Had to choose between fresh pasta or dried last night for a busy service, picked wrong

Got slammed on a Thursday night in Dallas, had to decide between using our fresh pappardelle or the dried linguine from the back. Fresh stuff looks better on the menu but takes forever to cook when tickets are piling up, and it clumps if you don't work it fast enough. I went with fresh because I wanted to impress this regular who always complains. Big mistake. By the time the third order hit the pass, the pasta was sticking together and I had to toss a whole batch. Dried would've held up way better with the sauce and been faster to portion out. Ended up with a 12 minute ticket time on a dish that should take 6. Any of you guys got a rule for when to swap to dried on a rush?

2 comments

2 Comments

matthewross15h ago

My dried pasta rule is basically "if the ticket machine starts looking like it's smoking, grab the box of dried." Had a similar disaster with fresh tagliatelle during Valentine's Day a few years back. The stuff turned into one giant noodle blob that looked like a science experiment gone wrong. Now I keep dried linguine pre portioned in little tubs for those nights when I'd rather not explain to a hangry customer why their pasta tastes like regret.

baker.simon13h ago

You know, I used to be a dried pasta snob. Thought fresh was always better, that dried was just for college kids or emergencies. But reading stories like this, I get it now. Fresh pasta has a time and a place, but it's not for a busy kitchen when things go sideways. One bad batch of fresh stuff turns into a nightmare real quick. Dried pasta is consistent and reliable, and that matters more when you're under pressure. I think you've convinced me to keep a backup box of dried linguine myself.