Owner/pasta maker Elena Cartagena has aptly named her restaurant Pasta Dal Cuore, which means “pasta from the heart” in Italian, as she showcases exceptional pasta at her storefront pasta factory. This retail operation, which sells a variety of ravioli, cut pastas, gnocchi and sauces, all made fresh daily, transforms into a contemporary Italian restaurant for dinner.
Starters were breaded and fried bright-green Castelvetrano olives stuffed with prosciutto and mortadella accompanied by tomato sauce; artisanal mozzarella stuffed into Roman-style risotto cones with a Bolognese sauce; and lightly fried pumpkin ravioli with a gorgonzola dipping sauce that had us fighting over the last piece. Our only disappointment was the stale bread served with seasoned olive oil along with an excellent eggplant caponata.
Only pastas are offered as entrées, and we shared four of them: cauliflower and ricotta filled an ethereal cannelloni with a béchamel sauce; a hardy and flavorful tagliatelle Bolognese made with a beef, pork and veal sauce sprinkled lightly with fennel pollen; tomato linguine served as a base for a traditional Neapolitan sauce of olives, capers, anchovies and fresh tomato topped with seared tuna served raw in the middle; and thin pasta strips with Italian sausage, broccoli rabe and red-pepper flakes were a step above the usual preparation of this dish. Including the appetizer, we had five pastas, all which did our hearts good and were memorable. If we were not so full, we would have loved to order a sixth plate as every dish was distinctive.
We opted for tiramisu served in a coffee cup and sprinkled with cocoa for dessert and an appealing special of almond biscotti with mascarpone mousse finished with caramelized banana and a raspberry sauce.
We love the concept of an all house-made pasta menu and urge you to try this restaurant. The space has an industrial feel with wood floors, artwork on the walls, cloth napkins and a showcase at the entrance filled with pasta for sale. Of course, we bought some to take home.
Pasta Dal Cuore sells pasta Tuesday though Sunday from noon; dinner service is Monday through Saturday, 5 PM; Saturday and Sunday brunch from 10 AM to 3 PM; BYO.
Pasta Dal Cuore
527 Jersey Avenue
Jersey City
201-332-8505
BYO
Tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce.
Almond biscotti with mascarpone mousse, caramelized banana and a raspberry sauce.
Photos courtesy of Lowell Saferstein
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