Thrifty Date: Broders' Pasta Bar

Broders’ Pasta Bar located at 50^th and Penn Ave. S in Edina, Minnesota is a hidden gem. After driving by the place about 30 times in the past 6 years, Kent and I finally made the short drive down to check it out.

When you walk in, you almost feel as if you have been invited over for a dinner party. There is a big coat rack full of coats and scarves, all you can smell is tastiness, someone is pouring wine and everyone seems to be laughing and having a great time. No stuffy Italian music and white table cloths here, just a dark, warm and comfy neighborhood kitchen. There is wine cellar near the door where you can grab a glass, or a carafe to sip on while you wait for your table, and though the place is small, we only had to wait about 15 minutes for a table on a Wednesday.

Here is the Thrifty part: (Try not to get too excited!)

 After 8pm Special for Two available Sunday-Thursday

Appetizer of assorted specialty olives and Italian breadsticks

Breadbasket of homemade focaccia bread and crackers—with olive oil

Two specialty salads—preselected house salad

Two fresh pasta dishes –your choice from a list of 6-8 different dishes

Half a bottle of wine—your choice of the house-selected red or white

Price: $30! $30 dollars for two!

What a great three-course meal for such a great price! This one isn’t like a lot of cheap date specials where the entrées are preselected. There were so many delicious sounding dishes it was tough to decide which pasta to try. All of their tube pastas are imported from artisans in Italy, and their egg pastas are all made fresh in house.  Each dish is made to order by the pasta chefs in the middle and back of the restaurant. If you sit at the bar, you get to watch. (They were having a lot of fun up there;)

Kent had the tagliatelle alla Bolognese and I had the fettuccini in a lemon-infused alfredo sauce. They were so light and fresh! Wonderful. There were other tempting options like the spaghetti carbonara and the penne rosa with rosemary, to name a few. The salad was a mix of spinach and arugula with blue cheese, apples, and toasted walnuts in an apple cider vinaigrette. Delicious!!

There was more than enough food and wine, though we couldn’t help but eat every bite. The pasta was absolutely perfecto! We will definitely be making a trip back to try the other dishes on their regular menu. Goose risotto? Fettuccini with wild boar and mushrooms? Check it out: http://broders.com/pasta-bar/pasta-bar-menu/

If you love it so much you want to take some home, or you don’t have the time to sit down to eat, just across the street you can buy fresh noodles, fancy pizzas and amazing desserts as well as specialty grocery goodies at their deli Cucina Italiana. They also do quick eat-in, take-out and delivery. In the summer, it looks like Broders' Pasta Bar also might have one of the cutest patios ever. We'll just have to wait and see now, wont we?!

Broders' Pasta Bar

5000 Penn Avenue South

Minneapolis, MN 55419-1035

Craving Italian tonight? The special starts at 8pm! Eaten there before? Let me know what you think!

-Nikki