Penne Portobello - The Official Pasta Pomodoro Blog

Prosecco + Pasta P = Perfect Valentine’s Day Dinner

Pasta Pomodoro — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:36:18 +0000

Making plans for Valentine’s Day? Be sure to include a special date night at Pasta P! We’ve designed a special chef’s menu that will be perfect for two… Enjoy!

Brrrrr…. It’s really cold… Time for our Winter Seasonal Menu!

Pasta Pomodoro — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:05:01 +0000

We’re pleased to announce the launch of our new Winter Seasonal Menu! The menu showcases in-season, fresh and local ingredients. For starters, enjoy our Zuppa Cavolfiore, a roasted cauliflower soup that features artisan pancetta from Fra’Mani Handcrafted Foods in Berkeley. Our pasta course features a Sicilian spiced lamb meatball served with spaghetti in a spicy mint-infused tomato sauce. We have two entrée courses, Brodetto di Pesce and Costolette Brasate. The Brodetto di Pesce is a hearty italian style fish soup served with pacific rock fish and assorted shellfish in a light tomato broth. Our long-time guest favorite, Costolette Brasate, is a boneless short rib braised in red wine and herbs served over creamy organic polenta. As a side you can enjoy pan roasted cauliflower with anchovies, fresh garlic, chili flakes and capers. And for the “sweet course”, try our Budino di Limone, a traditional italian baked lemon pudding!

For the next several weeks, you can find this menu along with a fixed course tasting menu throughout our restaurants in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Orange County. If you’re feeling adventurous, our Pleasant Hill and San Jose (The Alameda) locations are offering a different seasonal special menu, with items that we are “testing” for future use. If you want to get in on the “testing” or try a different seasonal dish, please visit those locations to see what the Pasta Pomodoro Culinary Team is working on. We hope you enjoy the new dishes as much as we do and look forward to your feedback!

Hello 2012! Hello New Menu and New Website!

Pasta Pomodoro — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:52:58 +0000

Although today is officially a federal holiday and our office building is closed, we couldn’t wait to share this exciting news. Over the holidays we updated our menu and website! You will notice a new logo and look for Pasta Pomodoro. The logo is courtesy of a talented student-led graphic design team from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Our website now clearly describes what we’re up to from a culinary, wine and hospitality standpoint. Our “techie” regulars will be happy to know that we are beta-testing online ordering for our two San Francisco locations (Noe Valley and Laurel Village) and will eventually roll out this functionality to all our restaurants!

For the menu, we’ve added many new items and brought back some favorite dishes, such as the Polenta Farcita! In the appetizer section, we are now offering creamy organic polenta as well as organic turkey meatballs from Diestel Ranch. We have introduced two new signature salads — a classic chopped, as well as a grilled chicken and vegetable salad that is lightly dressed with EVOO and lemon juice. All greens are organic! You can try our new pasta dishes — Calabrese al Verde and Siciliane, which are both vegetarian but pair beautifully with chicken or shrimp. Based on guest feedback, we’ve returned to our original lasagna recipe and now offer a traditional layered lasagna with our housemade bolognese and Fra’Mani Italian sausage. And for our restaurants that offer pizza, we’ve added five new, delicious thin-crust pizzas! From the classic “Ricco” all-meat pizza to the more modern chicken with potato, sausage and clams, and scampi pizza, you will not be disappointed. Finally, since we love desserts (and have gained a few extra pounds from the holidays to prove it), we’re pleased to introduce our Budino di Pane (butterscotch bread pudding) and Crostata Invertita (polenta cake with seasonal fruit). They are wonderful, with our without, a scoop of vanilla gelato from San Francisco based La Copa Loca.

For new menu ingredients, we’ve partnered with San Diego based Brandt Beef, a well-known family owned ranch that provides natural beef to fine dining restaurants throughout the country. You can try Brandt Beef in our new steak entrée (“bistecca”) as well our steak salad. We’ve also found a delicious sustainably raised salmon from the British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association in Canada. Not only does this reduce our carbon footprint from a sourcing standpoint but compared against other salmon farming jurisdictions in the world, the British Columbia (BC) regulatory environment is the most stringent. BC salmon farms can only be sited in areas where water currents provide optimal conditions for fish well‐being and environmental sustainability. Finally, we’ve decided to upgrade our cheese offering in our Mista Salad and Pasta Sauces. The “Original Blue” from Marin based Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company can now be found throughout our menu.

We hope you like the new changes, and as always, look forward to your feedback. Enjoy!

Give the gift of Pasta P for the Holidays!

Pasta Pomodoro — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:12:15 +0000

Today is the kick off of our annual Holiday Gift Card Promotion! Purchase $50 in Pasta P Gift Cards and receive a complimentary $10 Gift Card… Buy online via our website (www.pastapomodoro.com) or visit your local restaurant… Happy Holidays from everyone at Pasta P!

The leaves are starting to turn… It’s time for our Fall Seasonal Menu…

Pasta Pomodoro — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 15:14:28 +0000

We’re pleased to announce the launch of our new Fall Seasonal Menu! The menu showcases in-season, fresh and local ingredients such as brussels sprouts and butternut squash. For starters, enjoy our Insalata di Cavolini, a long-time guest favorite that features artisan pancetta from Fra’Mani Handcrafted Foods in Berkeley. Our pasta course features the cold-weather favorite, gnocchi. The pasta is pan-roasted and includes roasted butternut squash and Fra’Mani sausage. We have two entrée courses, Scallopini di Maiale and Pollo Cacciatora. The Scallopini (pork tenderloin) is sautéed with white wine, fresh sage, lemon and butter and is served with soft polenta! Our Pollo Cacciatora recipe features Mary’s Free Range Chicken from California-based Pitman Family Farms as well as green olives and fresh rosemary. As a side you can enjoy roasted butternut squash drizzled with balsamic reduction and tossed with toasted bread crumbs. And for the “sweet course”, try our “Coppa al Cioccolato”, which is our Italian Sundae that has local La Copa Loca vanilla gelato layered with homemade brownies and chocolate sauce!

Wine + Blue Angels = Lodi Treasure Island Wine Fest this Saturday!

Pasta Pomodoro — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:19:48 +0000

A new look for Pasta P? Could it be?

Pasta Pomodoro — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:52:09 +0000

Yes it’s true… We’ve just completed the remodel of Laurel Village, one of our first locations in San Francisco… Opened in 1997, this restaurant located in Presidio Heights and over the years has become a local neighborhood hangout for all ages… We reopened this past Saturday served complimentary drinks and Bruschetta all weekend! Special thanks to the folks at Lowney Architecture and Laura Martin Bovard Interiors for our new look!

A view from the restaurant entrance into the dining room…

The new counter area…

Photography by GoodEye Photography + Design (THANKS CHRIS!)

Organic Heirloom Tomatoes are now in season… Time to update our Summer Seasonal Menu!

Pasta Pomodoro — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:51:56 +0000

We’re pleased to announce the launch of our new Summer Special Menu! The menu showcases in-season, fresh and local ingredients such as organic heirloom tomatoes from Capay Farms and green beans from Dwelley Farms. We’re also featuring fresh local Halibut as well as artisan pork from American Homestead Farms. For starters, enjoy our seasonal heirloom tomato salad that features blue cheese from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company. For our guests who crave “spicy”, we have created an amazing vegetarian pasta entrée called “Linguine Calabrese al Verde”. This dish is not to be missed. Enjoy linguine with mild calabrese chili sautéed with a medley of fresh vegetables. Our “second course” entrees include “Costine al Caffe”, which features coffee rubbed St. Louis cut pork ribs form American Homestead Farms served with sautéed Dwelly Farms green beans. We’re also offering our summer inspired “Halibut Panzanella”, which is fresh grilled local halibut served over an organic heirloom tomato bread salad. And for the “sweet course”, try our “Crostata di Miele”, which is a flaky pastry filled with caramelized Granny Smith apples!

For the next several weeks, you can find this menu along with a fixed course tasting menu throughout our restaurants in Northern and Southern California. If you’re feeling adventurous, our Pleasant Hill and San Jose (The Alameda) locations are offering a different seasonal special menu, with items that we are “testing” for future use. If you want to get in on the “testing” or try a different seasonal dish, please visit those locations to see what the Pasta Pomodoro Culinary Team is working on. We hope you enjoy the new dishes as much as we do and look forward to your feedback!

Summer of Special Wine Dinners with LangeTwins

Pasta Pomodoro — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 20:57:55 +0000

JOIN US FOR A THREE COURSE WINE DINNER!

We will be hosting a 3 course wine pairing dinner at six of our Bay Area locations in August and September. Each course from our new seasonal menu will be paired with an exceptional wine from the award-winning LangeTwins Family Winery & Vineyard.

All dinners start at 6:00pm – cost is $36 per person

SAN BRUNO – Wednesday, Aug. 17th, 650-583-6622

VALLEJO – Wednesday, Aug. 24th, 707-557-6100

LAUREL VILLAGE – Wednesday, Sept. 14th, 415-831-0900

STRAWBERRY VILLAGE – Wednesday, Sept. 21st, 415-388-1692

NOE VALLEY – Wednesday, Sept. 28th, 415-920-9904

This is a reservation only event, so call now to reserve your spot!

Guest suggestions lead to the launch of Call Ahead Seating!

Pasta Pomodoro — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:45:32 +0000

Based on recent guest feedback, we have recently launched “call ahead seating” for our restaurant waiting lists… Here’s how it works — call your neighborhood Pasta P and if we’re currently running a wait, then ask to be added to the lunch or dinner waiting list… Depending on your drive time, when you arrive at the restaurant your wait should almost be over! Keep the guest suggestions and feedback coming… Thanks!