Pastaggio's opens up expanded dining area

Sylvia Quintanilla
For Pulse
Build-your-own pizza topped with pepperoni, meatballs and green chile ($9.50-$11.50) from Pastaggio's Italian by Lorenzo.

In early September, Pastaggio’s Italian by Lorenzo, located 3000 Harrelson 1N, opened a large dining room for those looking to dine-in. Their expanded dining area now has several tables to accommodate guests.

Once just a to-go restaurant and catering service, now at Pastaggio’s order food at the counter and get it delivered in to-go containers, table side. Though Pastaggio’s doesn’t have table service, the staff worked quickly to make sure guests were not waiting long for their food.

Pastaggio’s Italian had a comprehensive menu with all the basics covered like pasta and pizza. On the pasta side, order spaghetti and penne with a choice of sauce. Options include marinara ($5.75), roasted garlic and oil ($5.75), meat sauce ($6.75), meatballs ($7.25), sausage and peppers ($7.25) and primavera ($7.25).

I ordered the cheese ravioli Alfredo ($8.50), which was the special of the day. It came with a side salad option of a house or Caesar salad; I went with the Caesar.

The salad had fresh romaine lettuce, croutons and shaved parmesan.

As for the cheese ravioli Alfredo, there were five large raviolis in my order. The pasta was covered the smooth and creamy Alfredo sauce. Each time I tasted the sauce, I felt more flavor came out of it from the blend of different cheeses. A piece of very sturdy bread was served with the entrée, perfect for the excess sauce from the pasta.

There were three different options for pizza: classic pies like cheese ($6.95-$7.95) and pepperoni ($7.95-$8.95), build-your-own pizza with a three topping limit for ($9.50-$11.50) and specialty pizzas ($10.95-$12.95). All pizzas come made with either a thin crust (12 inches) or regular crust (14 inches).

My fiancé ordered from the pizza side of the menu and topped his pizza with pepperoni, green chile and homemade meatballs on regular crust.

Each slice of pizza was heavy and had a fair amount of toppings. From the first bite, the roasted green chile was present and the dominant flavor. The chile gave a great spice to the pizza and worked well with the other toppings. Though there was a good amount of pepperoni on the pizza, I really couldn’t get a taste of it on my slice, it seemed to be overshadowed by the meatballs and chile. What I enjoyed about the meatballs chopped and sprinkled on the pizza was the sweetness to the meatballs and they had a nice char on the outside. All in all, the toppings made for a very satisfying pie.

Sylvia Quintanilla is a freelance writer and may be reached at


What: Pastaggio’s Italian

Where: 3000 Harrelson 1N

When: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday

Cost: Cheese pizza $6.95-$7.95, pepperoni pizza $7.95-$8.95, specialty pizza $10.95-$12.95, build your own pizza $9.50-$11.50, salads $2-$8.95, soup $2.50-$8.25, sandwiches $6.75-$7.50, spaghetti/penne $5.75-$7.25, fettuccine $7.25-$9.25, meat tortellini $6.25-$7.95, lasagna $7.95 and cheese ravioli $6.25-$7.50.

Info: 575-522-5522 or