Easy dining Italian style

Mirko Pasta
1040 Gaines School Rd.
706-850-5641

By MARONA GRAHAM-BAILEY

For those who love good food but welcome simplicity, East Athens’ Mirko Pasta is the place. Nestled in a half-residential, half-commercial complex with a large parking lot, there’s no digging for quarters and the most you’ll ever walk is a row or two of cars.

At the entrance to the spacious and bright restaurant, fine-dining lovers may find themselves turned off by ordering their food at a counter. But Mirko has its system down pat and the line moves along fluidly. The secret? The menu separates its dishes into pasta and sauce selections.

Do you want filled, long, or short pasta? The Granny Smith apples and sage sausage stuffed raviolis are a definite must. An unlikely partnership, the hints of apple are only strong enough to remind you the sausage-filled ravioli couldn’t do without her. Make sure to peel open the ravioli like a Christmas gift and appreciate the savory, ground meat.

All pastas are cut and made fresh in the open kitchen and are available for purchase. After your first bite, you’ll know instinctively the difference between homemade and store-bought pasta. The tagliolini, a long pasta boasting the perfect consistency, will interrupt your dinner conversation as you pause to reflect on its delicacy. You’ll even find yourself grateful for the occasional clumps. At Mirko nothing is tastier than pasta on top of more pasta.

Pasta is only half the dish. The sauces range from the standard Italian meat sauce to spins on the traditional, like the caprino e pinoli, a goat cheese sauce with tomato and roasted pine nuts. The succulence of caprino e pinoli makes up for its uninviting, orange color. Stay away from the pollo e pepperoni, a chicken, roasted red bell peppers, and spicy tomato sauce that lacks the success promised by its ingredients. It’s probably the pasta’s fault for being so delicious, becuase the chicken’s texture and taste are dwarfed in comparison.

After ordering, look around, walk toward the table that moves you the most, and take your seat. There’s no waiting to be seated. Don’t worry, good serving staff is also part of the Mirko experience. Fresh, warm bread is delivered after you ease into your seats, a white cannelloni bean dip, mixed with rosemary and olive oil accompanying it. Vegetarians be wary, hiding in the meatless-looking bean dip are miniscule bits of ham. But if the bean dip doesn’t cut it, Mirko also has an array of salads and appetizers. Save room for dessert and check out the selection imported straight from Italy. Although its priciness reflects its airfare, the robust flavor of the coffee balanced against the sweet cream makes Mirko’s tiramisu classico worth every dollar.

The restaurant is named after Chef Mirko Di Giacomantonio, an Italian born chef who got his start with fast, casual Italian dining in 2001 at Figo Pasta in Atlanta. Recently franchised by the same owners of the Barberitos franchise, Mirko Pasta will soon begin popping up all over Athens. When that time comes, the cooking staff at the Eastside location will be one of the few Mirko Pastas holding bragging rights to being trained by Chef Mirko himself. So find some time, head over to Mirko Pasta, and enjoy simplicity at its tastiest.