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Dining Divas Get “Fresh” At Stellina Pasta Café

Travel south on Hampton or Watson Road in South St. Louis, and you can enjoy a great many restaurants.  Trattoria Marcella.   LoRusso’s Cucina.   Del Pietro’s.  Just a few of my favorites.  But one restaurant I’ve overlooked so many times that was a surprising treat this month for the Dining Divas was Stellina Pasta Café.

I had concerns upon first arriving.  Stellina’s is not typical of the type of restaurant we’d choose.  There’s always a full bar.  There’s almost always more than one room.  And there’s always an area for bigger groups.  Not Stellina Pasta Café.  It is just that.  A café.

We were pleased to have a couple absent Divas return to us.  Our World-Traveling Diva made us all envious of her European vacations this year.  Visiting Mexico and the East Coast as a couple Divas did the month before couldn’t compare to the Mediterranean and France.

And the Mommy-To-Be Diva joined us once again, except she is no longer “Mommy-To-Be”.  She brought along our newest (and teeniest) Dining Diva.  I’m not sure if Baby Diva was just so tired or if our conversations just bored her so much.  She never made a peep or woke up.  How happy everyone seemed as we all stared at the newborn sleeping soundly.

I’m surprised she didn’t wake up.  The tables sit tightly together, and a few too many made it overcrowded and loud.  It was difficult hearing the conversations at our own table.

But the food made up for the claustrophobia and noise.  Stellina Pasta Café has a full menu of sandwiches, soups, and salads as well as daily pasta specials.  These are unique and extremely fresh.  Too often we overpay for chain store pasta that’s never fresh or creative.  You can tell that the owners of Stellina have a passion for the foods they make.  They do it right.

The Lasagna was an interesting combination of eggplant, artichoke, and chicken.  The venturous Divas thought they made a great choice.  The couple Divas who ordered the Butternut Squash Agnolotti made with pecan brown sugar rolled their eyes in pleasure with the first bite.  Until that night, I’d never heard of agnolotti but learned it’s a ravioli-type of pasta.

The Picky Diva had to take something from one menu item and another part from a different menu item to get what she was looking for.  They gladly made it work for her and she was pleased; however, she was slightly surprised that her meal cost quite a bit more than she had expected (even so, it wasn’t as much as chain stores).

New Mommy Diva chose to deviate from the daily pasta specials and ordered the “Hog Wild” sandwich.  It was shaved ham, bacon, slices of apple, white cheddar cheese, and sweet hot mustard on peasant bread.  The apples definitely helped add sweetness to the saltiness of the ham and bacon, and she really enjoyed the sandwich.  Do not order the Sea Salt Chips as a side.  You’ll be drinking water straight for days.

To our disappointment, the desserts were just okay.   Skip theirs, and head to Ted Drewes which is just down the street.

Stellina Pasta Café is great Italian food, but it felt like a “lunch” place.  We’ll return, perhaps for lunch.  Besides, who doesn’t like getting fresh at lunch!

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