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THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE: CHRIS SCHMAUCH
spicy, spreadable salami. If it’s possible, the kitchen will change
dishes and whip up special things to please guests, and there are
plenty of other items on the menu that could be a delicious prelude
to a pasta meal, like the world’s best carpaccio and charred
octopus with favas in a smoky sauce. 700 Welch Road, Palo Alto;
www.vinaenoteca.com
• Pausa
This handsome, modern spot urges guests to “pausa” from the
daily grind and enjoy first-class Italian cooking from seasonal
ingredients, even making its salumi in house. Worth a drive for
those in the further reaches of the South Bay, Pausa takes its pasta
just as seriously as the rest of its impressive menu, as evidenced by
the dedicated dough room—which is also the origin of the amazing
pizza crust. Try the wide pappardelle noodles laced with duck
sugo sprinkled generously with cheese, or get lost in gorgeously
colorful ravioli made from tomato pasta stuffed with buffalo
ricotta and peas and draped with Parmigiano fondue, chives and
poppy seeds. The cavities in the bright green stinging-nettle rigatoni
are perfect for holding onto a hearty ragu with braised pork
sausage, and you can taste the Basilicata region of Southern Italy
via sweet Senise chile peppers in hand-rolled casarecce noodles
draped in rich lamb-neck sugo pumped up with fresh mint. 223
E. Fourth Ave., San Mateo; www.pausasanmateo.com
Pizza Antica
Eggplant lasagne
with bechamel, basil
and tomato sauce
