Sixty Foot Long Strand of Pasta Available at Le Virtu

Things are going swimmingly for Chef Joe Cicala at Le Virtu. The restaurant was singled out in Craig LaBan’s recounting of Distinctive Italian restaurants and earlier this week, Cicala was nominated for the Rising Star Chef award by the James Beard Foundation.

And now he’s showcasing an Abbuzi specialty,  “maccheroni alla mugnaia” (“pasta in the way of the miller’s wife”). The pasta is a single strand of hand-pulled pasta that can stretch up to sixty feet in length. The chewy, rustic specialty has become a favorite at Le Virtu.

If you call more than 24-hours in advance, Cicala and Le Virtu will prepare a “mugnaia” feast for groups of two to twelve. The single strand of pasta will be stretched from ten to sixty feet (about four to five feet of pasta per person). The pasta feast can be served with aglio e olio all’abruzzese (garlic, oil and hot pepper), ragù d’agnello (lamb ragu) or al pomodoro (tomato and basil). Other Abruzzese condiments are also provided including grated unpasteurized pecorino from Anversa degli Abruzzi and peperoncino (fresh, crushed and infused in oil) from Green Meadow Farm in Lancaster County.

The cost is $17 per person and everyone at the table must participate. Can’t get the whole gang to commit? Le Virtu also offers Maccheroni alla mugnaia as a single portion.

Le Virtu [Official Site]