The Pasta Factory Company, West Miami

In 1978, Argentine pasta craftsman Richard Sanders emigrated to Miami with his wife, Carmen, and opened The Pasta Factory Company. Thirty-three years later, Richard’s three sons—Rick, Fernando, and Leonard—have taken the rigatoni reins, with Fernando spinning housemade linguine, spaghetti, and fettuccine on his father’s original machine. Rick’s favorite part of the job has been watching 20 years of first dates, many of which transformed into years-long courtships and ended in down-on-one-knee marriage proposals—all within the confines of The Pasta Factory Company’s dining room.

With or without the prospect of a proposal, the Sanders family’s authentic Italian fare grew so popular among diners that they expanded The Pasta Factory Company to several locations. Now guests can fall in love with the first meat pie they meet at the original South Miami location, or speed date through fettuccine and cannelloni at the Pasta Factory Express spots.