SEATTLE — What makes a meal special?
At Pasta Casalinga in Pike Place Market, it’s technique, ingredients, recipes and the owner Michela Tartaglia.
"The food always tastes better when Michela's here, you can tell she's back there making sure everything's perfect,” said regular customer Tyler Welch.
Since Tartaglia opened the small eatery in 2018, it’s been hailed one of Seattle's best Italian restaurants. But the seeds were planted decades ago, and thousands of miles away, in Tartaglia’s family kitchen.
Born and raised in Torino, Italy, Tartaglia learned to cook from her mother and grandmother. It always made her happy.
"Cooking is something that goes automatically with sharing, being able to share. And this is the joy,” she said.
Still, she never planned on making it her career. Tartaglia’s move to Seattle was supposed to be temporary – a sabbatical from college, before pursuing a PhD in philosophy.
"I came here to improve my English,” Tartaglia said. "My dream was to teach at a university."
But, dreams change. She started a family and stayed in Seattle, applying the philosophy she'd studied to her own life choices.
"Embrace what life brings to you, and also go with it when you really enjoy [it],” she said.
After working a number of jobs including tech, Tartaglia realized what she truly enjoyed was cooking and began teaching classes in downtown Seattle. Opening the restaurant was an eventual next step. Her fresh pasta is also carried at local supermarkets and mercantiles.
Her latest venture brings everything full circle: a cookbook for home chefs - dedicated to her daughters - titled "Pasta for All Seasons."
"What I used to do with the cooking classes, everything now is on paper, black and white,” she said. “Actually, it’s very colorful book."
There are 50 recipes to choose from, all of them merging Italian flavors with seasonal Pacific Northwest ingredients.
It may not be a textbook at the university she once imagined, but Tartaglia said she has no regrets. By embracing what life brought her, she also found her calling.
"Being an immigrant, it's absolutely [the American dream],” she said." "I have an incredible admiration for this country and the ability to really be able to do what you want to do. And I'm very grateful."
“Pasta for all Seasons” is for sale at Pasta Casalinga, local bookstores and online. The restaurant is open daily from 11 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. and is located in the atrium at Pike Place Market.
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