Noodle Crawling Through Santa Monica

BY TAMARA PALMER

I was on my way to check out Colapasta, a new Italian restaurant in Santa Monica, one night when it occurred to me that it was just a few blocks away from Uovo, a two-year-old pasta place that recently opened a second location in the Mid-Wilshire area. It was decided: I would do a noodle crawl for humanity.

While both can be busy at peak hours every day, hitting them both up at an early bird time is easy (especially at Uovo, which is focused on counter service and turns seats quickly). Uovo’s whole model is unlike any other restaurant in the area: pasta is handmade with red yolked eggs in Bologna and flown to California while the pasta is resting.

I ordered two dishes at Colapasta in the name of research and had to keep myself from licking the bowls clean and not having room for the second stop.

Colapasta’s gnocchi di ricotta (ricotta gnocchi with wild arugula, sweet cherry tomatoes and almonds)

Colapasta’s Gramigna Bolognese

By the time I got to Uovo, I knew that whatever I ordered would basically be lunch for the next day. While I know that their lasagna is one of the restaurant’s standout dishes, it was too heavy of an order for that moment, but anything with fresh artichokes is highly recommended.

Uovo’s tagliatelle ai carciofi

It’s hard to go wrong at either restaurant, which are similarly priced, but Colapasta has a bit of an edge when it comes to having a more relaxed atmosphere — and there are vegetables and salads on that menu, should you need to counteract the carbs.

Colapasta, 1241 Fifth Street, Santa Monica

Uovo, 1320 Second Street, Santa Monica and 6245 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles