On My *hit List: The Pasta Shoppe, Oak Park

On My *hit List: The Pasta Shoppe, Oak Park

So we needed some Italian bread tonight, and the Wife trundled off to The Pasta Shoppe, which though they have inflated prices and a limited selection retain the distinct advantage of being close to home.

She comes back with a loaf that's hard enough to crack ice; she should have squeezed it to make sure it was fresh, of course, but she's Nordic and unfamiliar with the ways of Italian bread.

So I call the Pasta Shoppe and say, "You know, I buy Turano Filone all the time and this bread my wife just bought has got to be at least three days old."

The guy, Steve, says, "Oh, yeah, we don't get it delivered on Sunday, and we were closed yesterday, so that means it's, yeah, a few days old."

Steve says he'll give me a new loaf, so I ask the obvious question: "Well, do you have any fresh ones?"

He checks; no, he doesn't; they're all stale.

To which I rejoin, "Sir, you should really remove stale bread from your shelves."

Steve agreed, but when The Wife returned the bread about an hour later, the rack was still full of stale loaves.

If I were The Pasta Shoppe, here's what I would have done: I'd either remove the bread from the shelves (the obvious action) or offer it free or at a deep discount to customers who might want stale bread for bread crumbs (which would generate good will).

When a store knows they're selling stale bread, and they don't remove the stuff from their shelves, they are engaging in a deceptive practice that really chafes my butt. Until such point as Oak Park gets an Olive Garden, The Pasta Shoppe is going to have to do.

Congratulations The Pasta Shoppe. You made my Oak Park *hit List.


Hammond

David Hammond wrote:To which I rejoin, "Sir, you should really remove stale bread from your shelves."

Steve agreed, but when The Wife returned the bread about an hour later, the rack was still full of stale loaves.

Well, yes, perhaps in the interest of good eating they should have removed the stale loaves. But apparently some oak parkers were willing to shell out the bucks to buy a stale loaf, and if there's a space in the market for stale turano bread, why not fill it?

After all, each loaf can still be sold. It may hurt their reputation, but I've never thought they had much of a reputation to begin with.

And who knows, someone may come along asking for "that crunchy dry bread my friend bought earlier today".

gleam wrote:

David Hammond wrote:After all, each loaf can still be sold. It may hurt their reputation, but I've never thought they had much of a reputation to begin with.

Ed,

This bread could technically be classified as a weapon so, being that we're in Oak Park, it should by rights be banned from the get-go.

Actually, when The Pasta Shoppe opened up, I heard great things about it (I guess they had/have a location further north). I've bought some of their over-priced arancini and artichoke salad, but found it undistinguished. Never ate there, though my dad made the mistake of ordering Italian Beef in their cafe (and he, who will eat just about anything and be appreciative, didn't like it).

Hammond

David:

I agree, that's pretty merdoso on their part; if it's that stale, it shouldn't be for sale or else marked as 'day old' and priced accordingly. Did they recognise Carolyn and not say anything?

The folks at Conte di Savoia recently warned me that the bread I was about to buy was yesterday's and that if I waited for or came back in fifteen minutes or so, the fresh bread from D'Amato's would be there. I appreciated that very much and the bread in question was hardly hard-tack, just not super fresh.

Shame on the "Pasta Shoppe"...

And shame on anyone who uses those bogus "ye olde shoppe" kind of spellings. Dumm dumm dumm.

Antonius

Antonius wrote:Shame on the "Pasta Shoppe"...

And shame on anyone who uses those bogus "ye olde shoppe" kind of spellings. Dumm dumm dumm.

Antonius

A,

Yes, that superfluously "fancy" terminal "e" should have been a give-away, but I tried to overlook the moronic moniker, though there's no overlooking the disregard for customers.

The Pasta Shoppe is dead to me.

David "Still steaming as you can see" Hammond

PS. They recognized Carolyn and gave her a refund.

David:

Just curious but how long does it usually take to get from Oak Park up to Caputo's on Harlem and that area? From my perspective, it seems close but on second thought, I guess it could take a while.

Of course, however long it takes, it's not right nearby and having a good or at least decent source for bread right nearby is pretty important. I'm lucky (for the moment) to have both Ferrara's and Masi's within a few blocks. In the South Loop, there was no source for good bread, so life has improved immensely since the move in at least one respect.

A

Hey, look at the name? Does it say Bread Shoppe? No, it does not. It says Pasta Shoppe. So clearly you went out of their area of expertise and have no business bitchin'.

Incidentally, I was just about to suggest that we change the name of the site to LTHForumme.com.

Antonius wrote:David:

Just curious but how long does it usually take to get from Oak Park up to Caputo's on Harlem and that area? From my perspective, it seems close but on second thought, I guess it could take a while.

Of course, however long it takes, it's not right nearby and having a good or at least decent source for bread right nearby is pretty important. I'm lucky (for the moment) to have both Ferrara's and Masi's within a few blocks. In the South Loop, there was no source for good bread, so life has improved immensely since the move in at least one respect.

A

It depends on the area of oak park. Closest corner of oak park (North Ave and Harlem), it'll take maybe 10, 15 minutes. Most distant corner (Austin and Roosevelt), it'll take 25-30. Harlem, Austin, Roosevelt, are all annoyingly slow. It takes 20 minutes to get there from my parents' house, which is closest to the oak park corner boundary of roosevelt and harlem.

-ed

Would it have changed things if they put up a sign above the bread that read "Loaf-Style Croutons" ?

David Hammond wrote:Until such point as Oak Park gets an Olive Garden, The Pasta Shoppe is going to have to do.

Hammond,

Speaking as someone who has eaten at olive garden twice in the last 2-3 months, Pasta Shoppe sounds a step or two below.

Yes, I've actually been to olive garden, my 94-year-old grandmother, who lives in Milwaukee, likes the place, and I like my grandmother. When we go she nibbles on toasted ravioli (straight from a box, served with acidic, yet somehow too sweet, marinara) and smiles while she eats, and actually finishes, her lasagna.

For my grandmother, who is now so tiny I can, almost, fit her in my pocket, to eat a whole portion of anything is most unusual.

Enjoy,
Gary

Ok, bread still sucks, as do meat entrees. But pastas, appetizers, and the new Neapolitan charred pizza have potential to deliver on any given night. This actually even looked appealing, which is sometimes hard to get in artless-plating Oak Park:



A nice and very unusual salad of spinach, roasted red and yellow pepper, fresh-grated parmesan, and light, crispy calamari, tossed in a tangy paprika dressing. I can't be sure the squid wasn't frozen, but it tasted fresh and the light, dusty coating was just right for the salad. I washed this down with a very nice Bellini.

A closer shot of the new pizza:



This was the rustico, with black olives, red onion, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil. I must say that the look and the edge of the crust was just right; the texture problem was the soggy middle (which happens even at our favorite places sometimes), and the flavor problem was that the pizza had been too-liberally brushed with what tasted like butter instead of olive oil, resulting in a strong brown-butter note that was tasty, but out of context for a Neapolitan pie. It's not going to dethrone Spacca Napoli, but it's pretty cool to have an option in Oak Park, and perhaps if you specify "full-distance" (and explain what that is to them) and no butter, you could come up with a satisfying crust. They have the dough and equipment for it.

If you can steer away from its consistent disappointments (bread, full entrees) - and I do - this is a pleasant sidewalk stop in downtown OP for the summer.

If you're ever in the mood for that style of pizza in the future, and don't mind a small trek north on Harlem, Caponie's is definitely worth a look. They also have a decent amount of outdoor seating which is always a plus this time of year, and prices are very reasonable.

Caponie's Cafe and Pizza
3350 N. Harlem Ave.
Chicago, IL 60634

I stopped going to Pasta Shoppe about a year ago when I placed my order & they told me they were out of mozzarella cheese... I forget what I ordered at the time, but I was dumb-founded that they could be out of mozzarella cheese!

Having read here about their approach to stale bread, I think you should be grateful they just 'fessed up to being out of mozzarella. Consider what they might have served you if they applied the same high standards as they had in the past. "Sir, there are maggots and grease in my mozzarella." "Don't worry, we did not charge you any extra."

Sounds like progress.

Note for the LTH fact checkers: the above exchange is purely fictional and did not in fact ever occur at the Pasta Shoppe, or any other Shoppie that I know of. (New business idea -combo auto repair and grill, called the Choppe Shoppe, experts in English autos and cuisine. Idea available to all comers though I do expect royalties).

Having read here about their approach to stale bread, I think you should be grateful they just 'fessed up to being out of mozzarella.

Agree. I much prefer dining at the kind of Italian restaurant that occasionally runs out of "fresh" mozzarella, than one that never runs out (and occasionally serves the equivalent of tire sealant on their pizza). Similarly, I'm equally skeptical of restaurants that never exhaust their supply of "fresh fish" specials.

The schmos who inspired this thread are being evicted. Justice.

Closed as I drove by today.