Critic Steve Cuozzo Torches Barilla Restaurant in NYC

In this week's review, New York Post critic Steve Cuozzo gave just half a star to Barilla's new quick-service cafe Academia Barilla. Cuozzo writes that like Guido Barilla's "anti-gay comments, Barilla Eatery leaves a bad taste." Barilla came under fire last year after its chairman, Guido Barilla said that the company would "never do (a commercial) with a homosexual family ... Ours is a classic family where the woman plays a fundamental role."

For a company known for its pasta, Cuozzo found that most of the pasta dishes were underwhelming: "[The] hardworking cooks evidently misheard 'al dente' as 'al cemente.' Undercooked, understirred orecchiette stuck together in half-dozenear clumps." At the end of the day, he writes, "Pasta-loving New Yorkers of any sexual orientation will recognize" that the Academia Barilla is "a stinker."

· Barilla Eatery Leaves Bad Taste [NYP]
· All Barilla Coverage on Eater [-E-]