07 Mar Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Uovo Pasta Santa Monica

The key to making really good pasta is the ingredients. It only requires three ingredients – flour, eggs and salt – but it requires the best ingredients. At Uovo Pasta in Santa Monica, they found the best ingredients by going directly to Italy. And the resulting homemade pasta is delicious. That is why Uovo Pasta in Santa Monica is the Please The Palate pick of the week.

I was running an errand in Santa Monica the other night and found a parking spot on the street. I finished my errand and was walking to my car when I noticed that I was parked in front of Uovo Pasta. Uovo Pasta was on my list of places to try as I had heard some positive things from friends. So I decided to go in and check it out. And that was a great choice!

Uovo is a pasta bar. A long rectangular bar wraps around the open kitchen with bar stools. A few tables are also available for groups. I took a seat at the bar and perused the menu.

I ordered the Pasta Pomodoro, handmade tonnarelli in a signature pomodoro sauce made with specially sourced imported tomatoes from Basilicata & 24-month aged Parmigiano-Reggiano. The pasta was cooked to perfection and the tomato sauce was rich and flavorful. But what really stood out was how delicious the homemade pasta was and how much it tasted like pasta I have eaten in Italy.

After trying to make pasta in the U.S., the owners of Uovo realized that it did not taste the same as in Italy. While they could import the flour from Italy, they were unable to purchase Italian eggs in the U.S. It would not seem like Italian eggs would be different from what we eat here, but Italian eggs make a rich, deep yellow noodle that our eggs do not. So, the owners of Uovo traveled to Bologna in Emilia Romagna, the epicenter of fresh pasta to have the pasta made there.

The Uovo team works with sfogline, women in Bologna who have mastered the art of pasta-making. These women use the age-old technique of sheeting and cutting which is more labor-intensive but results in a pasta with a superior texture. The pasta is made in Italy and then sent over-night in a temperature-controlled cabin where the flight time becomes part of the resting time.

The menu at Uovo is inspired by collaborations with chefs and owners of restaurants in Bologna and Rome. There are classic dishes like carbonara, cacio e pepe, bolognese, amatriciana, and more. And as much care is put into the ingredients used for sauces as is put into the pasta. Tomatoes are sourced from Puglia, 24-month aged Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano are shipped from Italy and all meats are sustainably raised.

If you wish you could be eating pasta in Italy right now, then head to Uovo Pasta and get your fix.

Uovo Pasta
1320 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90401