Grassa
Italian restaurant · Downtown ·
Handmade pastas, pork belly mac & cheese, and truffle dishes
Handmade pastas, pork belly mac & cheese, and truffle dishes
"The children’s singer-songwriter Caspar Babypants once wrote an entire song about how much kids love noodles and butter, and this local chain serves a $5 version for pasta-particular kids. For an elevated-but-non-stuffy take on pasta, Grassa serves house-made noodles in a casual, counter-service setting. The pork belly mac and cheese is a huge hit of course, but you can’t go wrong with a simple combo of cacio e pepe made with truffle butter, salt, and pepper, or the spaghetti aglio olio with breadcrumbs and garlic. Kids pastas spaghetti and (one) meatball, mac and cheese, plus — of course — noodles and butter." - Rebecca Roland
"Pastas come and go from the menu at Rick Gencarelli’s fast-casual pasta chainlet, but the restaurant’s pork belly mac and cheese is a mainstay. Made with handcrafted lumache noodles, pieces of smoky pork belly kick the dish up to another level. The mac and cheese carries on its barbecue vibe with a touch of heat from jalapeños, red onion, and cornbread crumbs." - Janey Wong
"Grassa isn't fancy, but I went there a million times — we'd sit at the bar and watch the pasta machine run; Grassa was the first place I had cacio e pepe and it is phenomenal, which matters a lot since I don't eat meat and therefore eat a ton of pasta." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden
"A super-casual pasta shop serving handmade pastas from classics like a Sunday sauce to playful items like gooey pork-belly mac and cheese, Grassa also offers Caesar salads, meatballs, and garlic bread with rotating pasta specials based on seasonal produce. The shop's Sunday sauce is solid, but one of the cheekiest—and best—dishes is the carbonara, which is topped with a fried egg." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden
"A casual pasta spot from the ChefStable group that will open at Mercato Grove, contributing to the concentrated lineup of eateries there." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden