With its new olive-colored awnings and fresh garden of glossy shrubs, Fazoli’s on Shallowford Road’s façade is new and improved.
“We’re going to get new signs eventually,” said Director of Operations Ken Szostek. Then he promptly switched topics. “So, are you hungry? You gotta eat lunch. You like stuffed pasta?” He motioned shift leader Lisa Wordlaw Smith to our table and placed an order for two of Fazoli’s new Robusto dishes made with sacchetti pasta.
“I think the pasta looks like little bags of gold. You know, like from the old days,” he said, and grinned.
Before long, Lisa returned to our table with hot food in hand. “I hope you enjoy,” she said, placing the bowls of creamy pasta before us. Ken’s visual comparison was apropos – only instead of gold, the pasta is stuffed with smooth ricotta cheese, drowned in creamy marinara sauce, and topped with chicken, bacon and a blend of different cheeses.
The dish, Ken explained, is part of a new limited-time promotion that features three stuffed pasta dishes made with the same ricotta-filled sacchetti, but each dish has different toppings. For example, in addition to the Robusto there is the Fresco topped with chicken, artichokes, basil and sun-dried tomato marinara, and the Supremo topped with salami, sausage, mushrooms and sun-dried tomato marinara.