Cheap Pasta about Town

I tried the pasta at Fabios last night, its a new addition to the menu. I was basically comparing it to Sals, Sals used to be cheap now it is not and it is not worth it ($16.95 for mediocre pesto and pasta, wth?). Fabios has some pasta on its menu. The cost was $8.95 for penne pasta with red sauce and sausage with a salad and bread. Not a bad price, certainly I can make it cheaper, but I am not cooking, as Chris notes regularly.

The sausage is the key part of the meal for me, but was nothing to write home about-neither is the sausage at Eppies (below), perhaps I have high standards for the sausage in pasta, it doesnt mean I wont eat the pasta and sausage at those places but I may try meatballs. Sausage should be flavorful and add a delicious jolt to the pasta sauce. The bread was clearly microwaved which left the bread too chewy and hard- it really looked like it could have been good though, so I was surprised it wasnt. The red sauce was good, not too tomato-ey, had a little texture to it, although it was watery, couldnt really figure out why unless it was the pasta water. The pasta was cooked perfectly. And the salad was as usual delicious although its iceberg lettuce and very little else. I love Fabios pizza, I prefer the reasonable prices of Fabios to Sals, so Fabios wins the battle between those two restaurants (not really a fair fight).

Eppies pasta comes with the most pungent garlic bread in the universe (sorry to all those who encounter me after such a meal), but no salad. If I order pasta at Eppies it is tortellini with pink sauce ($7.34) and sausage (~$2.04 more). The pasta is placed at the bottom of the bowl, with white sauce then marinara sauce on top. I love the idea of pink sauce, and one time I had the dish it turned out so terrific I had to have it again. The second time was not quite as awesome because lunch had to wait until after a meeting, so the sauces never really mixed. So sad. But it is a great meal, for a reasonable price, but without the sausage which to me isnt worth it.

I love Eppies, I love their Greek salad best, I love that they have a website and really delicious, quick food for lunch and no pizza on their menu (and the sides are delicious). I love the tortellini, but I wish they would combine the sauces for me and get a more delicious sausage, and serve pumpkin bread with everything and... obviously they are doing something right.