If you’re not tuning in to It’s lunchtime with Jonathan Gold every Wednesday at noon on the L.A. Times’ Daily Dish, then you’re missing out on excellent dialogue about the Los Angeles restaurant scene. During one such “live discussion” a few months back, the merits of a new Downtown eatery called Maccheroni Republic were brought up. I had never heard of the restaurant beforehand, but after registering the words “handmade pasta” and “reasonable prices,” I immediately made plans to check it out. I live for noodles.

Jean Louis DeMori and Antonio Tomassi, the two men behind Maccheroni Republic, opened an Italian restaurant called Locanda Veneta nearly 25 years ago. According to the Times’ food editor Russ Parsons, ” it kicked off the first round of terrific, small, very specific Italian restaurants in Southern California.” Maccheroni Republic is their second venture together.

The menu here is brilliantly simple: just a few appetizers, soups, and a slew of pastas. Between The Astronomer, Diep, and I, we shared two starters and three mains and left pleasantly stuffed.

The first appetizer to arrive was the Nduja ($6.95), a house-made Calabrese salami spread served with toasted crostini. We liked the spicy spread very much, but the bread left a lot to be desired. Little bothers me more than being served unspectacular bread at an otherwise solid restaurant. (more…)