North Italia will plant its flag in downtown Walnut Creek, with a March 25 opening scheduled. The 8,500-square-foot dining room and alfresco bar will offer seating for 200. For starters, brunch every weekend and lunch every weekday, with hours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at which point the dinner menu kicks in.
Like much of Italian cuisine, making really good fresh pasta is about the simple combination of a few high-quality ingredients, with the rest coming down to balance and technique. As for which ingredients you actually need to make that beautiful pasta, Grueneberg said that the best move is to "buy 00 flour and keep it in the freezer so it stays fresh and look for eggs with beautiful rich yolks."