Filone’s Pasta Kitchen @ TCC Dishes Ranked from Worst to Best
By: Ngai Yeung ‘23
There are only so many options when it comes to on-campus dining, so it’s always exciting to see a new place pop up. A few months after Filone’s Pasta Kitchen opened, I went down to the Ronald Tutor Campus Center and ranked each dish from worst to best. Here’s my take on what to order (and what to avoid):
Worst
Limone Pasta | $11.99
Salty and sour is all I can muster to describe this disappointment of a dish. The penne has a nice, firm consistency, and that’s about it. As for the rest of the dish it tastes like if you squeezed lemon juice all over your pasta, then added way too much salt to try to balance the sour. The coriander doesn’t add anything to the dish, nor does the soggy breadcrumbs. Don’t be fooled by the sprinkle of what seems to be parmesan on top — the hyper-processed bleached white speckles that bear no resemblance to cheese other than a mildly savory taste adds nothing to the dish. Imposter!
Chicken Alfredo Pasta | $12.99
This is a solid classic with chewy fettuccine and tender slices of chicken breast. I didn’t like how they seasoned the tangy chicken, which turned into sodium landmines in a field of mild alfredo sauce. It made the eating experience mildly unsettling experience. You’re better off getting another pasta and adding chicken for $2.79 if you really need the protein.
Bolognese Pasta | $11.99
The tomato sauce here is on the tangy side, but its texture was fine. The meat presented itself in odd clumps and was kind of tough but easy to chew and didn’t get stuck in my teeth. As for the flavor profile, it didn’t taste like much other than herbs. Still, it filled me up nicely, and nothing was out of the ordinary for the dish as a whole unlike the two other pastas before this one.
Marinara Pasta | $9.99
In the middle of a chaotic school week, sometimes all you want is a moment of mundaneness. Filone’s marina pasta offers that in its rustic marinara sauce and sturdy spaghetti noodles, which get bonus points for its eggy richness. There’s not much I can say about it except that it’s a solid get for ten bucks if you’re looking for a piping hot bowl of goodness on campus. Warning: it melted the ends of my plastic fork!
Best
Pomodoro Pasta | $11.99
What I got was radically different from what was pictured — in a good way. The picture on the menu shows penne basking in a ring of cherry tomatoes and topped with freshly shredded cheese. The penne I received was drenched in a fiercely tangy sundried tomato paste and tossed in olive oil – just the right amount to make the pasta somehow juicy and smooth. One of the two dishes here I would get again!
Spicy Vodka Pasta | $12.99
How do you upgrade tomato sauce? Add vodka. The spicy vodka sauce, though not spicy nor alcohol tasting, is so good I was scraping the bottom of my bowl to get every last bit of it. It’s creamy yet light, and velvety through and through. I’d say the premium price for my new favorite on campus comfort food is well worth it, and that’s not just my opinion.
“This is so good I would actually pay for this,” remarked my friend Caroline, who usually only gets food on campus if she has swipes for them.
At the end of the day, while there’s nothing revolutionary about their pasta, one thing Filone’s Pasta Kitchen will always deliver is piping hot bowls of al dente pasta.
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