Spago Ristorante

[FoodFuser]

Yup, linguine means little tongues, from lingua. Tagliatelle must come from from tagliare, meaning to cut, or tagliato, its past participle. I'm not sure. Fettuccine means little ribbons, from fettuccia (I had to look this one up. Never knew that.) Ravioli I don't know about. I looked it up, bit there seems to be some disagreement about its origin. And fusilli might come from an old or dialectic form of fucile, which means rifle in modern Italian. This makes sense, because fusilli is rifled, I think. One pasta I don't find particularly appealing because of its name is vermicelli, or little worms. Yuk. I'm no expert on Italian foods, but I think these answers are correct.

Vito, you're right on target on fusilli... Rifled. Rifle, as opposed to earlier musket, has spiral grooves down the barrel that bullet a spin, flying straighter. Thus fusilli is spiraled pasta, and exists in our language in such words as "fusillade". "Ravioli" for sure seems a tough one... let's just wrap that one up as confused etymology. "Vermicelli", yes, worms, at their peak point often wrigglin'. Then someone re-named them "Angel Hair pasta", and took away the fun of the sqigglin'. Though, vermicelli, cut fresh from the pasta machine, lets our mouth join with angels in transport to heaven.

[PennyQuilts]

Tried it, this everning. It was nice, very reasonably priced and I liked the garlic rolls. It wasn't the best italian food I ever tasted but it wasn't the worst. We like the house salads - they were large, fresh and tasty. The calimari was a bit undercooked but not bad. The restaurant was nearly empty when we got there but was filling up while we ate. A yahoo on a cell phone pretty much ruined the atmosphere because apparently, he couldn't manage to bring himself to eat without talking to someone. So we all got to listen to him make five inane telephone calls that pretty much put a stop to any conversation in the rest of the restaurant. I wish management had asked him to put away his cell phone or at least step outside to finish the call but they let it ride. Because of that, I probably won't be back. He changed a nice atmosphere to something more akin to a bus terminal.

[SoonerDave]

Because of that, I probably won't be back. He changed a nice atmosphere to something more akin to a bus terminal.

PQ, I'd ask you give the owners a break. As the place is still new, I think they're trying to get their reputation established, and I'd bet they'd prefer at this point not to get in a huff over one clod customer right now. Once they're a bit more established, I bet they'd be more aggressive against a buffoon like that. Your experience was very much like mine, but we had no Clod Cellphone Dude, and we certainly plan to be back.

[RadicalModerate]

The same rules that should apply to misbehaving children in a restaurant like Spago--not McDonalds--should also apply to rude, clueless "adults" (specifically, in this case, the cellphoney). In fact, there should be a sign near the door--perhaps right next to the menu--that clearly states the policy (e.g. No Cell Phone Use at The Table).

On the other hand, perhaps they could set apart a room--sort of like a room for smokers--for all the idiots who can't just be in a place, in the moment, but need to feed their addiction to cellphones and whatever alternative virtual reality lies at the other end of the call.

In my opinion, slightly undercooked calimari is superior to overcooked calimari.

[TheTravellers]

Tried it, this everning. It was nice, very reasonably priced and I liked the garlic rolls. It wasn't the best italian food I ever tasted but it wasn't the worst. We like the house salads - they were large, fresh and tasty. The calimari was a bit undercooked but not bad. The restaurant was nearly empty when we got there but was filling up while we ate. A yahoo on a cell phone pretty much ruined the atmosphere because apparently, he couldn't manage to bring himself to eat without talking to someone. So we all got to listen to him make five inane telephone calls that pretty much put a stop to any conversation in the rest of the restaurant. I wish management had asked him to put away his cell phone or at least step outside to finish the call but they let it ride. Because of that, I probably won't be back. He changed a nice atmosphere to something more akin to a bus terminal.

Why didn't you just ask him to stop? I've done that many times before, in movie theaters, restaurants, museums, etc. Might not get them to stop, but at least you have done what you can and they know they're being a**holes. Just go to the restroom, walk by his table and say "Dude, really? The whole place is listening and you're being rude." Or at the very least, mention to your server that this guy is annoying the whole restaurant and see what they can do. Yeah, mgmt didn't step up to the plate on that and they might not have even after asking, but that would at the very least let you know what their attitude towards that kind of thing is...

[RadicalModerate]

Bravo!!!! (on behalf of the dining public).
(no kidding!)

(Stay tuned for alternative responses, regarding, especially, whether the bumpkin would prefer the phone at the North End of the digestive canal or the South end. =)

[Tavia]

I agree. Not sure that it is fair to say you won't return to the restaurant because of someone talking on their phone. If it were your waiter or waitress, that might be different. If I stopped patronizing places because of someone forcing me to listen to their phone conversations, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to leave home ever again.

[RadicalModerate]

No diner is forced to listen to someone else talking on their phone or listening to their phone conversations.

What do you suppose would happen if I pulled a Pall Mall out of my pocket and applied a match to it?

I think the same subliminal outrage at that sort of inconsiderate rudeness should be applied to other violators of the social contract regarding restaurant dining. For the non-cell phone users . . . in a social situation. Capice?

[FoodFuser]

No diner is forced to listen to someone else talking on their phone or listening to their phone conversations.

What do you suppose would happen if I pulled a Pall Mall out of my pocket and applied a match to it?

I think the same subliminal outrage at that sort of inconsiderate rudeness should be applied to other violators of the social contract regarding restaurant dining. For the non-cell phone users . . . in a social situation. Capice?

Accords to the concept of sequestering cellphoners to separate quarters. Paraphrasing Marie Antoinette: "Let us stuff them with garlic bread."

Olive Garden is real good about stuffing warm breads and cold salads to throats of cellphoners. That, plus slim ration of Romano as Parmesan cheese, and a few churns of cracked pepper. Suffices to make for a cel-free environment.