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22 | November 9, 2017 | The glencoe anchor dining out<br />
glencoeanchor.com<br />
Family tradition reigns supreme at Pastificio<br />
Xavier Ward<br />
Contributing Editor<br />
Dream jobs are few<br />
and far between. For Pat<br />
Galli, however, her dream<br />
was self-made and rolled<br />
through the cylinders of a<br />
hand-crank pasta maker.<br />
Galli, owner of Pastificio,<br />
122 Highwood<br />
Ave., Highwood, remembers<br />
graduating college<br />
and not having many job<br />
prospects. Frustrated with<br />
the stand-still job market,<br />
she suggested she<br />
NOW OPEN DOWNTOWN HIGHLAND PARK<br />
Glenview, Vernon Hills,<br />
Bloomingdale & Hinsdale<br />
and her mother open their<br />
own shop as she had often<br />
kicked around the idea of<br />
doing.<br />
She remembers her<br />
mother saying, “I didn’t<br />
sacrifice immigrating here<br />
and sending my oldest<br />
child to college to see her<br />
having to work really hard<br />
in the kitchen.”<br />
Then again, Galli said,<br />
what’s better than working<br />
for yourself?<br />
Pastificio, a take-home<br />
Northern Italian eatery, recently<br />
celebrated its 40th<br />
anniversary, and Galli said<br />
people flooded in to give<br />
their respects to the food<br />
they’ve had for years. She<br />
remembered being in tears<br />
all day as more than 500<br />
loyal customers came in to<br />
say congratulations.<br />
The shop is entering its<br />
fourth generation of customers,<br />
and Galli plans to<br />
keep that going. That said,<br />
she’ll never forget the<br />
shop’s humble roots.<br />
Her mother, Elsa Amidei,<br />
had immigrated from<br />
Italy and was doing domestic<br />
work for the Blossom<br />
family, of Lake Forest.<br />
Eventually she started<br />
cooking and word of her<br />
skill spread to the neighbors.<br />
Molly Blossom, whose<br />
grandparents employed<br />
Amidei, said one of the<br />
neighbors told Amidei,<br />
“You’re such a great cook,<br />
what are you going to do<br />
about it?”<br />
“After that, she quit doing<br />
the laundry,” Blossom<br />
said.<br />
From there, the dream<br />
took hold and began becoming<br />
a reality.<br />
Blossom’s mother is still<br />
a loyal customer to Pastificio.<br />
The shop’s start wasn’t<br />
easy, Galli said.<br />
“It was very difficult<br />
because the food industry<br />
still is dominated by<br />
males,” she said. “As a<br />
young girl, too, I had to<br />
try to gain the respect of<br />
the clientele. They would<br />
walk in, they would look<br />
at this young kid and say,<br />
‘What the hell does she<br />
know?’”<br />
Galli helped to blaze<br />
that trail for women in the<br />
culinary industry and now,<br />
while it isn’t easy, women<br />
are far more respected in<br />
the industry, she said.<br />
When it comes to proving<br />
the doubters wrong,<br />
it’s all about word of<br />
mouth, Galli said.<br />
Galli estimated she has<br />
between five to seven new<br />
customers a day. Most of<br />
them come because their<br />
friends told them to.<br />
“Anyone who walks<br />
through that door becomes<br />
part of this pasta feature<br />
family, and that means we<br />
want to know you for a<br />
long time,” Galli said.<br />
The seasonal pumpkin pasta lasagna ($12.99 per<br />
pound) includes a mild and melty Parmigiano-Reggiano<br />
filling topped with a veal tomato sauce. Martin<br />
Carlino/22nd Century Media<br />
Editors from 22nd Century<br />
Media stopped by and<br />
sampled the fare.<br />
One of the most popular<br />
dishes, the meat lasagna,<br />
isn’t your standard frozen<br />
lasagna. We sampled the<br />
seasonal pumpkin pasta lasagna<br />
($12.99 per pound),<br />
but Pastificio’s standard is<br />
always available.<br />
A veal tomato sauce<br />
smothered the layered Italian<br />
classic, and its savory<br />
tang was well balanced by<br />
the mild and melty Parmigianno-Reggiano<br />
filling.<br />
Pastificio sells its lasagna<br />
by the pound. A<br />
family-sized tray, 9-by-13<br />
inches, typically comes<br />
out to $42 and feeds six<br />
to eight people. It’s also<br />
available in medium and<br />
individual sizes.<br />
Next up was the cappellacci<br />
($12.99 per serving),<br />
a medieval dish that is<br />
stuffed with pumpkin, butternut<br />
squash, fresh lemon<br />
zest, fresh ricotta and<br />
Parmigianno-Reggiano. It<br />
was smothered in a savory<br />
house sauce.<br />
Pastificio’s meatballs<br />
were next up ($9.99 for<br />
six or $19.99 for 12). Galli<br />
said she doesn’t use anything<br />
but finely ground<br />
veal for these Italian treats<br />
Pastificio<br />
122 Highwood Ave.,<br />
Highwood<br />
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-<br />
Friday<br />
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday<br />
Phone: (847) 432-5459<br />
Fax: (847) 432-5474<br />
Website: www.<br />
pastificiohighwood.com<br />
and they’re left to simmer<br />
in the pomarola sauce.<br />
For appetizers, you can<br />
find the insalata mista<br />
($14.99 per pound), a<br />
fresh and tart salad prepared<br />
with fresh bell peppers,<br />
red onions, baby<br />
artichokes, olive oil and a<br />
light balsamic.<br />
If you can, save room<br />
for dessert.<br />
The always classic cannoli<br />
($8.99 for three large<br />
or $12.99 for six mini) is<br />
sure to satisfy your sweet<br />
tooth. However, for those<br />
looking for a lighter dessert,<br />
the frappé ($17 per<br />
package) is a light pastry<br />
stretched paper thin and<br />
tossed with powdered sugar.<br />
It pairs well with gelato<br />
or fresh fruit.<br />
All of these items are<br />
handcrafted and passed<br />
on from her mother. It’s<br />
keeping a family tradition<br />
going.