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Usually Michael Pirolo’s pristine handmade pastas at Macchialina Taverna Rustica ring in at at least $20 a plate.
There’s the beet-filled mezzaluna with hazelnuts and brown butter ricotta salata at $22 or cavatelli with meat balls, porchetta and pecorino for the same.
But starting tomorrow (Thursday) and occurring each week throughout the summer such dishes and new weekly creations will be offered for only $10. This week it’s cacio e pepe, the classic Roman-style pasta dressed simply with parmesan and cracked black pepper, bucatini carbonara, and ricotta-filled ravioli in a fresh tomato sauce.
When it will end is “yet to be determined,” a restaurant employee said.
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Pirolo’s Alton Road spot has been a beach favorite since it opened in late 2012 as a partnership with the Pubbelly Group. He and General Manager Jennifer Chaefsky later bought out the pork-loving trio and have since thrived despite the neighborhood’s deafening construction.
Pirolo honed his pasta-making chops at the International Culinary Institute for Foreigners in Turin and later in Bologna. He later worked at Scott Conant’s Scarpetta in New York and Miami, alongside the departed Nina Compton.
His pasta-making skills carried over to Macchialina, which earned New Times’ best restaurant nod in 2013. The secret has always seemed to come down to simple, warming homemade fare that is all too uncommon in Italian restaurants that don’t drape the tables with white cloths. Former New Times critic Lee Klein outlined the mantra in four simple words back in 2012: “Do the right thing.”
It’s seems to have worked well. Pirolo is also in the midst of opening another restaurant at the nearby Marlin Hotel. When you stop for in for this ridiculously cheap deal, please ask him how it’s going. Also be sure to inquire about whether Pirolo’s Panino’s will return. His short-lived sandwich shop slung house-roasted turkey breast, tomato, and Dijonaise alongside a Banh Mi(lano) filled with mortadella and testa.
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