Today is National Pasta Day and I could go on about how I love to make homemade pasta and you should really give it a try, but instead will finally deliver a long delayed restaurant review.

NUMERO 28 at 28 West Carmine Street in the West Village is a terrific restaurant here in NYC. Actually they seem to be a small chain with several other Manhattan locations, two in Brooklyn, one in Queens and according to their website, in Austin, Texas and Miami Beach, Florida as well! Who knew? Anyway I stopped there in June, enjoyed a terrific meal and soon after broke my ankle (not their fault) and have been in various levels of health care insanity since and so didn’t post about their terrific place. I ordered two daily specials, starting with a speck and arugula salad pictured here, a perfect beginning that whetted the appetite.

And then, and the reason I am posting this today, their cacio e pepe. For me this is the perfect pasta meal as the star is the pasta itself, not any kind of sauce or meatball. Only pepper, cheese (usually Pecorino Romano) and a splash of the pasta cooking water is added. It is tough to pull off well and must be served immediately to work well. Numero 28 accomplishes this by serving it in the pan it was cooked in. It was perfection. Just as subtle and delicious as it should be. While neither of these are on their regular menu they demonstrate the skill of the chef. As soon as I can get back on my feet I want to stop by again. And I recommend you try cacio e pepe if you haven’t already to celebrate National Pasta Day!

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