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Fans Swarm The Pasta Bowl's Wicker Park Debut (PHOTOS)

By Alisa Hauser | April 20, 2015 10:00am
 Crowds packed The Pasta Bowl Saturday night.
The Past Bowl Opening Party
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WICKER PARK —  Amid a slew of doughnut, scone and bao-taco hybrid eateries, a restaurant offering Italian comfort food — aka pasta — has joined the Wicker Park and Bucktown neighborhoods.

Specializing in pasta, salads and sandwiches, The Pasta Bowl opened its second location on Sunday at 1852 W. North Ave., replacing Manee Thai.

Over 150 packed The Pasta Bowl on Saturday for a pre-opening party, where they sampled some of the eatery's most popular dishes, such as rigatoni, farfelle and gnocchi.

The Pasta Bowl's Saturday night pre-opening party (DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser)

The Pasta Bowl's original spot, owned by Chris McDermott, opened in 1996 at 2434 N. Clark St. in Lincoln Park. It also offers a food truck that serves up $6 lunch specials.

Co-owned by Taylor Aue, who joined the team in 2005, and McDermott, the 65-seat new Wicker Park spot is twice as large as the Lincoln Park location and has brought 20 new jobs to the area, Aue said on Monday.

"The energy in Wicker Park and Bucktown is amazing. We looked at 10 other spaces but this spot was built the way we wanted our store laid out. The area has great shops, independents and chains, as well as cafes and bars. It's a mix of every kind of resident you'd love to find and serve to," Aue said.

Aue described the opening weekend business "above and beyond what we had hoped for."

Aue added, "We're off to a good start."

The Pasta Bowl, 1852 W. North Ave. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Ph: 773-935-2695. Delivery, takeout and catering. For updates, visit the restaurant's website, Facebook page or follow it on Twitter, @ThePastaBowl.

Gnochhi (DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser)

Bruschetta (DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser)

The Pasta Bowl's 1852 W. North Ave. Menu

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