bucatini / perciatelli in Berkeley / Oakland / SF?

Anybody know where I can find bucatini aka perciatelli these days? No luck at Pasta Shop, AG Ferrari, or Lucca Ravioli.

that's odd. i bought bucatini in bulk from The Pasta Shop last tuesday. and they had lots.

Fourth Street or Rockridge?

fourth street.

Thanks, that's very convenient. Rockridge was where I tried, I thought Fourth Street had a smaller selection.

Are there any *restaurants* that regularly serve these types of pastas? All I seem to see are angel hair, fettucine, linguine and spaghetti listed on menus. Some of us like our noodles thicker than those.

Google turns up mentions of bucatini at Acquerello, Firefly, Kuleto, Repastoria Satyricon, Slow Club, and Vogalonga.

Incanto often has bigoli.

Yes, bucatini can be found at the Phoenix Pastaficio on Shattuck. Flavors include spinach, tomato, garlic parsley, plain, and right this moment there's a batch of squid ink (might already be gone by now).

I forgot to add that I work at the Phoenix and I should let everyone know that the squid ink was made as special batch for a restaurant so I'm not sure if it's gonna be a normal thing, in case someone drives all the way out there to find out it's gone=P.

The kind of bucatini I'm looking for are 100% semolina. Like fat spaghetti with a tiny hole down the center. I've never seen anything like that at Phoenix Pastificio (note spelling).

You probably missed the bucatini container, which is located in the main cold case that you see right when you enter the shop. Sometimes other stuff like pastries are set on top of it when things get a little hectic. The plain flavor is 100% semolina, it is a little fatter than our spaghetti and has a tiny hole down the middle. It's also a fresh, not dried pasta, as you probably already figured if you've been to the Phoenix before.

You might try aiming lower; DeCecco makes perciatelli, and I've found it at well-stocked markets like Berkeley Bowl or Andronico's.

I see the DeCecco perciatelli everywhere: Rainbow, Pasta Gina, even lowly Bell/Cala/Nob Hill stores.

The other day I bought some Rustichella d'Abruzzo bucatini from Rainbow. I haven't tried it yet so I don't know how it compares to the DeCecco. But just from looking at it I'm guessing it'll be better because the surface looks much rougher so it ought to hang onto the sauce more.

-Nick

Rustichella's bucatini are killer. Thanks for the tip.

You might give Ratto's a call. It's pretty sad these days, but who knows.

Ratto's used to carry it in the bulk bins...but as you note, Ratto's is a shadow of its former self.