A battle of the pasta Gods....

Any of my close friends can tell you that my carbohydrate of choice will always be pasta. It's the healthiest type for me, it tastes freakin fantastic and I never, ever get sick of it.

Every Wednesday evening I teach a lovely corporate Zumba class in Fremantle so hubsy and the offspring come with me for the drive and we have a family dinner afterwards. It's a tradition I love.
Two weeks ago we went to our favourite pasta joint in Freo- Sandrino's. It's been there as long as I can remember and so far has never disappointed. But writing about food means that I need to stray out of my comfort zone and start to make some comparisons. No, I am not going out of my way to eat crappy pasta just to blow smoke up the bum of my faves which is why I have chosen to compare Sandrino's to Spaghi which also has a great name in the Pasta World.

I like to sit outside at Sandrino's- it's great to be able to watch the world go by and I think it has a very different feel to the atmosphere inside the restaurant. The staff are nice but in our case they didn't communicate to each other when we added to our order so Natey had to wait quite a long time for his pizza which they had initially cancelled.

First up we ordered the Pizza Bianca which is pretty hard to get wrong. It's just a basically rock salt, rosemary and garlic on a pizza base. Delicious!

Being a parent has definite advantages when it comes to being able to order off the kiddie menu.
We get to taste things and pay much less for them and pretend that Natey just eats abnormally large
amounts of food.

A pretty looking Hawaiian and one with bacon, olives and mushrooms. I have to tell you that my other half is very,very picky when it comes to pizza. They must be cooked in a woodfired oven and the base must be thin. He doesn't do takeout pizza and the thought of a deep pan or stuffed crust makes him gag.
I am not so picky- sometimes takeout is just more convenient but I do know the difference. Sandrino's do a fabulous job and had I not had more food on the way, I could have happily had one of each type on the kiddie menu- with hubsy's help of course ;)

Next we had mussels and pasta to share:

I like chili mussels that have a flavour that slaps you in the face as if to say "I'm here!" but although these were pleasant, I didn't get that sensation. The flavours didn't seem to harmonise. Sure there was tomato and chili and salt and sauce but it wasn't one that you look forward to slurping up with your bread while the juicy goodness drips off your chin.

Lastly here is a pasta with sausage, chili, olives topped with pesto and ricotta.
The idea looked great but again it just didn't seem to gel. I think there are too many elements in this dish. The chili was intense and I had to pick alot of it out. I loved the sausage and olives but I don't think the ricotta and pesto were completely necessary. Maybe they are there to act as a buffer for the flavours underneath but for my taste, if they had halved the amount of chili and perhaps served the toppings on the side with an option of having shaved parmesan as well, it would have been much better.

I love Sandrino's and just need to go back to the normal things I order. Pizza and bolognese FTW.

Last Wednesday we went to Spaghi which is on our way home from Fremantle. They don't take bookings which is inconvenient on the weekends but if you go after they open (around 5.30/6pm) it's much easier to get a table. They are also BYO. The location is right on Canning Hwy so if you are unsuccessful and have to wait, that's where you do it- in full view of everyone driving by. My cons end there.

OMG the bolognese! Cooked with love, full of flavour and I want one as I type this. The large portion was more than enough for Natey (thank goodness) and if it pleases him, we know we're on a good thing. Honestly I can't fault it. And that sauce is why you have bread in a basket.

This party in my mouth is currently my favourite pasta in all of Perth. It's a house specialty- home made linguine pasta served with chili, garlic, black pepper, evoo and fresh porcini mushrooms in a light cream sauce. My veggie friends so need to try this. Everything works so well together and you don't get the heavy feeling that many get from a creamy sauce.

This is all we ordered along with some fresh bread and butter. The serving sizes are ample and although the price is up there on my pasta scale, the quality is amazing.
I like the fitout in Spaghi too- it's neat with neutral colours and lovely ambient lighting.

There you go Peg- I hope this helps xxx