Take a trip to Italy with an authentic pasta meal
Imagine strolling down the cobblestone paths of an Italian market past street vendors selling their own fresh pasta amidst fragrant aromas of bread straight from the oven. Now imagine a similar feeling in Boulder.
Discreetly folded into an unassuming strip mall on 28th Street lies Pasta Bozza, a haven of freshly made, high-quality pasta. Coming from three generations of pasta makers, owner Michael Bozza has mastered the art.
“My family came to New York from Grangnano, Italy in 1964 to make pasta,” said Bozza, who added that he’s been making pasta himself since age six.
“I moved to Boulder seven years ago. When most people move they bring furniture, but I brought pasta equipment,” Bozza said.
He put the equipment to good use. Bozza began by supplying his pasta to restaurants on Pearl Street, and then selling it at the Boulder Farmers Market. Customers at the market began to ask how they could get his pasta during the winter and then not long after, Pasta Bozza was born.
“The purchase was finalized in February, and we’ve been serving lunch and dinner for about three weeks now,” Bozza said.
Since the restaurant replaced City Street Bagels, Bozza has decided to continue serving bagels and bagel sandwiches to support the people who’ve been coming for years.
While bagels are a nice touch, the restaurant’s true gem is its pasta. The menu offers a handful of varieties prepared many different ways. I enjoyed the Quattro Formaggi (four-cheese) Gnocchi ($6.99); this modestly sized portion was perfectly cooked and blanketed in a hearty cheese sauce. It was refreshing to bite into gnocchi at the right consistency; many restaurants make theirs too soft.
I selected a simple Caprese salad ($4.99), from the salad menu, which is a classic dish of mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and extra virgin olive oil. While the serving size was not large, the mozzarella was clearly well-made and the tomatoes and basil were fresh.
Bozza is not the only man behind the magic. Steve Johnson spends just as much time in the kitchen putting his years of experience and training to good use.
“I was in one of the first classes at the Culinary School of the Rockies,” Johnson said. “I went to France and then worked at a French restaurant in Las Vegas for six years.”
Upon arriving in Boulder, Johnson worked in a number of Italian restaurants before he and Bozza opened up Pasta Bozza.
According to Bozza, many of the ingredients used in the pasta are organic, such as the flour and the butternut squash in the ravioli. The eggs are cage-free, and everything else is all natural.
Even with natural ingredients, the restaurant has managed to keep its prices reasonable; according to Bozza, this is due to the fact that everything is manufactured on-site.
“Our prices our competitive because we don’t have to buy from someone else. We make our own pasta, and the savings are passed down to the customer,” Bozza said. “This is a great place for students to come and get something a little more authentic than a sandwich, but at the same low price.”
The restaurant is also in an accessible location on 28th Street between Valmont and Glenwood. Now that the Farmers Market is underway on Saturday mornings, Bozza’s son can be found there selling the goods.
So perhaps one can enjoy a taste of a flourishing Italian market, even in Boulder. Thanks to the Bozza’s, the joys of fresh, local and high-quality ingredients still exist.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Lauren Duncan at lauren.duncan@colorado.edu.
