Pasta Lover’s

After a hard day of shopping and emotionally draining discussions, BFF and I decided we wanted big bowls of pasta, comfort food.  During the drive back home, we searched on our phones and finally decided on Pasta Lover’s, where I’d been once ten years ago and didn’t remember too clearly besides not hating it (I usually remember places I hate very vividly, because I complain about them for days (weeks?) afterwards, which ingrains them into my memory). 

 As soon as we were seated, we were presented with little bruschetta bites.  Yummy, even though tomatoes are no longer in season. 

Since we both wanted bowls of pasta, we opted to skip appetizers and headed straight for main courses.  BFF ordered this chicken, broccoli and brown sauce with penne dish; it sounded like a Chinese dish (minus the penne) and tasted actually quite yummy.  I couldn’t figure out what the brown sauce was (well, I didn’t try very hard), but there was a TON of garlic and it was super fragrant. 

I opted for fresh salmon with basil in a creamy tomato sauce – spaghetti – and immediately regretted my choice after the waiter walked away.  “Oh no, what if it’s fishy?  What if the salmon comes way overcooked?  Am I going to hate it?” all ran through my head.  Luckily, though, the salmon was presented in big chunks, gently cooked (and not overcooked at all!), with a delicious creamy tomato basil sauce coating everything.  I actually really enjoyed this, much more than I expected (even before I became worried), and have been thinking about replicating it at home (luckily I have my own basil plant, so there’s no such thing as ‘out of season’ for me when it comes to basil!).  It was satisfying, hearty, and delicious. 

And we both took home leftovers, to be eaten as lunch the next day.  It was totally awesome. 

Yvo says: With a generous tip, the above came to $38.  Considering we both ate it for two meals, that’s ridiculously cheap.  For yummy, total comfort food – neither pasta was overcooked, one of my huge fears when it comes to ordering pasta out – I totally recommend this place if you’re in the area.  It’s not going to blow you away, but it’s also not going to piss you off when you get the check or when you take a bite of the totally satisfactory food. 
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