In these days of national food chains and brands owned by Kraft and General Mills, it’s good to discover local products. We were really tickled the other day to discover that there’s a pasta company in Fort Worth, Our Best Macaroni, which has been making semolina flour into macaroni products for 100 years.  The company was founded by Italian immigrant Giovanni Battista Laneri and is now headed up by his great-grandson, Carl L. Laneri, Jr. 

When we saw the pasta in simple, soft plastic bags, we had our doubts. There are some food snobs in this family, who believe all decent pasta comes in cardboard boxes from Italy

Local macaroni comes in a simple package, but the quality is high.

Special disdain has been directed at any pasta made in the midwest or lacking an Italian surname. When we first bought the O.B., of course, we hadn’t been on the web and so we didn’t realize  the company really had an Italian connection.

The package we tried, an 8 oz. bag of “Texas Sized Shells,” was quickly cooked up by one of the kids who needed something to put leftover tomato sauce on. It was then tried on my husband, who is the one who doubted the most and who has the highest standards. Much to our surprise,  he had to admit that O.B. pasta really is good — at least as good as Barilla from Italy. The best part? If you buy it, you’re buying local. 

After this experience, we immediately went down and stocked up on O.B. Macaroni.  Visit their website for interesting family and company history and a list of the pastas they produce, which includes a large array of the classic Italian shapes, not just the elbow mac they use in West Texas.

O.B. Pasta is reportedly available at most local supermarkets, including the new City Market and Walmart.