Pasta Joint opens in Huntington
Spaghetti all'Amatriciana at the Pasta Joint in Huntington. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
Huntington’s newest restaurant is brought to you by two of the town’s most established operators, Eric and Jason Machado. Last month the brothers opened Pasta Joint, a value-priced Italian eatery where fresh pasta is produced right there in the open kitchen.
Huntington has been very good to the Machado brothers. Since 1986, when their father, Fabio, opened Fabio’s on Stewart Avenue (where Toast & Co. is now), the family has run a dozen establishments in the village, plus many more elsewhere on Long Island. Today, they preside over Bistro Cassis and MB Ramen which proved to be an inspiration for the new venue.
"Right now," Eric said, "people are looking for value. We looked at the hybrid we developed at MB Ramen — limited seating, half the business is takeout — and built this place to run the same way." (It's also true that homemade pasta is right on trend. This year has seen the openings of Pastaru Pastificio in Mineola and Pasta Project in Farmingdale.)
Eric said the biggest challenge he and Jason have faced at their new venue is finding help. For now, they are running the kitchen themselves. He confessed to being surprised at just how many people want to dine in, but has only himself and his brother to blame: The "joint" has an unusually appealing dining room with crystal chandeliers contrasting with the rustic furnishings and fresh herb plants gracing every pickled-wood table. The open kitchen adds additional bustle.
Brothers Jason, left, and Eric Machado are the owners at Pasta Joint in Huntington. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
The menu is anchored by eight pasta dishes, each of which costs $17. The Machados use different doughs in their Arcobaleno machine: egg and finely milled "double zero" flour for the fettuccine, water and semolina for the spaghetti and rigatoni. You’d be wise to take their suggestions for which pasta goes with which sauce: fettuccine with pomodoro, Alfredo and a delicate lemon-Parmesan sauce; rigatoni with Bolognese, vodka and pesto; spaghetti with carbonara and a good-and-porky Amatriciana. Portions are generous and pasta is not drowned with sauce.
Salads (Caesar, Caprese and arugula) are $10; appetizers (Tuscan bean dip, minestrone, antipasti, eggplant Parmesan) are $12. Pasta Joint considers focaccia, chicken Parm, chicken Milanese, meatballs and fried burrata as sides; each costs $9. For dessert, tiramisu: $8. On the beverage front are imported Italian wines, beers and soft drinks. And Coke.
Pasta Joint succeeds Faz’s Tex-Mex Grill, which closed in November after 33 years. (Faz's first opened on New York Avenue in1992, then moved to Gerard Street in 2000 and, finally, to this spot on the corner of Wall and Gerard streets in 2013.)
Pasta Joint, 28 Wall St., Huntington, 631-551-0020, freshpastajoint.com.
