows and lots of small plants. The restaurant was bustling when we arrived at about 9 p.m., and even though there was a large group to our right and a smaller group behind us, the room never felt noisy and the background noise provided a comfortable buffer for private conversation, without having to raise our voices to be heard over the table.

For an appetizer, we selected grilled Italian sausages with red peppers, a choice that seemed like a solid lead-in for our respective main courses. The sausage was crispy on the outside, but tender and well-cooked within, and the roasted peppers complimented the dish well. As appetizers go, it's reminiscent of the sausage saganaki -- often referred to simply as "Greek sausage" -- popular in many New York-area Greek restaurants. And that's a good thing.

Although Pasta Cucina is a family restaurant, and very reasonably priced, the wait staff was just as attentive as their counterparts at high-end eateries -- glasses did not stay empty for more than a few seconds, plates were removed and replaced swiftly, and while our needs were anticipated before we had to think about them, the staff was never intrusive or distracting. The only hiccup occurred after the meal, when we waited about 10 minutes for our check, but our waitress was apologetic and accommodating when we requested our drinks on a separate tab.

In regard to the main courses, if there's one piece of advice I can give to potential diners thinking of heading to Pasta Cucina, it's this -- bring your appetite. The penne vodka was piled high on a massive plate, and as The Fed noted, pasta is a filling dish -- Pasta Cucina's portions could easily span two meals. The pasta was cooked perfectly, and the vodka sauce was first-rate. If the same dish was served for a traditional Sunday-afternoon, home-cooked Italian meal, I wouldn't bat an eye.

The Fed's assessment was slightly different: "I would say it's very good," he said thoughtfully, "but it didn't wow me."

We both agreed Pasta Cucina works best as a family venue -- the restaurant's prices are extremely reasonable, the decor is warm without being pretentious, and the attire worn by other diners was decidedly casual. If you show up in jeans, you're not going to be out-of-place.

The verdict? This is a perfect place for families, especially extended families and larger groups. So bring your kids -- and your appetite.