Strada By Luciano's

Luciano's has been a longtime favorite among Wichita's limited selection of Italian restaurants; the drive to Mulvane, on the other hand, not so much. Strada by Luciano's - a small trailer outfitted with a couple of burners - is not easily found, especially on account of their willingness to venture into the city's southwest side and frequent stops in other cities in the region, like Winfield. They're committed to hitting the road from Monday through Friday for lunch; their whereabouts can be determined from their Facebook page.It was a smart decision to take the show on the road, and even smarter to offer an extremely limited menu to ensure the quality stays high. You can choose from two pasta dishes and a salad. Both pastas are repeats from the restaurant, though they're prepared differently and to varying results. The penne in meat sauce shares the exact same sugo di carne from the mothership, and the pasta finished à la minute gives you a rich sauce and an al dente pasta that is plenty worthy of the Luciano's name. The cheesy bowtie pasta, an imitation of the quattro formaggi, was less successfully composed due to the cream-to-cheese ratio on a recent visit being disappointingly skewed toward the former. The bowtie pasta was still cooked very well, so they are consistent in that regard.You would be burying the lede if you skipped over the salad. It ends up being the most unique aspect of the truck thanks to the ample cone of crisp Parmesan that surrounds the dressed greens. There are nits to be picked here, too, mostly because you end up with too much cheese for the small salad. Ordered alongside one of the pasta dishes, however, makes it easy to find a use for the excess remainder.

Really debated between getting them 2 and 3 stars. I've heard people rave about their food and how they drive to the restaurant because it's so good. Let's start with the pros. The service is friendly and prompt. They had a nice selection of pastas to choose from and even a vegan option. My choice today was a half and half combo: half salad, half pasta. I chose the Mediterranean salad and mottola pasta combo. The salad was great. Light vinaigrette dressing, lots of toppings. However you don't get the parmeasean cup or anything crunchy on top. I missed that aspect. The pasta was the big miss for me. The pasta is cooked well, but the sauce had no flavor and was pretty greasy. Most of all, why was there no bread? Who eats pasta with no bread? I also ordered tiramisu, which came in a lovely little cup. It tasted amazing, but I would have liked another layer of ladyfingers in there. It was pretty heavy towards the creamy side. Totals $16 with tip. Not totally sure it was worth it, but I'd try a different pasta option next time, just to give it another go.