By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

The portion size for Spaghetti Carbonara was modest, but the execution was on point. Firm with a slight rebound, the pasta was exactly to our liking. Coated evenly, there was the saltiness of the guanciale and pecorino. It was accented nicely with just enough black pepper. The Pappardelle came with fava bean ragu, mushrooms, and Parmesan. For a vegetarian offering, this was equally tasty and impactful. The freshly-made pappardelle was perfectly al dente. The fava bean ragu was hearty and properly seasoned. Ample porcini mushrooms ensured that there was even more body and umaminess.

For our pizzas, we had the Margherita. However, it was not the typical Neapolitan-style pizza found at most places in Vancouver these days. It was a thicker Naples-style pizza from the Sorentine peninsula. Despite its appearance, the crust was airy and fairly light while crunchy throughout. The light tomato sauce was mild with some tang and spice. What really made this pizza were the big chunks of buffalo mozzarella that did its best impression of burrata (of course not as creamy). Our second pizza was the Rapini & Sausage. This was actually pretty spicy complimented by the meatiness of the sausage. We found the rapini was a bit too cooked. That is always the challenge with veg on pizza as the dough has to cook through. But overall, we thought the food was on point at Di Beppe and we wouldn't be opposed to returning.

Di Beppe Restaurant

8 W Cordova Street. Vancouver, BC

The Good:

• On point pastas

• Unique pizzas that were also good

The Bad:

• Portion-size (for the pastas) were a bit small

• Cozy dining space, not great if you need lots of room

Sherman Chan is the #1 ranked food blogger on the Vancouver portal of Urbanspoon.com. Read more of his reviews at www.shermansfoodadventures.com.