# Favorite Pasta? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695 "2013-12-06T18:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/1 "2013-12-06T18:42:15Z")
I was eating the spaghetti that my ex-roomie left behind and wondered why it didn’t “feel right.” Then I realized that it wasn’t angel hair which is what I always make. It’s not that I hate other kinds of pasta like spaghetti or fettucine. It’s just that given a choice, I go with angel hair. What is your favorite kind of pasta? I don’t include dishes like lasagne, which just incorporates pasta. Or ravioli which includes meat or cheese. Just the actual pasta itself. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/2 "2013-12-06T19:00:25Z")
I like pappardelle and bucatini. Angel hair is a bit too thin for me. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/3 "2013-12-06T19:09:32Z")
It’s hard to pick one, I like so many different kinds of pasta for different occasions. But today, I’m going to say ditali. Good at home or to take somewhere for lunch. Mmm… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/4 "2013-12-06T19:15:52Z")
Impossible to choose. It entirely depends on the presentation. Light pomodoro sauce? Angel Hair Chunky sausage ragu? Rigatoni Primavera? Penne Marinara? Spaghetti I believe tonight’s dinner is a sausage ragu that will be served over wild card\* pasta. - - All the leftover bits from the other pasta boxes, a little of this and a little of that. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/5 "2013-12-06T19:39:53Z")
I like fettuccine and linguine. Although I feel they should be spelled fettuccini and linguini. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/6 "2013-12-06T19:41:11Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I believe tonight’s dinner is a sausage ragu that will be served over wild card\* pasta. > > - > - All the leftover bits from the other pasta boxes, a little of this and a little of that. In our house when I was growing up we always referred to that as Cavatini, especially if it was served with cheese on top and then put under the broiler to melt the cheese. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/7 "2013-12-06T20:15:26Z")
Yeah… you pair the pasta with the sauce. There really isn’t any kind of pasta that I dislike. That said, I tend to prefer thicker pastas that have a little more chew in them - spaghetti over angel hair. In the right application, it’s hard to beat fettucine or penne. A pasta dish really is about eating pasta. The sauce is a condiment, used to enhance the flavor of the pasta. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/8 "2013-12-06T20:38:04Z")
Looking up all the different pasta types is making me hungry. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/9 "2013-12-06T20:42:42Z")
Angel Hair, Fettucine, Elbow Mac. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/10 "2013-12-06T21:06:43Z")
Love me some pappardelle and mafaldine. Wide, flat noodles are where it’s at. Same with any odd twisty shapes: gemelli, cavatappi, campanelle, lanterne, etc. Fun! The only kind I don’t like are bucatini and the ilk (spaghetti-like but thicker). Too doughy. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/11 "2013-12-06T21:11:27Z")
The thing I like about macaroni is that it’s a good all-purpose pasta. I can add meat or veggies, different sauces, or whatever with it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/12 "2013-12-06T21:25:29Z")
I also quite enjoy orzo–it’s like rice, but pasta! ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/13 "2013-12-06T21:28:01Z")
Another “it depends on the sauce” person here. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/14 "2013-12-06T21:32:01Z")
If I must live with only one I’ll choose penne rigate. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/15 "2013-12-06T21:44:54Z")
Honestly, I like plain old spaghetti and macaroni the best. I’m fine with whole wheat versions of them, but I don’t like most unusual shapes, and I find angel hair too gummy for my tastes. I’ll eat adventurously in other respects, but when it comes to noodles, I’m positively Midwestern. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/16 "2013-12-06T21:50:59Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Honestly, I like plain old spaghetti and macaroni the best. I’m fine with whole wheat versions of them, but I don’t like most unusual shapes, and I find angel hair too gummy for my tastes. I’ll eat adventurously in other respects, but when it comes to noodles, I’m positively Midwestern. Yeah, I’m kind of that way, too. While I grew up on mostaccioli (essentially, penne, but I had never heard of penne in the Chicago area until much later in life–it was always mostaccioli here), and I understand the sauce dictates the pasta thing, I never saw what those types of pasta could do better than a nice, flat noodle. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/17 "2013-12-06T22:30:36Z")
[Spaghetti Rigati](http://www.barilla.com/content/product/spaghetti-rigati) is my fave. The ridges hold the sauce nicely. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/18 "2013-12-06T22:56:41Z")
There isn’t a favorite, but I don’t like “big” pasta, like big bowtie pasta. It’s a pain to eat, and you can only fit one on a spoon or fork, and anything more falls off. Even larger pasta, like big shells that get stuffed or large lasagna sheets, both of which get get cut in to pieces when eating, are OK. It’s just that range where the size is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/19 "2013-12-07T00:58:24Z")
Farfalle (bowtie) with thick meaty sauce, angel hair for thin cream sauce and spinach, and rotini for tossed veggies and olive oil or cold salads. Oh, and big macaroni for cheese! ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695/20 "2013-12-07T01:04:36Z")
I don’t really have a favorite, I like most of them. But my most common are linguine, penne, and rotini. But I loathe seashells (Conchiglie). :mad: I’ll still never understand why anybody would either want to take the time to dump out each and every one, or else get a random amount of water screwing up the sauce. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pasta/675695.md?page=2)