Pasta Flyer (CLOSED)

Like his Del Posto comrade Brooks Headley (Superiority Burger) before him, Mark Ladner shocked the food world by leaving the Michelin-starred Italian dining room to start a fast-casual joint. In Ladner’s case, the focus is pasta: fresh noodles cooked in 10 seconds in simple combinations with the choice of a flour base (traditional, whole grain, gluten-free), sauce (tomato marinara, basil pesto, meat ragu) and toppings, such as pork-sausage meatballs, garlic breadcrumbs and whipped ricotta cheese. Diners can pad out their pasta meal with sides like fried garlic knots coated in garlic-parsley butter and a salad with braised lentils and house vinaigrette. Even though the whole meal is designed to be served in less than three minutes, the space is large enough for patrons to sit and enjoy, with marble-topped tables, gold-painted light fixtures and an oversize print of the Roman Forum.