Emilio Branchinelli sits in a cozy booth under warm lighting at his restaurant, Passione, in Carle Place. In front of him are two heaping plates of linguine with white clam sauce—one made with fresh linguine, the other with the boxed variety. The restaurateur, whose culinary lineage traces back to some of New York’s earliest pizza pioneers, wants to taste for himself how the preparation pairs with the different pasta styles.

“I like the fresh,” he said, before conceding that “people might be more used to the boxed linguine.” This scene from an Italian restaurant epitomizes Branchinelli’s belief that running an eatery is about more than counting dollars or agonizing over bills. It’s about providing hungry patrons with what he believes is the truest representation of what he grew up eating—food that is fresh, carefully curated and so comforting that you could eat it multiple times a week.