Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly tried Monsieur Marcel Bistro (again).
As much as it pains me to admit it, Los Angeles is in many ways a company town—and we’re just living in it. On Tuesday, the usual three or four tour buses line the parking lot of the Original Farmers Market, ready to pick up tourists fresh from a taping at Television City next door. What you won’t find now are bleary-eyed audience members from The Price is Right. Starting this summer, the long-running game show is moving to Glendale, which will definitely impact the market’s foot traffic.
Arriving in between bouts of morning and afternoon rain, I’m reminded again of this fact when I pull up a chair at Pasta Corner (est. 2022). The new spot is co-owned by Vincent Benoliel, who also runs nearby Michelina Artisan Boulanger, and Matt Pokora, the husband of singer-songwriter Christina Milian. If you don’t immediately remember her, don’t feel bad—I didn’t recall exactly what she was famous for until after this meal. (Along with early 2000's radio hits "A.M. to P.M. and "Dip It Low," Milian sang the theme song for Disney’s Kim Possible.) If there’s one thing I can appreciate, it’s the deep, deep well of B-list and C-list celebrities that call this place home and occasionally decide to go into the restaurant business.
Open since last January, the West Patio eatery stands out from older stalls with a white stone counter and freshly made bright yellow pastas, Italian sodas and tiramisu behind the glass display. Made with imported ingredients, the 18 different noodle dishes and handful of appetizers don’t run cheap. Simpler pastas, like arrabbiata and cacio e pepe, cost just under $20, and are still beat out in price by Uovo's Mid-Wilshire location about a mile away, which is my usual go-to for quick, inexpensive, high-quality pasta. Unlike Uovo, however, you’ll find dishes made with more premium ingredients like truffle, squid ink and bottarga, the deeply savory red fish eggs used in both Italian and Japanese culinary traditions.
At the register, I decide on the lumache in pink vodka sauce, apparently Benoliel’s favorite dish ($25) and a side of garlic bread ($8). The pasta dishes are made to order, so one of the employees sets out a few pieces of complimentary baguette after I take a seat. The balsamic and extra-virgin olive oil on the counter are definitely better in quality than you might expect. Thick, sweet and viscous, the black vinegar is perfectly balanced out by the peppery-tasting oil. These minor details add extra polish to the overtly casual dining experience, which I appreciate.
After 15 minutes, my pasta and garlic bread are ready. I start off with the garlic bread. Made with a Michelina baguette, the surface of each well-toasted slice is coated in garlic, cheese and parsley, which is a delicious combination even when the overall dish is rather lackluster. While nothing to write home about, it’s a decent version of the Italian American appetizer. The same goes for the pasta, which pales in comparison to the slightly cheaper spicy vodka pasta at Jon and Vinny’s and the squid ink lumache at West Adams’ Cento Pasta Bar in flavor and texture categories, respectively. Still, the heavy cream sauce is flavorful and rich, with just a hint of spice, coating each ridge of each snail-shaped noodle.
I wouldn’t order the lumache with vodka sauce from Pasta Corner again, but I would come back to try a few more pasta dishes. In my book, the Farmers Market stall doesn’t replace Uovo for a fast-casual pasta experience, but you wouldn’t be disappointed if you were in the area and looking for a bowl of spaghetti or penne. By meal’s end, I’m actually craving Avner Lavi’s genre-bending noodle dishes at Cento, which also has a marble-topped chef’s counter—and a luscious pomodoro dish that knocks most other “spicy” red pastas out of the pork.
Meals from Table at Third & Fairfax fall into three categories: Skip It, Worth Trying and Must Have.
Vendor: Pasta Corner
Order: Lumache with vodka sauce, garlic bread
Verdict: Worth Trying. Pasta Corner isn’t game-changing, but it’s great if you’re in the area—and we still want to try their fancier pasta made with truffles and seafood.
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