A PASTA LOVER’S GUIDE TO THE BAY AREA

When we want to celebrate, it’s often over pasta: large plates of red sauce spaghetti for a nostalgic anniversary in North Beach; trays of crispy-topped macaroni and cheese to fuel a birthday bash; twirls of cacio e pepe with a glass of orange wine at the latest must-visit restaurant, just because it’s Friday.

We care deeply about our pasta in the Bay Area, which might explain why we have so much of it. There are more than 100 Italian restaurants in San Francisco alone, according to Yelp, and many of them focus on bowls of hot, carby comfort. Most highend Californian restaurants here serve at least one handmade pasta, a signal that, yes, they do care enough to make just about everything from scratch. Multiple places serve pasta tasting menus, drawing diners who can’t bear the thought of choosing just one.

San Francisco is famous for innovative Cal-Italian pastas that employ seasonal produce in surprising ways, such as wild nettles with plums or fava beans with preserved blood oranges. Some even make noodles with sourdough starter. But in recent years, we’ve also seen a surge in restaurants focused on traditional, regional-specific pastas; there are now several places to score a dreamy rendition of Piedmontese agnolotti del plin.

In other words, it’s never been a more exciting time to be a pasta devotee in the Bay Area. We have several stories to showcase this wonderland, including more online. (Check out our interactive feature on Flour + Water’s pasta encyclopedia at TinyURL.com/ SFCpasta.) Let’s feast.