Review: Fresh-made pasta, sauces are highlights at Mirko
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Mirko Pasta opened at Roanoke’s Towers Shopping Center in October, offering a casual, affordable menu of house-made sauces and fresh pasta. The interior of Mirko is pleasant, with clean lines and simple d ecor meant to provide the feeling of a modern Italian cafe.
On my first visit, my date and I were greeted at the door and shown to a seat near the kitchen. Our server asked if we’d been there before and, when we said we had not, offered to bring a tray of sample pastas so we could see our options firsthand. The tray displayed three categories of pasta — short, long, and filled (raviolis). The long pastas can be ordered as either egg or spinach, and there is one gluten-free option.
After the presentation, the server brought two small white, crusty rolls and a white bean dip topped with rosemary, along with a tall glass bottle of water for the table.
To begin our meal, we ordered the bruschetta classica ($5), slices of grilled bread topped with diced tomatoes, garlic, black olives and basil tossed in olive oil. To the side of the plate was a small salad of baby green tossed with balsamic dressing. We enjoyed the fresh tomatoes and basil but noticed that the grilled bread was a bit too oily .
For entrees, Mirko’s menu allows diners to create their own pasta dish or pick from one of their creations, which include a few seafood and chicken dishes without pasta. We were both eager to create our own, so my date chose spinach tagliatelle noodles ($4.50) and the tomato-based Norma sauce ($5), which contains pieces of eggplant and mozzarella with dollops of ricotta. He finished his order with the addition of meatballs ($3). I opted for the flat, wide egg pappardelle noodles ($4.50) in carbonara sauce ($5), topped with grilled chicken ($2).
Our entrees arrived as generous portions, nicely presented in large white dishes and quickly followed with an offering of Parmesan cheese from our server. Carbonara sauce is made from eggs, cream, bacon and Parmesan cheese, but my sauce tasted more like an Alfredo, with more cream, less egg yolk and no black pepper. When I requested pepper, the server quickly brought some over. The fresh noodles were noticeably more tender than traditional dried pasta, but I was disappointed to find that they had not been fully tossed with the sauce and were stuck together at the bottom of the bowl. The chicken was nicely grilled and worked well with the cream sauce. My date’s spinach noodles were tasty, but were also stuck together. The Norma sauce was fresh and bright, with the two cheeses mixing with chunks of eggplant. The meatballs were juicy and added nice flavor to the dish.
A good friend accompanied me on my second trip to Mirko, where we were seated on the patio. It is draped in strings of lights and offers a fun and relaxing option for warm evenings.
As an appetizer, we ordered the fritti di formaggio, which consists of four fried cheese ravioli served with spicy tomato dipping sauce ($6). The exceptionally large ravioli were cut diagonally into triangles, battered with bread crumbs and fried. The cheese inside was creamy, and the sauce had a nice, but not overpowering, spice. The server checked in regularly, and much of the patio soon filled with other patrons enjoying the nice weather.
For our entrees, I again chose to create my own dish, this time opting for a simple pomodoro sauce ($5), made from tomato and basil, and gnocchi di patate ($4.50), small soft dumplings created from flour and potato. The pomodoro sauce was very enjoyable, with plenty of fresh basil sprinkled throughout. The gnocchi was tender and well prepared, providing more than enough for dinner and a take-home box. My friend chose the lasagna verde ($11), made up of spinach lasagna noodles, meat sauce and mozzarella, topped with Parmesan cheese and a bechamel sauce, or white sauce. The layers of the lasagna melded well together, with the meat sauce offering a nice balance and texture to the creaminess of the other layers.
Overall, Mirko Pasta offers customers the opportunity to enjoy fresh pasta without the effort it takes to make it at home. The friendly staff and casual atmosphere is well suited to a family dinner or a simple night out with friends, and while there is room for a little more attention to detail, Mirko Pasta offers a nice alternative to Roanoke’s other Italian-themed chain restaurants.
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THE ROANOKE TIMES
