I love to eat. I love to drink. I’m currently sitting here on my couch - full, tipsy, and incredibly satisfied. You see, we just returned from a 2.5 hour meal at Pasta Freska. I can’t say enough good things about Pasta Freska. In fact, my folks are coming for a visit in a month or so and Pasta Freska is top of the list for them as well.

There are no menus for dinner at Pasta Freska. When you sit down, Chef Mike Horrri greets you and comes over to your table. “So, let’s talk about dinner!” He’ll ask you if there’s anything you don’t like or don’t eat. “Seafood ok? Spicy good?” It’s best to just smile and nod unless of course, you have a severe allergy. One of our dear friends doesn’t eat seafood and she communicated that to Chef Mike. Another friend doesn’t eat pork. But the rest of the table was fine with everything.

So, what happened next? More after the jump.

Before Chef Mike leaves your table, he’ll ask if you want wine. There is no wine list, and unless you have a very strong preference for white wine, just let him walk away and return with a random (but excellent) Chianti, Merlot, or Sangiovese. Soon after, one of the wait staff will approach your table with a large steaming plate of food, complete with potholder and spatula. This will be eggplant parmesan. The eggplant is very thin and the cheese is melty cheezy goodness. A short time later there will be salad and bread. The rest of the meal is chef’s choice. That said, there are usually some common themes.

First, all of the dishes come directly from the kitchen, much like the eggplant. Dishes are often served directly in the pans they were cooked in. We started off tonight with musssles and shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce. Then there was a pasta dish with meat sauce. The pasta was cooked perfectly, the sauce had a slight spicy heat, and the meat was very tender. There’s often a salmon dish - tonight was the last of the Copper River salmon, smothered in a light cream sauce. If you’re with a large party (more than 5 people), for another course, the men will get a manicotti and the women get a stuffed chicken breast in a balsamic reduction. This is one of the few times I’ve been tempted to duct tape my boobs and pretend to be a guy. While the chicken dish is excellent (it’s stuffed with pine nuts, raisins, and other things that I’ve never cared to figure out), the manicotti is possibly one of the best dishes I’ve ever had. Next came a small bite of steak that was so tender, it practically fell apart on my fork.

After the 6 courses of food and 4 bottles of wine, we were all feeling happily sated and more than a bit tipsy. But wait! There’s more! Dessert is served family style, with 4 different desserts on one plate. Tonight we had panna cotta, cheesecake, chocolate cake, and spumoni. Once we’d received our bill (and nearly fell out of our chairs with the shock of having a meal like this for less than $50 per person), there came an after dinner drink of Bailey’s.

My only regret about Pasta Freska is that I don’t get there more often. I am going to have to make a point to remedy that.

At Pasta Freska: don’t ask, just eat.

Pasta Freska
1515 Westlake Ave North
206-283-1515
www.pastafreska.com