A lot of Spaghetti Carbonara was eaten.

Spaghetti Carbonara is one of my all-time favorites. It's not complicated. Eggs, hard cheese, cured pork (Guanciale), and black pepper. Bacon is acceptable. Outside Italy, cream and garlic might be used. If you are going to argue about what goes into a carbonara, reread the preceding part.

All dishes are from the lunch menu unless otherwise noted.

I'm only saying this once. Show me a cookbook that tells you to cook pasta in unsalted water.

If you get a spoon with the pasta, remember this quote from an NYT article: "Spoons are for children, amateurs and people with bad table manners in general".

Buono Bistro in North Andover Dinner Linguini Carbonara ($19). "Egg, spring peas, onions, sweet capicola, and parmesan cheese". Hold the peas. They shouldn't be in the same room as a carbonara. I decided to try it even if capicola is not a traditional ingredient. Seems people confuse this with salami. Salami is made with ground meat and then cured. They will make the Carbonara with bacon if asked. The Caesar salad ($4) add-on was excellent, fresh with a really nice dressing. The bread was fresh out of the oven with delicious dipping oil. The serving was humungous! It was creamy with a ton of capicola and well seasoned. Onions actually go well in a carbonara. This is easily three meals for me. A miracle happened! They cook the pasta in salted water. This makes a huge difference. I did get a spoon! 9.2/10

Marco's in Peabody ($16.95). "Italian pancetta, onions, eggs and cheese sauce". The last time I had this and blogged about it, I complained about the amount of pancetta. Not an issue today; it was loaded with pancetta. Pasta cooked perfectly and lots of creamy sauce. I kind of like the addition of the onion. South Italy versus north Italy? The bread, dipping oils, and bean spread are delicious. 9/10

Pizzico in Nashua Dinner Carbonara ($15). "Creamy sauce with pancetta (Italian bacon) and parmigiano cheese tossed with spaghetti". The add-on Caesar Salad ($3) was a big serving with a delightful dressing and tender croutons. Lots of shaved Parmigiano on top. This was a generous serving of pasta loaded with pancetta that I suspect was made in-house. This was an excellent version, rich and creamy. I did get a spoon! 9/10

Luna Rossa in Tewksbury (18.99). "Linguine with pancetta and peas in an egg cream sauce". It's served with peas, and that's a nono, so hold the peas. The spaghetti was cooked al dente, and there was plenty of pancetta. The dish was appropriately creamy but needed salt. BTW, this was not linguine, but the proper spaghetti. The service is very professional and pleasant. If you get a hightop in the bar, you have a good view of the open kitchen. 9/10

Angelo's Pizzeria in Stoneham. "SPAGHETTI CARBONARA ($15.95). "Roasted Guanciale, Egg yolk Parmigiano Cheese Black Pepper." This is a classic done absolutely right. The pasta was cooked al dente, and the Guanciale was tasty. The pasta was cooked in salted water! Nuff said. You can pay another $5 in the Ristorante and get it with arugula. 9/10

Osteria Nino in Burlington. Bucatini Carbonara ($19) from the dinner menu. "bucatini pasta, house made pancetta, eggs, parmesan, pecrino, and grated egg yolk". I did like the Bucatini and the pancetta that was in big chunks. I would have liked it to be a bit more liquid, but it was still delicious. The grated egg yolk didn't make it. The service was spotty on this mid-November Sunday when it was warm enough to eat outside. They have a lunch menu, but dinner prices are the same. 8/10

Nappi in Medford. They are famous for not having a menu, except at lunchtime. It's Ziti Carbonara ($12.95) on the menu, but no problems getting a Spaghetti Carbonara. Everything was done right, but I don't remember it having onions on my previous visit. Onions are fine and add a nice sweetness, but I wonder if this is a southern Italy thing versus the north? 8/10

Teresa's in Middleton ($15). "Classically prepared with pancetta and egg". This was a generous portion with the spaghetti cooked al dente. A generous amount of pancetta, and I don't mind the added ham. The cream was on the verge of splitting, and the cream on the bottom split due to the heat. It was still a delightful dish. The service was pleasant. 7/10

Sabatino's in Wakefield. Dinner Carbonara ($15.99). It was a generous serving that arrived with a spoon. See above. The pasta was cooked nicely, but the dish was bland, very bland. There was garlic involved, and I don't mind that. I think they forgot the cheese and the bacon? was also tasteless. Not even sure if there were any eggs involved. 6/10

I was going to try Artichokes in Wakefield, but they have no website. According to Google, they should have been open for lunch the day I visited, but they were closed. 

Recommended on FB for a Carbonara, but currently doesn't have Carbonara on the menu.

Capellini in Tewksbury
Princeton station
Andiamo Andover
Ralphie's Salem
Semolina Kitchen Medford
Tremezzo is $21 and comes with chicken. Not a Carbonara
Al Fresca is $21.95 with chicken. Not a Carbonara

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