This is the reason why pasta is getting popular at fast food joints

Pasta is our all-time favourite food and we do love trying out different varieties of pasta at food joints. Notable chefs veterans of highly lauded Italian restaurants—are now serving speedy versions with top-quality ingredients; so are teams from other parts of the quick service world.


Mitchell Davis, executive vice president of the James Beard Foundation, argues that at its roots, pasta is fast food. “Pasta was originally a street food in Naples, where the Neapolitans were and still are called (derogatorily) Mangia Macaroni, the pasta eaters. The tradition is still alive. You can still go to parties near Naples and find places where they’ll mix a giant cacio e pepe in a tablecloth and then eat it with their hands. That invariably happens late-night,” he said.


Davis is anticipating the imminent arrival of Pastaficio Di Martino, the century-old pasta company from Naples, which is scouting locations around the city, including Chelsea Market. At its shops, Di Martino, which last year partnered with Dolce & Gabbana to create stylish packages, sells 125 shapes and serves diners at an elegant pasta bar. There are also take-out windows, so customers can eat pasta al Pomodoro on the run. “The key thing here is they are reclaiming this street food past, in a new way,” said Davis.