Dried Pasta Purveyor Barilla Is Opening Another Restaurant, This One Near Bryant Park

Academia Barilla, the fast-casual concept from the multibillion-dollar dried pasta company, has settled on a space for its second New York outpost, this one, along Bryant Park. A sign is up, but the interior is still entirely empty, so hungry Midtowners might need to wait a bit. Steve Cuozzo slammed the first location in July, giving it a measly half a star, along with this account:

Cooks evidently misheard 'al dente' as 'al cemente.' Undercooked, under stirred orecchiette stuck together in half-dozen-ear clumps. Eerily glowing fusilli montanara, like no Italian dish I've had between Sicily and the Swiss border, 'looks like Campbell's cream of chicken poured over pasta,' my friend said. It should taste so good. Watery minestrone recalled the midnight diner variety.

Last we heard, the company was also looking for a space Herald Square, so there may be lots more pasta to come.