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As the holiday season brings friends and family together, it’s the perfect time to explore the diverse and delicious world of pasta right here in Trumbull County.
What is the perfect pasta? Well, it turns out the answer is subjective – but whatever it is, Trumbull County has you covered. I decided to ask some friends what they thought was the perfect pasta. Here are their answers:
“Stuffed shells or cavatelli with blush sauce.”
“Gnocchi with pomodoro.”
“Tortellini with my mom’s homemade sauce and meatballs.”
“Meatballs, Italian sauce, mushroom-filled tortellini primavera with tomato sauce and mozzarella, or shrimp scampi Primavera with protein pasta.”
And, “cannelloni,” a pasta I am embarrassed to say that I had to look up. (It’s a tube-shaped, egg-based noodle typically stuffed with cheese, sauce, spinach, or meat).
Now, putting aside the fact that gnocchi is made with potatoes and not everyone has access to my friend Arica’s mom’s homemade sauce and meatballs, there are a lot of opinions on what makes pasta, well, perfect.
The Italian Food Trail
The good news is that in Trumbull County, you can try plenty of pasta on the Italian Food Trail, which includes more than 60 eateries that offer the tastes of Italy. Some favorites for classic Trumbull County Italian include Buena Vista Café, Sunrise Inn of Warren, Enzo’s Restaurant, Lounge & Banquet Hall in Warren; Leo’s Ristorante and Salvatore’s Italian Grill in Howland; Café 422 and Vernon’s Cafe in Niles; Vasilio’s Restaurant & Pizzeria in Cortland, and Station Square Ristorante in Liberty, just to name a few.
At all of these you’ll find a truly mouthwatering selection of pastas and every kind of sauce you could want, from marina to alfredo and blush to vodka sauce.
But Really, What is Pasta?
Let’s take a minute to step back and define pasta. The first definition that pops up when you search “pasta” is simply, “a dish originally from Italy consisting of dough made from wheat, extruded or stamped into various shapes and cooked in boiling water.” According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest known use of the word was in the 1830s.
However, the National Pasta Association – yes, that’s a real thing – reports that pasta is believed to have existed in some form in ancient China and Greece, with the first evidence of Italian pasta appearing in the early 1200s. And apparently, Thomas Jefferson brought macaroni to America in the late 1780s after spending time in Europe as the ambassador to France.
So, it seems, even the National Pasta Association may think of pasta a little more broadly than your classic Italian dish.
(Though, it should be noted here that the NPA did once complain to the Food and Drug Administration about the mischaracterization of “noodles,” mainly concerning items made from vegetables. In that letter, the NPA stuck to the more narrow definition of noodles being “prepared by drying formed units of dough made from semolina, durum flour, farina, flour, or any combination…with liquid eggs, frozen eggs, dried eggs, egg yolks, frozen yolks, dried yolks…with or without water…”)
The legal definition of pasta, according to Law Insider, is simply “any product which is prepared by molding or drying units of dough or by steaming dough.” Why do we need a legal definition for pasta? That, I can’t answer.
But this is all to say, let’s expand to some other noodles.
Mac & Cheese
It’s not a far leap from Italian pasta to macaroni and cheese. In fact, the aforementioned National Pasta Association actually started as “The National Association of Macaroni and Noodle Manufactures of America.”
So, if you’re here for the cheese – and I know I am – a great place to start would be West & Main’s smoked gouda mac & cheese. This smoky, savory side dish is one of the Warren restaurant’s big hits, though there’s plenty more to try on the menu.
When I think mac & cheese, I also think barbeque, so I can’t make this list without mentioning Cockeye BBQ and its “grandma-style” creamy macaroni and cheese.
Mac and cheese is also on the menu at plenty of other Trumbull County restaurants, including Iron Mann Grille in Girard, which serves a nice white cheddar mac, and Divots Bar and Grill in Champion, where you can get your mac & cheese on a burger with their pork belly and gouda burger. Or if you’re into mac and cheese bites (I know, we’ve strayed a little off the path here) head to Urban Tap & Distillery in Warren for their gouda mac bites. They’re topped with pulled pork, pickled jalapenos, fresh green onion, and barbeque sauce.
Pierogies
My mother, who is by no means an expert on pasta, but like most Trumbull County folks, has eaten her fair share of noodles, says that she always feels like pierogies should count as pasta. You may disagree with that notion, but you’ll still want to sample some Trumbull County pierogies. The county may be known for its Italian and Greek heritage, but the area also has strong Polish and German influence.
The perfect place to go for pierogies is Lena’s Pierogi House in Hubbard. Lena’s does made-to-order pierogies with a rolling menu of classic and adventurous flavors. You can always get plain potato or cheddar, but you might also catch some sweet cottage cheese, roasted garlic, or broccoli and cheddar pierogies!
Of course, pierogies pop up on menus all over Trumbull County, including at Stonebridge Grille and Tavern and High Pointe Restaurant and Tavern, both in Niles. Plus, here is a second mention for Cockeye BBQ in Warren – they deep fry their pierogies! Now, if you really want to go crazy, you can also get pierogies on a burger at Big D’s Newton Grill in Newton Falls. They load up their pierogi burger with cheddar cheese, grilled onions, shredded cheddar jack, sour cream, and hot sauce.
Dumplings & Rice Noodles
If a pierogi is at least nearly a pasta, then a dumpling isn’t that far off either, right? You’ll find pork gyoza alongside lots of Japanese favorites and sushi at both Yomato Japanese Restaurant in Niles and Mizu Sushi in Niles. You can also grab “potstickers” at West & Main in Warren.
If you’re after rice noodles, An’s House Vietnamese Restaurant in downtown Warren has you covered with a selection of vermicelli noodle bowls. These bowls served with lettuce, cucumber, mint, pickled carrot, and daikon come with meat options like grilled lemongrass pork or chicken, and vegetarian options including tofu and crispy bean curd.
Or while you’re at An’s House Vietnamese Restaurant you can try your rice noodles in Pho. A comfort soup based on deep spices like cinnamon, ginger, or onions brewed for 24 hours, and served with noodles cilantro, bean sprouts, Thai basil, jalapenos, lemon, sriracha, and hoisin sauce.
Now, we could keep going with this forever. Don’t get me started on pasta salad, for example. And after all this, I’m still not quite sure what makes the perfect pasta, but, really, it must be somewhere on this list!
One thing is certain: you can find all sorts of amazing noodles – saucy, cheesy, stuffed, or otherwise – in Trumbull County. I recommend you taste them all.
