Pasta Paradise at Paesano

The creamy goodness of pesto-alfredo pasta is what first comes to mind when I think about our experience at Paesano. And it’s all thanks to our waiter, who made the very wise (and tasty) suggestion of mixing together the two flavors.

As much as I love pesto, I get a little sketched out when it’s the star of a dish. Mostly because of a bad past experience I’ve had – where the pesto pasta turned out to be a bowl of linguine drowned in oil. Yuck. That experience prompted me to ask our Paesano waiter if their pesto pasta is more on the oiler or creamy side?

He gave his honest opinion and admitted that it’s on the oiler side; however, mixing it with a creamy alfredo sauce would make all the difference. He was right. The pesto-alfredo mixture “broke da mout!!,” as we’d say in Hawaii. In other words, it was delicious.

But really, Paesano had me at the bread. I’m such a bread person when it comes to restaurant appetizers. The super-soft French bread comes warm and wrapped cozily in a cloth. It was especially handy as a vehicle for dipping into the pesto-alfredo sauce. Nom nom.

Midway through our meal, and I could honestly say I was overly-satisfied with the food. The portions weren’t very big but enough for me. How was the dessert? I, of course, chose tiramisu over cheesecake and was so glad we did. It was definitely up there in the top two tiramisu I’ve ever had. Aunty Pasto’s tiramisu is da bomb! The real deal breaker at Paesano, however, was the petite cup of cappuccino to complement it. Sooo savory.

PAESANO RISTORANTE

• Manoa Marketplace 2752 Woodlawn Dr., Honolulu, HI 96822 • 808-988-5923 • www.paesanohawaii.com

PAESANO RISTORANTE

• 98-1277 Kaahumanu St., Aiea, HI 96701 • 808-485-8883

Posted by: Bruce Fisher on Jul 8, 2013