Pasta Party

So Ben and I have decided that when we get home, we need to have a pasta party. Our inspiration? Vapiano. That's right, Vapiano.

Vapiano is our new favorite pasta place here, and we're pretty disappointed that we just now discovered it because we would have loved to take our visitors there. The only reason we tried it in the first place was because a guy from work suggested it to me. We ate there last weekend and again today for lunch, and we'll probably even eat there for dinner tonight because there are so many things that we want to try!

Vapiano is a self-serve restaurant. They give you a little menu and a card when you walk in, and you go up to the designated counter areas (pizza, pasta, or salad) and order your food.

Then, they make your food right there in front of you and give you a little plate of bread to go with your pasta. They ring up your order and put it on the card, and you pick your seat, inside or out. After the meal, you take your card to the register and pay. And the prices are great - all the pizzas and pastas are broken into 4 price categories: 5.75, 6.75, 7.75, or 8.75.

Let me take you through the pasta process: Ben walks up to the counter and orders a shrimp pasta. The chef instantly takes out raw shrimp and throws it into the skillet (Ben thinks they are those magnetic skillets where they get hot instantly).

As you can see, he's also working on someone else's pasta in the right skillet (something with pesto and pine nuts). The chef asks what type of pasta noodles he would like (there is a sign there with pictures and names of about 12 different noodle types to choose from). Whatever Ben chooses, the chef grabs the little container of their made-fresh-daily pasta, and dumps it in a fryer-like appliance where the noodles go down into boiling water. Once the shrimp is slightly turning pink, the chef puts in a couple ladels of cream. He adds some chili pepper slices, a handful of fresh spinach, and grinds some salt and pepper over the mixture. He lets this cook and bubble for a minute. "Do you want garlic?" he asks. "Sure." So he ladels in garlic infused oil. He dumps in the pasta, already boiled and ready because the pasta is so fresh. He gives it a quick toss together and puts it into a classy white bowl. "Parmesan?" "Yes." He sprinkles parmesan on top, more freshly ground pepper, a few cherry tomato halves, and picks a sprig of some herb (not sure what, I don't know my herbs very well and I didn't taste or smell it) off the plant there for the finishing touch.

Then it's my turn, and I go through the same process, except I order gorgonzola pasta...yum.

Delicious. Fabulous. Amazing. And it looks so easy - thus, the inspiration to have our own pasta party - just get some simple ingredients, a hot skillet, and have everyone order their own pasta creation right there. We MUST have a pasta party like this when we get home!