Fresh, Fiery, and Handcrafted: A Look Inside Our House-Made Pasta Program

At Truckee Tavern and Grill, we believe great food starts with great decisions—like ditching the box and doing things the hard way, on purpose. When Culinary Director Chef Josh Dinsmore and Chef de Cuisine Ivan Reyes looked at the pasta game, they didn’t see room for compromise. In their words (only slightly edited for your grandmother’s sake), “We’re going to make good, honest food—and we’re going to do it ourselves.”

That rebellious spirit birthed our handmade pasta program, a true labor of love—and maybe vengeance—against the dry, forgettable stuff lining supermarket shelves. We currently feature two show-stopping dishes, and yes, they’re both made from scratch, every day, with just the right amount of obsession.

First up: our spinach pappardelle. This vibrant, silky pasta is paired with ground pork, sundried tomatoes, garlic, shallots, and a gin ember cream sauce that’s… well, kind of wild. In keeping with our woodfire roots, we drop a coal from our grill straight into the sauce. It’s not a gimmick—it’s how we layer in that smoky, fire-kissed depth you didn’t know cream sauce was missing.

Then there’s the house-made tortelli, lovingly stuffed with a crimini mushroom duxelle, thyme, and stracciatella cheese. We serve it with trumpet mushrooms, lemon thyme, chives, lemon zest, and a sherry brown butter sauce. And just when you think it can’t get better, we top it with shaved grana padano, because restraint is overrated.

This pasta program is more than a menu update—it’s a culinary philosophy. Guests have been losing their minds (in the best way), and internal reviews have called it “next-level.” We take that seriously.

As Chef Josh puts it,

“You can taste when something’s made with care. And you can definitely taste when it isn’t. We wanted to make pasta that tastes like someone gave a damn. That’s it.”

And because nature doesn’t stay static, neither does our pasta. These dishes rotate with the seasons, inspired by what’s fresh, local, and available. So yes, it’s delicious—but it’s also fleeting. A beautiful excuse to come back, again and again.

So come try them while they last. Your boxed pasta will never look at you the same way again.