For this veal parmigiana you don't even need a knife; it's just so tender. At Michael's of Brooklyn, they appropriately call it the Veal Smash Job. Everything is prepared in-house: the tomato sauce, the mozzarella and even the chop, which is cut from the veal quarter before it's pounded thin. It gets a traditional breading, and a quick fry, then it's sauced and topped with mozzarella before going under the broiler.
Sometimes all it takes is a bowl of pasta to comfort you. And in Seattle it's the Tajarin al Ragu that does just that. Executive Chef Stuart Lane was influenced by his culinary studies in Piedmont to create this dish of freshly made, hand-cut pasta with a beef and pork meat sauce. Before serving it gets a dusting of Parmesan. It's simple, but it hits the spot.
The best Italian food comes from Grandma's kitchen, and in this case that's in Staten Island, where Enoteca Maria has a whole team of real Italian nonni. Nonna Theresa and Nonna Carmelina make the Pappardelle di Mare, inspired by their Southern Italian backgrounds. Octopus, cuttlefish, calamari and shrimp combine with fresh grape tomatoes, parsley, white wine, seafood stock and, of course, pasta made fresh by Nonno Giuseppe.
The Baked Pasta with Pink Sauce at Al Forno in Providence is so good you might not even care how simple the recipe is. It's made of five cheeses: Pecorino Romano, Fontina, Gorgonzola, mozzarella and ricotta, All that is combined with cream, tomato sauce and cooked shell pasta. It's spooned into shallow dishes and then placed in a 500 degrees F oven. What you get is a rich and gooey masterpiece.
You'll find the most-stunning lasagna at Domenica in New Orleans. Chef-Owner Alon Shaya's Lasagne Bolognese starts with parsley-infused pasta sheets. His meat sauce features pork, beef and pancetta as well as red wine for flavor. He layers the pasta and meat sauce with bechamel, Parmesan and mozzarella to create seven layers before it's all baked until bubbly and brown.
