Blind Date with Organic Pasta House

I had a blind date with an organic pasta house yesterday. I had caught glimpses of it before, but it was elusive; a southside haunt that I just hadn't ventured into yet: Stellina. It's an odd place; it's hard to pin down. That's one reason I've never embraced it before. It looks and feels like a coffee shop, but the food is faaaan-cy! [note--these photos are swiped from their website...]









Unsure of what I was in for, I didn't actually order their pasta. I played it safe with a salad; it was lunch, after all, and I had a long afternoon of work ahead of me. And the gym. And a night out. I just wasn't in a place in my life where I could handle a big lump of heavy food in my belly.

First things first, though: Oh holy hummus. This stuff was pretty darn good. I haven't decided how committed I am to it yet, but I'd put it in my top 5, up there with the former Blackberry and the Hummus Place in NYC. It was creamy, first off. I can't figure out how they make hummus creamy; I've blended, added oil, added water, gone light on the tahini, but I dunno. This stuff was good. But what makes or breaks a hummus, I've realized, is the accompanying bread. This place offered the standard pita, but it was toasted on a panini grill, so those nice little ridges were there. Plus it was salty. And then on the side was a pile of olives. My fellow lunchers teased me about not partaking, but I snagged a few roasted red peppers and that was taaaaaaasty!!!The house salad didn't have a hard time winning me over; it had me at "beets." Here's what's in it:

Mixed greens, beets, garbanzo beans, feta cheese, red onion, kalamata olives, sunflower seeds, balsamic vinaigrette.

Ok so it doesn't sound mind-blowing, but again, it's lunch, I've never been here before, you know, I'm chill, I'm playing it cool. But dang, it was good! Dressing was light, definitely balsamicy, but not too salty or tart. Not too over-
whelming. It's been a long time sincce I put seeds or beans in my salad, so that was a fun addition. But the best part, the best part, the part that intrigued me from first glance at the menu, were those little roasted beets. They were dark red and the perfect texture and surprisingly, they tasted like vanilla. I don't know if that was on purpose or just the stars aligning, but wow. But I'm getting off on a tangent.

The real story is the pasta. Again, like I said, I didn't order it. I don't even remember everything that was in it, and I can't look it up because it was a daily special. I don't even think I took a picture of it! But I did steal glances; I did surreptitiously ogle it from afar. I did feel a fluttering. And I did, yes I did get to try my neighbor's and sweet jesus, this stuff was good. It was a whole wheat house-made pasta with hidden gems of fresh mozzarella, just barely melty, and asparagus that was probably roasted or maybe sauteed, and the kicker: shitakes. These were magical mushrooms. They were most certainly the aphrodisiac of the dish, as their wooing was relentless after just one taste. They lingered on for a long while.

So needless to say, I'm intrigued; I'll have to go back. I'd like to try another date with Stellina in a more intimate setting. Perhaps in the evening. Perhaps with a nice glass of wine... this time with the freedom to really explore its personality and charm. I mean, I already know we share beets, mushrooms, and hummus in common; now we just have to see what the future holds for us!!! Cheers to my matchmaker!