Schnitzel à la Holstein with a side of spätzle from Cafe Rustika (Photo by Jay Paul)
1. Side of Spätzle
$4 at Cafe Rustika
Hand-shaped egg noodles, sauteed in butter until meltingly tender, beckon to German food enthusiasts and carb lovers alike. For nearly 20 years, Richmond’s schnitzel bar has plated lemon-kissed platters of thinly pounded, breaded and fried meat, accompanied by melt-in-your-mouth pasta ribbons. Add pickled cabbage with onion, bacon and juniper berries to complete this chef’s ode to autumn.
2. Tagliatelle Bolognese
$18 at Enoteca Sogno
This dreamy wine bar on the North Side is as close to dining in Italy as you can get in Richmond. The wine list is primo, with a simple bill of Italian classics that partner with owner Gary York’s culinary excellence. Long, broad noodles are blanketed with meat ragu, slowly simmered with creamy tomatoes and finely chopped veggies, until its sum consumes its parts — which is exactly what you’ll want to do with this Nonna-inspired dish.
3. Garganelli
$28 at Heritage (Note: Heritage announced its closure in an Oct. 13 Facebook post.)
Chef Joe Sparatta still leads the charge when it comes to keeping food simple, yet divinely elevated. The pasta plate at Heritage is a menu mainstay, despite its ever-changing components. Playful, corkscrew-curly noodles are met with chunky seasonal mix-ins, such as sausage, rapini, roasted peppers and caramelized onions with a roasted garlic emulsion. Go be surprised.
4. Fettuccine Alla Pasta House
$22.99 at Pasta House
Toothsome fettuccine nestles with lump crab and tender shrimp in a decadent lobster cream sauce at this cozy Italian restaurant in Mechanicsville. Throwback pricing and an included house salad bring the ’90s to mind, but this family-run pasta palace serves timeless fare with fresh ingredients. Welcome to my secret spot.
5. Zha Jiang Noodles
$13.30 at Mr. Noodle
Part of the joy at Mr. Noodle is catching a peek of the chef hand-stretching long noodles behind the kitchen curtain. The decision to make here, besides which noodles to order, is whether to request them to be thinly sliced or wide and roughly cut. This dish of ground pork in soybean paste with cucumber and bean sprouts is a little spicy and calls for a broader noodle surface to spread the love.
