My old friend Joe Hansen recently opened this quick service pasta bar out near Highland and Perkins, and I finally made it out to have lunch and visit with Joe. We were both at the Chimes a few moons ago and talked for quite awhile about how important it was to treat your staff as people, no, more like students, each and every one of them with a future that might or might not be with you. The service industry is a high turnover situation. People come to work with you, and then they move on. You can approach that many different ways, but he and I agree that you should do the most for them that you can. Enough preaching. I think Joe’s new concept is very strong. While pasta appears on many menus, even at Italian restaurants it sometimes seems an afterthought. One or two signature dishes and that’s it, move along, on to the next item. To treat pasta like pizza, choosing your sauce and pasta and meats and veggies is so much better than trying to negotiate a special order with a server at a restaurant that’s not really built for anything off menu. Now Too Saucy is not a Lady and the Tramp rendezvous point, but it is fast and good and exactly what you wanted. And I’m sure Joe will get around to hanging a picture or two in due time. Maybe even a Lady and the Tramp poster. Here’s my first selection, meatballs and spaghetti with meat sauce, mushrooms, and roasted garlic.
