PASTA

Ever-popular pasta proves a worthy foundation for all kinds of meals at New Orleans restaurants. Salvatore Ristorante in Metairie has a gratifyingly substantial shrimp pasta primavera with an array of vegetables joining the shrimp over angel hair pasta with Romano and Parmesan cheeses. The Asiago chicken pasta doesn't hold back with the cheese sauce or the basil pesto garnish at Bennigan's Grill & Tavern. Bravo's Pasta Woozie with wood-grilled chicken, fresh spinach and Alfredo-style sauce has its fans exclaiming "fantastico!" It's cheese times four with the manicotti quattro formagio at Nardo's Trattoria, where housemade pasta sheets are filled with a blend of Italian cheeses and topped with tomato basil sauce.

Two large homemade meatballs dominate the pile of angel hair pasta at Gio's Pizza and Spaghetti House in Metairie. Shrimp and sausage pose together in Mona Lisa Restaurant's Mardi Gras pasta, which adds a spicy red sauce over linguine. Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant does a noodle-based jambalaya with its Cajun pasta — andouille, chicken and shrimp in a tomato cream sauce on fettuccini. Local seafood gets its due in the frutta del mare at Pascal's Manale, which piles oysters, crabmeat, shrimp and scallops over pasta in a light marinara sauce. The seafood pasta at Roux Bistro in the Sheraton New Orleans adds crawfish, shrimp and crabmeat to the Parmesan cream sauce over its angel hair pasta. Another local seafood favorite turns up at TeCoRo's Italian Restaurant in Kenner with the barbecue shrimp pasta.

Orzo, the grain-shaped pasta, stands in for rice in the curried seafood "paella" at Fire! A Restaurant in the Lower Garden District, which adds a kick of spicy chorizo sausage to the curry-seafood broth, calamari, shrimp and mussels. Try the linguini with vongole at Tony Moran's Restaurant on Bourbon Street for the classic combination of garlic, shallots, olive oil and clams over pasta. Felix's Uptown puts out a seafood-centered shrimp pasta with penne tossed in a vodka-infused tomato cream sauce. For earthier flavors, the cannelloni from Vincent's Italian Cuisine are stuffed with baby veal, pureed spinach and Parmesan cheese before being baked with Alfredo sauce and topped with red gravy. The spinach manicotti at the Original Italian Pie are stuffed with spinach and three cheeses and smothered in marinara. Giorlando's does spaghetti and meatballs in their own sweet sauce made from scratch. Semolina brings the cheese count back up to four with its marinara quattro formaggi, combining Parmesan, Fontina, provolone and Bleu cheeses with Alfredo sauce over penne pasta. Zara's Market's housemade meatballs can be found in spaghetti or on a po-boy. Anselmo's pasta puttanesca serves penne pasta with mushrooms, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, olives and capers with a choice of shrimp or chicken. Shrimp penne pasta with smoked andouille sausage and artichokes is a frequent daily special at Streetcar Bistro. At Water Street Bistro, grilled shrimp are served over pasta prepared in extra virgin olive oil with Roma tomatoes, garlic, capers, leeks, artichoke hearts and topped with pine nuts and fresh basil.