{"id":1111,"date":"2018-09-26T17:09:06","date_gmt":"2018-09-26T21:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gastropoda.com\/trails\/?p=1111"},"modified":"2018-09-26T17:09:20","modified_gmt":"2018-09-26T21:09:20","slug":"hatin-on-gypsum-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gastropoda.com\/trails\/2018\/09\/hatin-on-gypsum-too\/","title":{"rendered":"Hatin’ on gypsum, too"},"content":{"rendered":"

I typed this months ago but keep thinking about it, so I swung by the Union Square Greenmarket (motto this time of year: \u201cAll this useful beauty\u201d) on a Wednesday to see if it was still boiling up. And, yes, it is, with even more events:<\/span><\/p>\n

So we\u2019re finishing up our rigatoni with ragu, dainty eggplant parm and awesome garlic dots on a Saturday at Pasta Flyer <\/a>and I\u2019m bloviating about why the concept is genius for a chef \u2014 he can create the menu, develop the recipes and technology, staff up and take weekends off. Then Mr. Curious, the guy I sleep with, goes back to the counter to ask how long it takes to cook the pasta (15 seconds) and how (water\u2019s constantly boiling). One of the five staffers says, \u201cYou can ask Chef. He\u2019s right there.\u201d And Mark Ladler was indeed in the kitchen, dumping a big pot of ragu out and looking quite pleased with himself.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d been wanting to try the fast-pasta place ever since we wound up with friends (after the amazing \u201cFaces Places\u201d at the Quad) at a seriously mediocre Syrian place nearby. That night I didn\u2019t argue for it because I thought it would have no atmosphere. But maybe it has too much. The design is subtly dazzling, with upholstered benches and rustic-looking tables and chairs and tulips in vases and a huge black-and-white photo of Rome with a flying saucer dominating the room (the bathroom is just as wild). Planters are filled with wheat sheaves, the main lighting fixture is Del Posto-evocative. In any other neighborhood the joint would be jammed. (I wish I could argue for the UWS, but I\u2019m not that dumb.)<\/span><\/p>\n

When we walked in we were given samples of fried mozzarella sticks in a fabulously spicy tomato sauce, a special of two for $1? Our whole meal came to about $13, and it was enough for both of us. Servers delivered the dishes and cleared the table, and one came around afterward with a little pill cup with three chocolate-covered espresso beans (\u201cto help the digestion\u201d). Both the denteness of the rigatoni and the restraint of the ragu were Italy-worthy. I read about the garlic knots while waiting in the deliberately slow line at Di Palo so had new appreciation for what were essentially Italian gougere. <\/span><\/p>\n

So it was fascinating to come home and read up on \u201creal\u201d critics\u2019 reactions. The same people who slaver over McD\u2019s\/Dunkin\u2019\/Taco Bell are so harsh when top chefs try to reinvent the genre. <\/span><\/p>\n

The $7-a-glass wine looked good & there was a loyalty card on offer. WIGB? Absolutely. Even after a movie.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I typed this months ago but keep thinking about it, so I swung by the Union Square Greenmarket (motto this time of year: \u201cAll this useful beauty\u201d) on a Wednesday to see if it was still boiling up. And, yes, it is, with even more events: So we\u2019re finishing up our rigatoni with ragu, dainty… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wigb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gastropoda.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gastropoda.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gastropoda.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gastropoda.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gastropoda.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1111"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gastropoda.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1113,"href":"https:\/\/gastropoda.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1111\/revisions\/1113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gastropoda.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gastropoda.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gastropoda.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}