Cyber Pasta Cafe

Where: 430 E. 25th St., Suite 5, inside Freighthouse Square, Tacoma, 253.507.5480, www.cyberpasta.net
Hours: Monday-Friday 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cuisine: Loosely Italian comfort food — pizza, pasta, panini, pastry
Scene: Very inexpensive, casual order-at-the-counter cafe and coffee shop serving breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week
Drinkies: Espresso, fruit smoothies, hot and iced teas, Italian sodas. No alcoholic beverages
Damage:  $1.25-$7.99

ANNOUNCER: Freighthouse Square is a Mecca for the thrifty eater with a penchant for ethnic cuisine. The food court has been home to many order-at-the-counter restaurants — some good, some bad and some gone so quickly you never knew they even came. Month-old Cyber Pasta Café was opened by a former SeaTac Hilton sous-chef who turned his pink slip into a golden entrepreneurial ticket. Sahat Sirisithi is primarily a one-man band who, with the help of an assistant during busier periods of the day, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. With sweat on his brow and a smile on his face, Sirisithi acts as cashier, barista, cook, smoothie-maker, and waiter serving up fairly priced and appropriately portioned comfort food, espresso and desserts. Freighthouse Square’s only self-contained restaurant, Cyber Pasta is located outside the main food court.

JAKE: Serious doubts, man, serious doubts. From the name to the location to the pricing on the Web site, I was sure we’d be eating crappy food and I’d be adding this place to the list of things to heckle you for. I was wrong on all counts except the name, which I just don’t get. Cyber Pasta is a cheery place in the deserted end of Freighthouse Square whose gimmick, if you can call it that, is a create-your-own pasta menu.

JASON: I would say I told you so, but I am working on my maturity. After my recent strip club comment, my wife says I need improvement. Morning espresso service was a bustling affair both times I dropped in. First visit I got an orange banana strawberry smoothie equaling breakfast in a cup. My second trip I ordered a standard latte; creamy with decent foam, I enjoyed it with the interesting breakfast dome. Imagine pizza dough shaped like a palm-size cup filled with cheese, mounded scrambled eggs with bacon and sausage, and onions and peppers. McDonald’s who? I grabbed a green apple to munch on, too. Nice to have fresh fruit on hand; I like that. The line of people moved fast and steady on both occasions.

JAKE: Lunch time did not have a line. I walked straight to the counter and ordered one of only two sandwiches — a grilled panini number with chicken breast, lettuce, tomato and what was supposed to be chipotle mayonnaise — paid and sat at a table. When my panini was delivered, the bread wasn’t toasted enough for my liking, and the mayo sorely lacked any chipotle zing. Luckily the tomato slices were sweet, the oven roasted chicken was moist and flavorful, and the lettuce was crisp. I enjoyed the surprise of sautéed tangy onions and peppers; though I wished they’d been spread throughout instead of clumped dead sandwich center. I munched a mini bag of baked potato chips without blinking since the sandwich wasn’t enough for lunch alone.

JASON: The other sandwich option was drizzled with herbed balsamic vinaigrette, had the same sweet tomatoes, whole basil leaves, and a hefty chunk of melted fresh mozzarella cheese. I ordered $4.99 pasta dishes, too, expecting them to be more like side orders for that price. Choosing marinara and spaghetti noodles from penne, fettuccini, cheese-filled tortellini, bow tie, or linguini, I added Italian meatballs for $1.79. Sadly, the thin marinara was tasteless. The meatballs were decent. The spaghetti noodles were surprisingly al-dente as was the penne I paired with an ultra rich blue cheese fan’s favorite of Roquefort Alfredo sauce. Portions were entrée size, so hello to-go boxes. Lesson learned. Even though we ate at a table in the restaurant, we were served drinks in plastic cups. Tacky. White tablecloths can’t drown out plastic screams of cafeteria.

JAKE: Creamy green curry basil sauce with linguini? What blasphemy is this? At the general manager’s recommendation, I had it for dinner and admit it was good. A smattering of yellow squash, cauliflower, peppers, and broccoli along with baked chicken chunks definitely amped the goodness factor. I would have loved a glass of crisp tart white wine, but Cyber Pasta doesn’t serve alcohol.

JASON: Pretty sure they’re using the same unappetizing marinara for pastas and pizzas. Needless to say, skip the pizza. The dough just isn’t good, and toppings were scarce to boot. That’s enough nails in the pizza coffin to bury it. Instead of throwing a fit like the spoiled 8-year-old my wife knows me to be, I resigned myself to filling up on crisp green romaine lettuce, salty croutons, tomatoes and pre-grated parmesan cheese with Caesar dressing served on the side. OK, I also ate kiwi swirl cheesecake, two mini blueberry muffins and a sugary pastry. How’s that for maturity?