You'd think a 30-foot noodle would be nothing more than a gimmick or an attempt to become Instagram's next viral dish. But that's not the case at Allora at the Bernic Hotel in midtown Manhattan. Well, maybe a little; it's been tagged hundreds of times, after all. But more than that, it's the Italian restaurant's most traditional pasta.
The extra-long spaghetto (that's the singular of spaghetti) is called Maccheroni alla Mugnaia, or Miller's Wife Pasta. In 14th century Italy, you'd have eaten it in Abruzzo, a region smack in the middle of the boot country. Nowadays, it's rare to find it there, let alone in America.
At Allora, one chef is in charge of rolling out the noodles every morning. They're stretched thin, then cooked (it takes almost 30 minutes to achieve the perfect al dente texture), and tossed in a ragù all'Abruzzese, a three-meat sauce, with lamb shoulder, pork shoulder, and beef. Also in the pot: palottine, tiny veal meatballs. There are 30 of them, one for every foot of pasta.
That alone is exciting enough to draw gasps when in hits the table, but here's the clincher: The pasta's served with a pair of scissors, so you can cut your noodle to order. If you're game enough to be the table's snipper, take this tip from owner Elio Albanese. Stand up and pull the noodle with a fork in one hand and hold the scissors in your other hand. It's shear genius.
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