((knock knock)) penne!

((knock knock))penne!

((knock knock))penne!

Okay, now we can start. Lou Cas in Edison serves up classic but delicious Italian food perfectly like it’s their Obsessive Compulsive Disorder to do so. Let me explain further…

Upon arriving, you are seated at a neatly set table. Everything is exactly where it is supposed to be. Everything is extremely white and clean. The napkins are folded into little swans on your plate.

After you get over the fact that you’re just going to have to interrupt this perfection, you unfold the swan napkin and place it on your lap. Then freshly baked, warm semolina bread arrives at your table with a small dish of piped, whipped butter. The bread is soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Although the butter is served cold, it melts and gets soaked up by the warm, chewy bread. Perfection. When you’ve accidentally left some crumbs around on your table, the waiter comes with a scraper to clean off the white linen table cloth for you.

Finally, you just get comfortable with the OCD like service and you realize it is actually a plus that just enhances the overall experience.

Moving forward, I ordered the mesclun salad because I felt like it went with the theme-crisp, clean, and white (from goat cheese).

This amazingly refreshing salad is mixed greens, topped with a mustard seed vinaigrette, and a piece of fried goat cheese. It’s simplicity to something to go crazy over. The greens are fresh, the dressing has a slight kick, and the goat cheese is warm, slightly crunchy and overall creamy. It definitely satisfies all of the texture flavor combinations one could ask for.

Finally after finishing the fulfilling salad, a huge plate of penne vodka finally answered my call.

A heaping portion of penne vodka. Delicious, penne vodka. The pasta is cooked al dente. The ridges in the pasta have caught alot of the sauce and there’s still extra to spare. In order to eat this, I like to put my fork through the center of the noodles. (I guess I have OCD myself-it takes one to know one, right?) The sauce is flavorful and unlike any sauce from the jar that you could make at home. The parmesan cheese melts over time on top and adds a salty bite to the creamy, rich entree. I couldn’t eat all of this in one serving so I just ate the top layer and took the rest home. Then, I had it for dinner on Tuesday night AND Wednesday night. Yes, there’s that much!

There’s something to be said to doing something with a careful eye and goal towards perfection. I reaped the benefits. This is definitely a meal you would not take for granted. It was done just right.

For more information visit: Lou Cas