Now That’s Not Quite Italian

You might not have eaten there, but you know the place if you’ve driven around Costa Mesa with any frequency. It’s hard not to notice the sign: a picture of a yowling kid with an overturned bowl of pasta on his head.

That’s owner Luis Rodriguez’s son, Lou, when he was 1 year old. Lou’s 11 now, and that sign has been out in front of Pasta Connection since 1984, when Rodriguez opened his decidedly atypical Italian restaurant.

The unconventionality begins with the hours--6 a.m. for American-style breakfast until 10 p.m., daily. It extends to the tables, which are covered with pictures of some of the menu selections, and the menu itself, which contains almost nothing that isn’t freshly made.

“That’s the difference here,” Rodriguez says. “Nothing is pre-cooked, nothing frozen. It’s all fresh, every day.”

Rodriguez moved to the United States from Argentina in 1973. He dreamed of opening a restaurant for years, but lacking the capital, he was limited to practicing on a pasta machine in his garage and sharing samples with friends.

Finally, he and his wife, Beatriz, sold the house and car and went into business. “I figured if it was a success, I could always buy another house, another car,” he said.

His mother, a native of Rome, was a main consultant, with recipes, advice and critiques. The result is a place that has become a Costa Mesa institution, with very good, reasonably priced food that will suit a variety of tastes, served in portions that are simply huge.

Nothing on the extensive, dish-by-the-number dinner menu costs more than $10, although a placard on each table advertises paella for $12.90; Rodriguez says prices have stayed the same for six years. Dinners come with bread and butter; some also include a small salad.

Pasta dishes offer variations on fettuccine, linguine, taglierini, cannelloni, manicotti, ravioli, lasagna, spaghetti and tortellini. The gnocchi ($9.80), tiny potato dumplings painstakingly made by hand, are offered with a choice of sauce . . . but only one day a month, the 29th.

There are a couple of parmigiana veal dishes, a single chicken dish (lemon) and polenta, corn meal served with two Italian sausages and meat sauce.

Breakfast and lunch are, for the most part, right out of a neighborhood diner--bacon and eggs, omelets, huevos ranchero, pancakes, French toast, burgers and chili. But the menu also includes chorizo sausage (with eggs or in a sandwich), empanadas (deep-fried pies filled with ground beef, onions, egg and condiments) and sandwich de matambre (nicknamed “Hungry Killer”), a rolled flank steak stuffed with pimentos, eggs and herbs.

Rodriguez’s South American background also shows up on the modest wine list, with many entries from Argentina or Chile, none priced over $15. There are a number of domestic and imported beers but no hard liquor.

Do not walk into this place if you’re not hungry. A $7.95 order of taglierini con salsiccia --Italian sausage, green pepper, onion and mushrooms sauteed in olive oil, served over pasta and topped with tomato sauce--is a good example of a dish that will eventually stop you in your tracks. Sharing and splitting dishes is something to consider.

Other things to note:

- Nine pasta items are offered as half-price half portions for children under age 12, but aren’t available to go.

- If you want to personally attempt some of what the Pasta Connection is doing, there’s a large deli case--including desserts, pasta and cheeses--and assorted dry goods near the front door.

- This isn’t a big room, and the place can get crowded on weekends, so couples might want to get there early. Reservations are available only for parties of more than two.

Pasta Connection, 1902 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa. American breakfast and lunch daily, 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Italian menu 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. (714) 646-3484.