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Dining review: Takeout Italian is rarely so fresh or so fun

Tribune photo by JAY NOLAN

In addition to ravioli, The Ravioli Company serves fresh-cut long pasta including angel hair, linguini, fettucine and pappardelle.

By RICHARD MULLINS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 2, 2009

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When nine relatives were coming to our house for a recent holiday dinner, we decided to turn the party into a mass food review and order takeout. Yes, takeout.

High stakes? Sure. But we had the perfect option.

The Ravioli Company, a matchbox-sized, family-owned shop in South Tampa, sells some of the best Italian food in town – all perfectly made for hosting events.

We ordered a half-dozen varieties of amazing hand-made ravioli, a few sauces and two kinds of lasagna. By the end of the day, we declared victory.

To start, it's worth mentioning that owners Lauren and Dwight Otis might be some of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

Lauren works the counter and counsels each guest like a confidant. "How many people are coming over?" "Will it be outside?" "Do you have anything to nibble before dinner?"

At heart, she wants to make sure your event turns out well. As one customer in line put it, "I'm done cooking all morning before a party. I get her food for every holiday now, and it ends up costing me less. It's a gift I give myself."

Case in point: We called ahead to order a carload of ravioli. But when we stacked everything up at the counter, we needed to make a bunch of changes. Most takeout restaurants would say "Tough luck. Credit or debit?"

Lauren said, "No problem. Let's look at your list." We re-arranged almost everything, and found the best combinations of pasta and sauces.

As for the ravioli itself, forget any experience you've had with grocery store ravioli, even semi-fresh, plastic-sealed versions.

This ravioli is made with sheets of fresh pasta, delicately stuffed with ingredients, without any of the mushy sauce that industrial kitchens use.

Take a bite of the pumpkin ravioli, and you'll immediately find yourself thinking of Thanksgiving pies. The sausage is spicy and reminds you of a backyard cookout. Or try chunks of sweet lobster stuffed into the pockets of pasta.

Each pack includes 28 fresh or flash-frozen ravioli, or about one pound — enough for two to eat — and most cost $8 or $9. Lobster is the most expensive at $15.95. The shop keeps a variety of about 30 on the menu, plus specials each day.

To name a few: Roast Duck and Truffled Berry Ravioli ($11.95), Goat Cheese and Fig ($8.95), Pork Carnitas with Manchego & Black Bean ($9.95), Butternut Squash ($8.95). Just a couple of minutes in boiling water, and they're ready to go.

As a pairing, the shop sells 18 or more fresh sauces for $6 to $7: Diablo, Chipotle Cream Sauce, Puttanesca and Fresh Herb Pesto, to name a few. But given how perfect the pasta is, you could do well by just adding a bit of butter or olive oil.

Besides ravioli, the shop also sells fresh pasta, manicotti, "Rustic Pies" and trays of pre-made lasagnas that serve 8 to 12 people. The seafood lasagna was the hit of our dinner, with a rich, buttery white sauce, layered with shrimp, scallops and lobster for $48, or about $5 per person. Like fresh-made Alfredo, a little bit goes a long way.

A major perk: The Ravioli Company sells "half-baked" bread and rolls. About 10 minutes before you put dinner on the table, pop them in the oven at 350 degrees, and you get two fantastic results: soft, hot, fresh-baked bread, and a house that smells like an Italian bakery.

Lauren and Dwight have run restaurants for years — they met when their paths crossed in the ravioli business. Seven years ago, they came back to the small take-out shop on Manhattan Avenue. Despite the bad economy, they're doing well this year, Lauren said, thanks to repeat customers.

"A lot of people come in weekly and make us one of their dinners each week," she said. "That's part of what makes it so special for us."

If you've ever dreamed of having an Italian grandmother who hand-makes ravioli for big family events, you can declare victory at this tiny takeout shop.