“Eat A Bowl of Rigatoni Pasta”

Anastasia K
Feb 9
5 min read

"Well, I've been afraid of changin'

'Cause I've built my life around you

But time makes you bolder

Even children get older

And I'm getting older too"

Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac

It was May 23rd, 2020, and it was the day before the “Eat A Bowl of Rigatoni Pasta” day, and one of the most memorable events in my life was eating Rigatoni with my father…

“Davay tuda zaydom!”

“Let's go there!”

Saturday, New York City, La Pecora Bianca. It has been five years since my papa and I first stumbled across it. Not an actual hidden gem, but a gem that felt known only to us. We had a tradition, wandering through the city in search of certain objects, and we found our own hidden gem, similar to the Little Mermaid.

As a little girl living through COVID, that day was a day when I, too, could hop on a trend, not dancing or lip-syncing to a Disney lyric. Sitting in an outdoor booth with our masks pulled down just enough to sip, I looked down and saw it.

“Ya budu Rigatoni.”

“I’ll have the Rigatoni.”

The waiter nodded as he wrote down our orders. My father ordered the garganelli with mushrooms, but I didn’t like mushrooms.

“And do you have any allergies?”

The waiter asked.

“No, no allergies.”

Looking down at my first ever rigatoni, I found that what really mattered wasn't the food, but it was who you were with. The tradition was born on that day, he and I, rigatoni and garganelli, extra parmesan cheese, and after a long while, we no longer had to say.

“No, no allergies.”

Three years had passed, and rigatoni no longer tasted the same. No matter how much Parmesan I would add, the nostalgic taste would not come back. For the first time, things were changing, and it was not within myself, but within time. I look at my father and at the waiter,

“Two garganellis, please.”

“And EXTRA parmesan.”

“I thought you hated mushrooms…”

Two years had passed since that day, and we sat on Second Avenue instead of our usual Broadway location; we no longer wanted to drive as far. Two Gargenelli’s were too much for us now, so we decided to share one.

“One garganelli, please.”

“And Extra parmesan,” my father added.

“And one zucchini fries!”

“I thought you hated zucchini…”

9 months had passed, and 5 years had flown by since our routine began. Driving along Second Avenue, my father and I agreed that it was time to try other restaurants. Driving past our restaurant caused a new feeling in me; instead of anticipation, I felt ambivalent.

Walking into that restaurant was something new, because unlike what I was used to, it was different.

“I will have the steak”, I said

“I will have the chicken.”

“I don’t like chicken.”

The waitress asked;

“And do you have any allergies?

And it had been such a long time since I heard that question. It has been a long time since I tried other foods at other places.

“No, no allergies,” my father replied.

I cut off a piece and tasted it. In that moment, I understood that what really mattered wasn't the food, but it was who you were with. After that day, I stopped longing for the past—I was looking forward to the future. I realised that the world changes around you, and no matter how tightly you try to hold on, life nudges you to try something new. We all grow, we all change; recipes get altered, waiters come and go, but what endures is the company we choose to keep.

11/28/2025, I'm in the city with my mama. We were looking for a place to eat.

“We can go to La Pecora,” my mom said.

I called my father to ask what time brunch would be over, but he did not pick up, and that was a good thing. We found a small Italian restaurant.

“I’ll have the Bronzino”

“I will have the spaghetti”, I said

I should have gotten the Bronzino.

“And do you have any allergies?”

“No, no allergies.”

Another gem was added to the treasure chest.

Firstly, “Eat A Bowl of Rigatoni Pasta” day was on May 24th, 2021, so I can proudly assert that I was early for the trend!

But the bigger picture of this moment was that change isn't scary. It is an occurrence that happens when one grows up, and change can be scary, it can be disappointing, you may want to hide it, hide under your past, but what matters is that you embrace change instead of trying to eliminate it.

When one is going through a change, specifically, two regions of the brain are involved. Though the Amygdala manages "fight or flight", and the Hypothalamus releases stress hormones, change may never be frightening.

The Hippocampus, the brain's memory centre, contextualises the new experience and compares the experience to past experiences in order to determine its threat level. While the Hippocampus contextualizes, the Pre-Frontal Cortex rationalizes, adapting behaviour based on the new circumstances. The Anterior Cingulate Cortex is then involved in processing conscious emotional awareness and behaviour in times of transition.

Another reason change feels unsettling is because the brain grows attached to patterns. Repeated experiences strengthen neural pathways, turning moments into rituals that feel safe and complete. When those patterns break, the brain notices the absence before it notices what is new. Memory holds on tightly, while the present takes time to catch up. Slowly, as new experiences repeat, the brain builds new pathways, allowing meaning to return in a different form. What once felt like loss becomes expansion.

The limbic system plays a quiet but powerful role in how change is felt. It is responsible for emotion, memory, and attachment, which is why certain places, foods, or routines can carry so much meaning. When something familiar shifts, the limbic system responds with emotion before logic has time to intervene. Over time, as new memories form, the emotional response softens, allowing comfort to return in a different way.

Limbic System:

Pre Frontal Cortex
Amygdala
Hippocampus

Eat A Bowl of Rigatoni Pasta” Day, for me, started on May 23rd, 2020. From that day forward, I have been celebrating almost every Saturday.

Trying new things and seeing new places is a form of growth. Do not be afraid to try, to explore, to revise, and to experience the beauty in life. Like a ship with an anchor, we cannot move forward while holding on too tightly, yet an anchor can still steady us in moments of need.