It's the Simplest Pasta Dish in the World. But Restaurants Everywhere Are Screwing It Up.

In restaurant cooking, butter is a blunt object often used to beat you over the head, removing your logic and good sense in the process. A question I ask whenever I'm critiquing a restaurant: “Does this dish actually taste good? Or does it taste like ... butter?” And I'm telling you, most cacio e pepe I eat these days tastes like butter.

Now, don't get me wrong, cacio e pepe done right is wonderful. A true classic—luxurious, cheesy, silky, velvety, and compounded with robust flavor. A good cacio smacks you across the face with grassy heat and a coagulated richness.

Read at Slate Magazine