—————————————————— 100 Favorite Dishes 2012: No. 39, Rigatoni in Bolognese Sauce at Paulie's | Eating Our Words | Houston | Houston Press | The Leading Independent News Source in Houston, Texas

100 Favorite Dishes

100 Favorite Dishes 2012: No. 39, Rigatoni in Bolognese Sauce at Paulie's

This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston® issue, we're counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston's cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least once.

Not too long ago, Paulie's Restaurant barely registered on my radar. I didn't dislike Paulie's; rather, I just hadn't found anything there that merited faithful visits to the Montrose restaurant. It was definitely cute and cozy, but the food was -- to my mind, at least -- just pleasantly average.

That was before Paul Petronella took over the kitchen at his parents' restaurant and turned the tables on us all. In a year's time, Paulie's has gone from nonentity to one of my favorite and most reliable neighborhood restaurants. Part of the reason is that Petronella is now making all of Paulie's pastas in-house with an Italian pasta extruder, including the pasta for his rigatoni alla bolognese.

The difference between freshly made pasta and dried pasta is just extraordinary. There's a tug and a pull to the fresh stuff that's not normally there in dried, and it's a texture that you want to chase over and over again with each new bite. It's tender but chewy, soft but firm and bordering on addictive. The bolognese sauce on the rigatoni holds its own, though, made with both beef and veal in a light, creamy tomato sauce with plenty of fresh herbs scattered on top.

Make sure you save room for dessert and coffee, too; these are just two additional reasons that Paulie's has become such a powerhouse. The cookie's at Paulie's have always been good and now they're married with gelato from the Eatsie Boys and an excellent espresso program from Greenway Coffee owner David Buehrer.

The list so far:

No. 100: Chili cheese mac at Jus' Mac No. 99: Texas turkey sandwich at Spec's No. 98: Custard at Petite Sweets No. 97: Caprichos mixtos at Taqueria Monterrey Chiquito No. 96: Pineapple-wasabi burger at Lankford Grocery No. 95: Farmer's MKT Pizza at Phoenicia's MKT Bar No. 94: Potatoes at Money Cat Brunch No. 93: Breakfast tacos at Sunrise Taquito No. 92: Hot dog at Tacos D.F. No. 91: Avocado gelato at Frozen Cafe No. 90: Chicken sandwich at JerryBuilt Homegrown Burgers No. 89: Beer-battered asparagus at Hearsay No. 88: Honey Badger omelet at Kraftsmen Cafe No. 87: Pastelitos de carne at El Jalapeño No. 86: Pancakes at Union Kitchen No. 85: Wild boar and crab pizza at Boheme No. 84: Breakfast croissant at BB Donuts No. 83: Pretzel at Anvil Bar & Refuge No. 82: Short rib sandwich at Shepherd Park Draught House No. 81: Grilled shrimp po-boy at Pappadeaux No. 80: Dahi puri at Shiv Sagar No. 79: Aporreado at Los Corrales No. 78: Oxtail francobolli at Aldo's Cucina Italiana No. 77: Tonkotsu at Cafe Kubo's No. 76: Spinach danish from Angela's Oven No. 75: Pupusas at El Petate No. 74: Pheasant dog at Sammy's Wild Game Grill No. 73: X-Tudo burger at Friends Pizzeria No. 72: Esparragos gratinados at Tintos No. 71: Gua bao at Yummy Kitchen No. 70: Geisha dog at Happy Endings No. 69: Oyster po-boy and gumbo at Goode Co. Seafood No. 68: Ceviche at Sirena Seafood No. 67: Caldo de mariscos at Taqueria Arandas No. 66: Banana pudding at Pizzitola's No. 65: Fried catfish and gumbo at Cafe-A-La No. 64: Soft-shell crabs at Banana Leaf No. 63: Macaroni and cheese at Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse No. 62: Torta burger at El Gran Malo No. 61: Black bean burger at Ziggy's No. 60: Parillada at Pampa Grill No. 59: Peanut butter and jalapeño jelly burger at Wicked Whisk No. 58: Eggplant involtini at Giacomo's Cibo e Vino No. 57: Lone Star dog at James Coney Island No. 56: Sushi at Sushi Miyagi No. 55: Palestinian chicken at Al Aseel No. 54: Roast beef sandwich at Local Foods No. 53: Mexico City plate at Molina's Cantina No. 52: Tacos at Brothers Taco House No. 51: Branzino at Lucio's BYOB No. 50: Beef sweetbreads at Feast No. 49: Golden Doomba Special at the Rice Box Truck No. 48: Malted waffle at City Cafe No. 47: Banh mi bo kho at Cafe TH No. 46: Chicken fried steak at Triple A No. 45: Larissa plate at Harry's No. 44: Spaghetti carbonara at Coppa Ristorante Italiano No. 43: Wings and grits at The Breakfast Klub No. 42: Frito pie at C&D Burger Shoppe No. 41: Pollo con mole at El Gallo de Jalisco No. 40: Fried avocado taco at H-Town StrEATs



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Katharine Shilcutt