Which Pasta Club is the Best? Have you ever thought about what your favorite pasta shape is? Are you a fan of long, flat linguine? Maybe you like bowtie pasta (farfalle) and its fun little ridges. Or, you might be a shell pasta (conchiglie) fan for the amount of sauce you can get in one bite. Whether you're a home chef trying to make restaurant-quality carbonara, or you're just trying to get a taste of this Italian classic, we get it.
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Pennsylvania Macaroni Co was founded in the late 1940s by Robert and Salvatore Sunseri as a place to sell olive oil, spices, Italian cheese, and other specialty food products. Today, the third generation of the Sunseri family has a brick-and-mortar shop in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The online store now brings the home-grown Italian feel straight to your doorstep with a variety of pasta club options (and other shipments too, like meatballs).
Site is a little cluttered, but does the job
While we love a family-owned business, there can be some drawbacks, and one of those is sometimes the quality of the website. While it's not the simplest browsing experience, Pennsylvania Macaroni Co does give you everything you need to sign up for the Pasta of the Month Club right on one page. You just need to do a bit of scrolling to find what you need. There are three subscription lengths to choose from: 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. You'll also have the option to choose a frequency of deliveries every month or every other month. These are all shown as separate listings. There are also listings for Pasta Club gift cards, which you can buy if you want to send Pennsylvania Macaroni Co's Pasta of the Month Club as a gift.
2 lb of pasta in every box
The Pasta of the Month Club at Pennsylvania Macaroni Co includes 2 lb. of fresh pasta and 32 oz. of sauce. The box's contents usually feed 4-5 people. You can add meatballs to any of the boxes for an additional charge. Otherwise, you'll just get pasta and sauce. At the bottom of the long scrolling window (appearing like separate listings), you can choose your pastas from the following:
The only option that wasn't linguine on the listed menu was Pennsylvania Macaroni Co's Egg Bucatini, which was odd. The site does not say if these selections rotate or if they are standard every month.
Pricing from $140 to $500 prepaid
The prices depend on which length of subscription you wish to purchase. The 3-month club option is $140, the 6-month club is $280, and the 1-year club is $550. If you want to add meatballs, it is an additional $23.97 for the 3-month plan, $47.94 for the 6-month plan, and $95.88 for the 1-year plan. At the time of our review, there was not a monthly ongoing membership for Pennsylvania Macaroni Co.
Shipping is only free with meatballs
Unfortunately, shipping is quite costly at Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. The charge is a one-time fee that covers shipping across all boxes, but it can be a bit shocking upfront. For the 3-month club, the shipping fee is $60, for 6 months it is $110, and for 12 months it is $210. There is a way to score free shipping, and that's to add meatballs to your order. For everyone except residents of California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, you can get 100% free shipping if you add meatballs to your subscription.
Guarantee offered for damaged items
Pennsylvania Macaroni Co promises that every product will arrive in a safe condition (safe to eat). If there is something wrong with your package or it is damaged in any way, you will need to email Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. In order to qualify for a refund or another order resolution (like a reshipment), you'll need to take photos of the damage. There is no other reason listed for receiving a refund or reshipment.
Positive local reviews, but complaints about pasta
There are no reviews available for Pennsylvania Macaroni Co on the Better Business Bureau or trusted third-party review sites like Trustpilot or Sitejabber. We did find some reviews on Tripadvisor from locals and travelers who love the Pittsburgh location. Pennsylvania Macaroni Co earns a resounding 5-star average from shoppers who've bought groceries and goods in person. However, the few reviews about pasta specifically noted that Pennsylvania Macaroni Co was "really lacking" in variety. The pasta wasn't made with unique add-ins (like spelt or emmer) and all were made of wheat.
A good option, but missing variety
If you're looking for something that has that family-owned or home-grown feel, Pennsylvania Macaroni Co is a great place to look. However, it comes in as a middle-tier pasta club option in our review for a few reasons. First, you can't get free shipping unless you buy extras, which makes the price of the boxes much less affordable. Plus, with no third-party reviews (and some complaints about the lack of variety in pasta) Pennsylvania Macaroni Co is less competitive than some of the other pasta clubs in our review. However, we love the Pennsylvania Macaroni Co's high scores on Yelp, so it earns a balanced rating in our review. It may be a fun pasta club for a little while, but if you want more than linguine, you may need to explore a different subscription for better variety.
Continued from above...
Have you ever thought about what your favorite pasta shape is? Are you a fan of long, flat linguine? Maybe you like bowtie pasta (farfalle) and its fun little ridges. Or, you might be a shell pasta (conchiglie) fan for the amount of sauce you can get in one bite. Whether you're a home chef trying to make restaurant-quality carbonara, or you're just trying to get a taste of this Italian classic, we get it.
So, what is a pasta club? Well, it's exactly like other subscription clubs (like cupcakes or makeup), where you'll get pasta delivered to your door each month. Plus, if you know a home chef in your life who needs noodles ASAP, most sites offer a range of prepaid subscription boxes that let you send a pasta subscription as a gift. It's a great way to try different kinds of pasta from around the world, support artisanal chefs, and explore new shapes and flavors of your favorite food item.
If you're a penne fan, or looking for some good-old-fashioned spaghetti, pasta is a classic meal that comes in so many shapes and sizes that you can spend years trying new ones and still find more shapes (rotini, fettuccine, or ravioli, anyone?). While most of us think of Italy when we think of our favorite pasta dishes, there's evidence that the Etruscans made pasta back in 400 BCE.
Food historians believe that pasta arrived in Italy through trade in the Mediterranean and began its widespread popularity in the 13th century. From there, it became a country classic with pasta dishes like macaroni, ravioli, gnocchi, and vermicelli showing up across Italy. Today, it's estimated that Italians eat over 60 lb. of pasta per person per year.
So, what's the difference between high-end pasta versus the stuff you get at the grocery store? Well, for those of you who've had homemade pasta, you already know: the flavors, the freshness, and the texture of the pasta are beyond amazing when you compare it to the shelf-stable boxes you find at your local supermarket. If you want that restaurant-quality flavor in your home-cooked pasta dishes, grabbing a subscription to a pasta club is one of the best ways to get artisanal, top-quality noodles delivered right to your door.
If you're worried about dietary restrictions, don't be. Most pasta clubs offer options for gluten-free, so that those who are unable to eat gluten can still enjoy the delights of a home-cooked pasta dish. Whether you want packs with just pasta or one that helps you out with extra seasoning, sauce, and sometimes cheese too (to really get your inner chef going), there's a pasta club out there to fulfill your Italian dinner craving.
If you're ready to have your friends asking to come to your place for dinner instead of the local Olive Garden, but you don't know which vendor to choose, don't worry. Here are some factors that can help you find the best pasta club for your home chef needs:
To help you find the best way to bring your home chef dreams to life, Top Consumer Reviews has researched and ranked the top pasta clubs available today. Now you can enjoy your favorite noodles year-round and know there's always more on the way. Bon appetit!
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