Sometimes you have to travel to find great food, sometimes it travels to find you. Case in point: Now you can find the exceptional strands of Mattarello Artisanal Handmade Pasta, previously available only at the Marin Farmers Market, in mainland San Francisco at Little Vine in North Beach (1541 Grant Ave).
Initially you'll find two flavors of tagliatelle: egg and spinach. The pasta is packed in bird's nest bundles "in a state between fresh and dry," and cooks in roughly one minute. It's the fastest boil to bowl we've seen, and the flavor is exceptional.
Both pastas provide a tender tooth, fresh beyond fresh. The egg pasta has a soft, melty, lightly eggy flavor (surprised?). If you've had fresh pasta in Italy you'll be taking a bite of memory -- roof of the Hassler perhaps. The spinach pasta has all that and some subtle herbal notes as well.
Since it's the season, shaved truffles and your best olive oil are the way to go here. Barring that, the olive oil and a touch of salt will do. The oil and pasta together create a buttery richness that belies the lack of any actual butter.
As the pasta cooks so quickly, if you are going to have sauce (leftover tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and heated in a pan for a few minutes is a good option) be sure it's hot and ready. And be sure everyone is ready to eat. If they're not, not only will their pasta already be cold, it might be gone.
Mattarello pasta is made fresh on Thursdays and Fridays. It's $5 a portion at Little Vine, or $4.50 at Marin Country Mart Farmers Market in Larkspur and the Burlingame Farmers Market.
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