Why I Don't Make Pasta at Home

Well, for one thing, I'm always at Bellavitae, a small, perfect place in Greenwich village where they make the classic Roman pasta, Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe (spaghetti tossed with pecorino, black pepper and olive oil) which I love. When they tried to take it off the menu awhile back I threw a fit (you can do this when you eat at a place all the time). It's a simple dish but it's hard to get the balance of cheese, pepper and oil right. Bellavitae always does.
Recently, I noticed a slight difference in the spaghetti cacio e pepe. It was even better. So I asked, and yes, there was a difference; they had changed pepper grinders because they found that Peugeot pepper grinders are better because they shave the peppercorns instead of grinding them. They'd also switched to tellicherry peppercorns. A good restaurant is always making these kinds of small obsessive improvements. An obsessive diner is always on the ball enough to appreciate them. To celebrate the slightly revised and improved spaghetti I drank the Pieropan Soave which they serve by the quartino. I could easily have had this meal twice. That's the other reason I don't make pasta at home.
Bellavitae at Home: A lot of the imported ingredients at the restaurant (pasta, vinegar, olive oil) are for sale there.

Bellavitae. 24 Minetta Lane, NYC. 212-473-5121.