Storico Fresco

Italian noodles in all shapes and sizes became a hot item on restaurant menus this year, and it’s safe to reason that Michael Patrick inspired the trend. Last year Patrick began wowing customers at Peachtree Road Farmers Market with obscure pastas (such as casonsei, half moons dyed magenta from their roasted beet and smoked ricotta filling) that he learned to make through years of traveling in Italy. In January he opened a storefront hidden in the back of a complex on Roswell Road (right next door to Pie Shop), where he stretches his creativity and knowledge even further: Wednesday is lasagna day, Thursday brings gnocchi, and on Friday he crafts delicious curios like a baked savory pasta timballo filled with ingredients such as eggplant and mozzarella.