To expect full strands of pasta?

[FuckingHateRats]

Disclaimer: this is the definition of a non-problem. I'm not taking it in any way seriously, I am curious as to what others would expect in this situation.

DH and I went out for dinner on Thursday - v rare occurrence for us. We were on holiday so limited options in this small town. Prices quite high but we figured, we're holiday etc.

I ordered a linguine dish with seafood for my main course. When it arrived, the linguine had been snapped into small bits, maybe into thirds? I couldn't twirl it round my fork the pieces were so small.

I was a bit surprised - in ANY restaurant I'd expect long pasta to be served full length, but especially a pricy one? It felt like they'd cut it up for me like I was a child😂

Again, I know this is not an actual problem. I'm just curious as to how many would be surprised by this.

IABU - cutting up is zero issue.

IANBU- the Italians would weep.

This is very odd I agree. Any chance this is a regional thing for wherever you are?

I imagine the pasta was frozen and snapped unevenly when removed from storage.

This happens when I freeze fresh pasta.

Much easier to eat that way though.

Both my DH and my mum said they won't have a big enough pot to cook them whole. But we have a pot like that and we're certainly not a restaurant!

They were probably trying to make it look like there was more pasta in the dish. I love twirling the pasta around, getting just enough so it's one or two strands dangling down a little, lol.

We always snap dried spaghetti and linguine in half at home - dp is Italian and it’s how his mum prepares pasta. But too short to get on the fork is no good. Sounds odd and I’d tend to think they aren’t cooking in a large enough pan too.

That's really weird, I've never known pasta to be cooked like that, unless for a small child, even then, I'd cut it after cooking.

I don't know any Italians that would do that! It's a definite no-no. Maybe the chef was Australian? I remember an Australian relative telling my Italian dh that the correct way to cook spaghetti was to break it up. Italian-splaining! 😁

The only spaghetti that I would snap is that fancy double length stuff!

I don’t know any Italians - including my family- who would snap the pasta.

How could you twirl it, as OP says?

Yep this

And not just the pasta - probably the whole dish

Probably sat on the packet of dried pasta in the car on the way home from shopping at Lidl. Done it myself!

(For a pricey restaurant I would exprct fresh pasta - you know the stuff you get from Tesco)

Bikini, I’m definitely going to quiz him on it tonight as it isn’t the norm in restaurants, etc., so I’m now wondering if it’s just a family eccentricity. Another food-related thing his parents do which definitely makes no sense is to leave the caps on sparkling water loose so that it’s delightfully flat by the time the next meal rolls around. So they do have form for offences against dining.

Snipped pasta should only exist on a weaning child’s plate, if you can’t twirl your linguine what’s the point?

I would hate that!! The whole point is to twirl it around your fork

Thanks everyone for the validation.

It's just come back to me (as I make my own linguine and prawn dish for dinner) that there was another thing weird about the meal. It was a linguine dish with chorizo, king prawns and scallops. When it arrived, it had bits of SLICED CHORIZO instead of from a ring, like they'd cut up thin slices you'd buy in the supermarket into ribbons). I also thought this was batshit at the time.

This dish cost £26, for context.

This dish cost £26, for context.
😯

Is it even linguine if you can't twirl it?
As for the thin sliced Chorizo, what on earth is that about??? 😕

it's not really, is it, unless you spear your fork through the pasta like you're harpooning a whale.

It's just come back to me (as I make my own linguine and prawn dish for dinner) that there was another thing weird about the meal. It was a linguine dish with chorizo, king prawns and scallops. When it arrived, it had bits of SLICED CHORIZO instead of from a ring, like they'd cut up thin slices you'd buy in the supermarket into ribbons). I also thought this was batshit at the time.

Flaming 'eck. There's margin squeezing & then there's that! I agree probably dried pasta & you can get a large pack of chorizo slices for about a quid!

I did not find it easy at all. I had to balance all these little strands of pasta on my fork and then rush it into my mouth before it all fell off, instead of an ultra secure twirl-n-cling move.

😱

I'd prefer that.I always snap the spaghetti in two before boiling

£26 for a pasta dish?!

You were done up like a kipper mate.