Polarization: October 2007

I am always looking for new places to eat around work. Some places are ok, a few are a hit, while others fall under the "now I know" category. Pasta Pomodoro have impressed me enough times for return trips. I know Pasta Pomodoro is a chain, originating from norther CA, but it's a shift from the lunch monotony. The Huntington Beach branch is located inside Bella Terra.

The side of the restaurant looks nicer than the front. They have outdoor dining area which is nice at lunch time.

This is their lunch menu. The prices should still be good. Subject to change, blah blah..

Once your order is in, they serve you sourdough and pesto in garlic and olive oil, to tide you over until your meal comes out. Nothing too outstanding about the bread but the pesto sauce is yummy.

With every lunch special, you get either a salad or soup. The salad is a mixed greens, tomatoes, carrots, gorgonzola and balsamic dressing. Once, I got a slightly whithered salad but that was the only time.

The soup is refreshing and light w/ veggies and buttered croutons. Either is a good choice w/ the lunch special.

Here is the meatball panini. They don't skimp on the cheese nor meatballs. Actually this is probably my favorite item off their lunch menu. I love the spicy (not really spicy) tomato dipping sauce. Sometimes I ask for extra pesto sauce so I can have two dipping sauces w/ the panini. The bread is buttered to a crunchy golden sear. And having the sauce on the side keeps the sammich crunchy down to the last bite. Also, the meatballs are not greasy as you would expect.

The chicken panini didn't impress me so much. I found the chicken a bit too dry and not as flavorful compared to the meatballs.

Next is the chicken parmigana w/ penne pasta, dressed up in red sauce. Pasta is cooked al dente. Chicken was actually moist, not like the chicken panini. Breading for the parmigana was a tad soggy for my tastes. But it's still a nice dish, (remember you do get a side salad/soup).

Besides the meatball panini, I liked this dish as well. It's their Healthy Fish. They use chunks of salmon, asparagus, basil, all rolled up in red sauce w/ their linguine.