Family jewels

Pasta Casareccia is Italian
done right on the west side

by JOANNA FOX

Sherbrooke Street West in NDG is like Monkland avenue’s cooler, older brother. Sherbrooke is just naturally more edgy, gritty and cultured while Monkland tries, but never seems to be able to get the moves right. With Sherbrooke’s vast array of shops, restaurants and grocers, it’s a street full of eclectic variety that always draws me back in. Along this strip is Pasta Casareccia, a small Italian restaurant and deli three doors down from the legendary Cosmos.

A family-run business for 25 years, Pina Petraccone and brothers Mauro and Fabio serve simple, fresh food with no pretensions, creating a well-loved staple for many devotees in the hood. Casareccia is small and narrow with a long deli counter to one side selling various cured meats, antipasto, cheese, fresh pastas and a selection of their sauces that taste just as good over Primo pasta at home (when you impress your guests with your “secret” family recipe).

With its bright, funky Italian deco of red banquettes and yellow painted walls contrasting a black and white chequered floor, this place resonates that casual Italian vibe that makes you want to roll up your sleeves and wear your napkin as a bib (or a hat, after a couple grappas). And if that wasn’t good enough, when the warm weather comes they set up a shaded terrace on the street front that is great for lazy lunches and summer nights of people watching.

The menu is exactly what you would want from good Italian: straight-forward and simple. Antipastos, soups and salads to start ($5–$16) followed by a selection of sauces that can be combined with your choice of pasta ($13–$23), as well as lasagna, veal, sausage, chicken and fish of the day. There is also a table d’hôte ($16–$25) that includes salad, main and dessert.

With the help of our bubbly young waitress, we started with a couple of dishes: the quintessential Caprese salad, a Caesar, dry cured beef and meat stuffed olives. The Caprese, (tomatoes, bocconcini, fresh basil) was good, but what made this dish was the quality of the olive oil and balsamic drizzled on top. Taking a simple salad up a notch, the oil tasted of ripened green olives and the balsamic was sweet and aged.

The Caesar was great too, the romaine lettuce fresh and crunchy, dressed just enough to add flavour without being cloying, topped with fresh croutons. The cured beef was sliced a bit too thick and had a rubbery texture as a result. The olives, stuffed with a combination of beef, veal and turkey, were delicious and fried to a light crisp creating salty-savoury taste explosions in our mouths.

For mains, we dug into the ricotta and spinach ravioli with their classic Bolognese sauce. The sauce was an even balance of meat and tomato, blanketing the dish in a smooth texture and meaty-rich taste. Although the ravioli was good, they seemed like old flattened pillows rather than fluffy, feathery ones: classic case of too much pasta, not enough filler. The fish was Basa served with a pureed green olive sauce that added just enough richness to not overpower the perfectly cooked fillet. On the side was fettuccine with my requested Arrabiata sauce, (a sauce, I might add, that I would drink on its own if no one was looking). My favourite in Montreal, this spicy tomato sauce is the right amount of heat with just a hint of garlic.

The special—eggplant parmegiana and angel hair pasta with pesto—was thick slices of eggplant melted into a creamy texture of tomato sauce and cheesy gooey goodness. Take that and add a mouthful of angel hair with pesto bite and it was game over.

The highlight, however, was Pina’s cheesecake with fresh strawberries. It looked thick and dense but was magically light and airy, topped with plump strawberries and coulis. I never tasted cheesecake this good and Pina told us it’s a laborious process involving lots of mixing and lots of baking. Let me tell you, it was worth every second.

Like any cooler, older brother, Sherbrooke always seems to seal the deal and Pasta Casareccia is the perfect example.