Speaking of pasta salad, which I was doing in the What's Cooking thread, I want to mention this pasta brand I've discovered in the past year. I've bought it at, of all places, Fred Meyer (which is part of the Kroger chain, and almost everyone in the U.S. has a Kroger of some kind near by). Freddie is hardly a bastion of gourmet eats in my area, except that it does have the best produce department in town--lots of organic, beautifully fresh/never tired like elsewhere, things no one else has like rappini, and everything priced below local markets--and so it's often a stop for me when foraging. There are two or three other things I can only get there, and this pasta brand is one of them.
Was in fact mentioning to Bob just now that when I picked up these shells last week, they had fewer of this brand to choose from and I'm suddenly wondering to myself if, rather than just being low on product, they're phasing this line out. If the latter's the case, I better go back and buy every package they have left.
Because it's the best commercial pasta I've ever bought. The noodles are thicker which means denser/chewier, which I love, and cooked they have a mouthfeel that's closer to fresh-made restaurant pasta (who would have a powerful extruder device) vs. the slick feel of thinner-walled commercial pastas. They hold their shape beautifully when cooked. And while they're on par for quality with any of those fancy $6/lb brands, they're priced like Barilla.
Here's a pic if you'd like to look for this product at a Kroger near you.