Pasta Plus offers a tasty, affordable tour of Italy in Laurel

LAUREL, Md. (Map, News) - The Mazziotti brothers offer an affordable tour of Italy — at their restaurant Pasta Plus in Laurel.

It smells of garlic and olive oil and is clamoring with Italian-speaking patrons and friendly regulars. The menu is full of homemade pasta dishes and other Italian delights.

Pat Santoro and her husband, Attilio, are a loyal Pasta Plus patrons.

“I have a very particular palette,” said Pat Santoro, who is Italian, “and we go as much as we can. We started going when they first opened. Our oldest child was 2, and she would eat a whole big plate of mussels. I think because we are Italian and Italians are pretty particular about their food, it’s a compliment to [the Mazziottis] that Italians go there,” she said.

Sabatino and Massimo Mazziotti opened Pasta Plus in 1983 after years of rising through the restaurant industry ranks.

“When we came over [in 1968], we didn’t know the language,” Massimo said through a thick accent. “We started to work at the Madison Hotel in Washington. I started as the dishwasher and Sabatino was the busboy.”

When they decided to go into business for themselves, the brothers chose a location in a nondescript strip mall off Gorman Avenue in Laurel.

“We wanted to make pasta and pizza from scratch, but then we started expanding and increasing our business, adding other items to the menu. That is why the name is Pasta Plus,” Massimo said.

All ingredients are made from scratch, including the bread and the famous pasta.

“Basically, it’s just flour, eggs, oil and salt, and you can add some water or more eggs. Then there’s the machine. When we started we had a smaller machine, and it took a long time. Now we have a couple machines from Italy and a lady who makes pasta all day,” Massimo said. Maria, the pasta lady, is one of about 50 part- and full-time staff members.

aminikowski@baltimoreexaminer.com

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