MANICOTT

Yesterday, I stopped by Valencia Deli in Lynbrook on Long Island and bought their manicotti, ravioli and homemade sauces to see if they matched up with my memories of them.

Among the Italian-American standards, manicotti is a dish that can tell you a lot about a restaurant that serves it. What is the texture and thickness of the pasta? The consistency of the cheese? Curd-like? Runny? Is it flavorful? Specked with fresh herbs and pepper? The gravy, does it compliment the cheese, provide the necessary contrast or does it overwhelm the dish. Is it too thick or fresh and saucy?

I bought one box of 18 ravioli , one box of six manicotti, a large container of plain sauce and two small containers, one of vodka sauce and one of meat sauce. I put a pot of water on the stove for the ravioli and lightly sauced a pan for the manicotti, lay them gently next to each other in the pan, drizzled some sauce overthem and put them in the oven set at 400 F.

About 15 to 20 minutes later, the pasta was crisping in some places and it was ready to eat. I put two to a dish, drizzled some plain sauce on top which I'd warmed separately on the stove. The first bite wasn't disappointing. The texture of the cheese was delightful, smooth and not curd-like, not firm but not runny. The sauce was full-flavored but tasted a little like it may have been recently defrosted. On second and third bites of the manicotti I was still happy with the texture but thought the cheese might need a touch more herbs and some salt or maybe at least some shredded parmesan (my own recipe tk). Also, the cheese was slightly gummy and tasted slightly of flour but perhaps it might have been cooked slightly more.

I cooked the ravioli in a pot of boiling water dropping them in and letting them sit until they floated to the top. The pasta seemed slightly thicker than that of the manicotti. The cheese seemed to be of similar consistency but a little more moist and runny. The vodka sauce was good but a little hot crushed pepper made it better. What makes a good vodka sauce anyway?

Overall the experience was a pretty good one but I wouldn't make the trip out there just for the ravioli or the manicotti. If I were doing other things on Long Island I might stop in to Valencia to buy a few packages of the manicotti and freeze them to see how they hold up but the varied types of ravioli offered at the Bedford Cheese Shop in Williamsburg would probably sway me along with their proximity. I would, however, go to Valencia specifically for a hero as it was pretty tasty and reminded me that I need to make a trip down to the White House, a classic sub shop in Atlantic City (more on that later).