Reviews
Atlanta's Finest Dining
Pasta Figo: A Mouthful of Heaven in Westside
by Laurel-Ann Dooley
On a recent cool and cloudy day, Kevin O’Brien finds himself at a sidewalk table at one of West Atlanta’s newest arrivals, Pasta Figo. With the ten seats inside already taken, O’Brien opts to have his lunch outside and take advantage of the patio seating. As steam billows from the hot pasta in front of him, he tucks into his plate with vigor. Despite the chilliness, O’Brien, a financier who works in Midtown, seems a very happy diner. “This place is great!” he effuses between bites.
Such ardor is typical of the devotion that Pasta Figo evokes in its coterie of customers, regulars and newcomers alike. The tiny storefront eatery first opened its doors this past summer and already enjoys the kind of loyal following one would expect from a restaurant that has been around for years, not mere months.
The secret of its success is as basic as they come: outstanding food served up quickly at amazingly low prices. Throw in a feeling that is more neighborhood hang-out somewhere in Rome than a parking lot in the West End, and you’ve got Figo’s winning formula.
Brainchild of co-owners Sandro Romagnoli and Mirko Di Giacomantonio, Figo calls itself a “pasta shop,” something Romagnoli says is commonplace in his native Italy but not in the United States. Here, he says, if you want to go out for pasta, you go to a restaurant with all its attendant ritual and formality. In Italy, however, you can stop in at a pasta shop and order fresh pasta on the fly, either to carry out or to enjoy on the friendly, casual premises.
Now Atlanta has its first pasta shop, and it is clearly a hit. The name itself means “something new, something cool.” “Taking out is such a huge part of the culture of this city,” says Romagnoli, but there are not many top-notch options. “People are not used to fast, inexpensive, high-quality take out,” he says, and that’s precisely the niche the two Italian transplants are filling.
The menu offers a variety of pastas and ravioli, all made fresh daily, and a selection of traditional sauces: pomodoro (tomato); Bolognese (meat); funghi (wild mushroom); checca (fresh tomato, mozzarella, basil); salmone (smoked salmon, green peas in vodka cream); siciliana (eggplant, basil, mozzarella and ricotta in tomato); amatriciana (pancetta in spicy tomato) and more. A varying array of specials is also presented, about five each day. Most dishes cost no more than $6. Yes, we did indeed say six dollars. Sometimes all IS right in the universe.
Appetizers include a classic bruschetta, eggplant parmigiana and fresh Buffalo mozzarella, tomato and basil salad. Chef Di Giacomantonio’s award-winning tiramisu is the highlight of the short dessert list.
On a recent visit, I try the eggplant appetizer and wild mushroom ravioli with funghi sauce. With the first bite of eggplant, I realize I have discovered something special. The main course only confirms my initial response. The eggplant is meltingly delicious and the ravioli-funghi combination richly satisfying without any heaviness. Between the thrill-fest, my taste buds experience the mood-elevating warmth of the place, and I find myself planning a return trip before I have finished.
Two weeks later I am back, this time sampling the caprese salad and some of that day’s specials – butternut squash ravioli in mascarpone cheese and radicchio sauce and tri-color penne alla putanesca with anchovies, capers and black olives. The butternut squash is a surprise of tastes – the sweetness of the squash mixing in an unexpected but delightful way with the slight bitterness of the radicchio. Again, I am struck by each dish’s subtle blending of flavors and dead-on execution.
That Figo hits the mark with such precision should come as no surprise given its chef’s background. Di Giacomantonio has worked in top-rated restaurants around the world – Amadeus in Abruzzi; the famous Harry’s Bar in Venice and Belgium; Roma in Hanover, Germany; Bice in Miami; Bellagio’s Le Cirque in Las Vegas. Most recently, he served as chef at Ciao Bella, where he met Romagnoli. The two got to talking, and the idea of Figo was born.
During my last visit, the phone started ringing ten minutes before the 11:30 opening time and continued from that point on for take out. Lisa Dooley, a receptionist at Fratelli Studio calls in orders about three times a week. “We have five Italian owners, and they love it. They say it is the most authentic Italian food they have ever had outside of their mothers’. It’s excellent!”
Curt Bisges of Marietta’s BFS Solutions is another fan. Bisges, who lives on the Westside and frequently orders Figo meals for himself, recently brought his family business partners in to try it. “Man, that’s a killer!” his mother Sharon Howard exclaims upon tasting the mushroom ravioli. By the end of their lunch, they had decided they wanted Figo to cater a company party.