Pasto

When you’re in a pinch, Pasto’s a cinch.
Be sure to strap in, unbuckle your belt (or take your pants off entirely if you’re in a booth) and get ready to hose down enough Papperdelle to choke a hippo.
You’ll feel like they’re trying to make human fois gras the portions are so big!
You’ll feel like you got the warp whistle in Super Mario Bros. 3 and ended up in World 4! (That’s the big world for you ignorant philistines that don’t know a rats ass about way past cooler zip zap Nintendo© games!)

I love this place! A perfect, homey, family-​run Italian lunch spot. Not really that great for eat-​in as they only have a couple of small tables, and outside is right in front of a bus stop. The food is literally what your grandma would make — if your grandma was an little old Italian lady from the old country. Their Carpciosa all-​vegetable sandwich is pretty special — fresh ciabatta bread, with fried eggplant slices, broccoli rabe, roasted peppers, and roasted sliced potatoes. Add a little provolone and marinara, and you have a hunk of heaven in your hands. Roast chicken sandwiches involve them actually pulling the meat off a fresh roasted chicken for you on the spot. Salads are also great, as are cold sandwiches and the hot daily specials. Only caveat: because every sandwich and salad is made fresh, and with care and love, speed is not their specialty. If you are looking for fast food, this is not your place.

This is in an odd location so I’ve never seen it before although I’m in this part of town a lot! As you’re going around the merry-​go-​round of City Hall, on the northeast corner is Pasto on Juniper Street. They’ve got several tables and seats outside so you can enjoy all the buses and cars blowing exhaust in your face, or you can take your delicious sandwiches elsewhere! We ordered the rotisserie chicken hot panini with broccoli rabe and provolone cheese (extra 75c) and the capriciosa (broccoli rabe, roasted potatos, roasted peppers, eggplant – my favorite) with sharp provolone (extra $ 1.50!). The olive oil is quality here and she drizzled some on my panini before assembling the vegetables, not too much to be greasy and soaked with oil (like at Pizza Rustica). All the hot paninis are then thrown in the oven for a few minutes but the bread still stays nice and soft. They wrap up the sandwiches for you in nice foil sandwich papers and off you go.
My bf said the chicken was not as flavorful as he had hoped and he didn’t like the bitterness of the broccoli rabe, but I say, he made the mistake of going for the wrong sandwich. I love broccoli rabe and I like bitter vegetables, esp. greens like arugula. I subsisted on Italian paninis while living in London so although this place isn’t exactly Italy, it’s yummy! I’d love to come back and try their gelato and salads. There was also just as long of a list of cold paninis (prosciutto, mozzarella, etc.) and bruschetta! They sell their homemade foccacia bread for $ 4.50 (they’re ginormous) and they are just the way I like it. Super soft and chewy bread on the inside and not too hard and thick on the outside. SO fresh and great for paninis. Greattttt lunch pick-​up spot and the portions are very sizeable! The mother and daughter? pair in the shop are very Italian and wonderful :)

You may have to take out a small loan to pay for lunch here, but providing the interest rates don’t kill you, this is a top-​notch place that will never let you walk away hungry.
Everything is fresh and laid out in front of you, as the very kind and gracious owner puts things together delicately and professionally.
The sandwiches are very generous, and ½ may wind up in the leftover tray for later for most people.
A little pricey, but location is great (right in the heart of CC), and you will always walk away satisfied.

I love this place. I’ve been going for about a week. It has fantastic hot paninis especially the capriciosa that the other review mentioned. That’s all I’ve really been having, but I’ll check back in here and update the review when I try the soups, cold paninis, and salads.
Standard downtown deli prices, sandwiches are about $ 8.
If you like good bread, this place will hit the spot.

Tipped off by this (
), I headed over to Pasto to try their supposedly delicious veggie panini. It is the real deal.
I knew that the sandwich would be good the second I walked in because there was an old Italian woman (the owner’s mother) sitting in the customer area, giving orders in Italian to her daughter and (I assume) son-​in-​law as they made food. This is always a sure sign of quality.
I could also see all the ingredients laid out before me, ready to be assembled into something surely delicious. I watched Paola (the owner) slice a fresh loaf of ciabatta, then top it with a battery of beautifully-​prepared ingredients (the article linked to above describes it in perfect detail). I experienced some distress when the sandwich was removed from my sight to go in the oven, but my fears were allayed when I realized it would soon return to me tastier than I could possibly imagine.
In the meantime, I looked at all of the items on display as starting adding things. I stopped at escarole soup and a piece of tomato pie but it took every bit of my self-​restraint not to add cannoli, pepper shooters, etc.
When I finally returned to my office to enjoy my bounty, I was quite pleased. The sandwich was spectacular, all of those flavors and textures coming together in harmony. The soup, too, left me daydreaming of future lunches from Pasto. The tomato pie waits for me but I have no doubts that it will also leave me impressed.