Joshuall wrote:

> I grew up on the east coast (Upper New York State). We often went to Italian
> restaurants and many of my boyhood friends were Italian. I recall most of
> their mom's used very thin spaghetti then and we also had it when we dined
> out. Now I can't find the same very thin stuff. I've tried most major
> supermarkets here in Chicago Land and while different pastas are marked thin
> or even "angle hair" they aren't really very thin when cooked. Can anyone
> recommend a brand etc? Obviously the thinner the better. Thanks guy/gals.

The thickness of the pasta is fairly standard. Most of it is made from the same
basic dough and is extruded to certain thickness. Spaghettinni is thinner than
spaghetti, but then there is vermicelli, capellini or angel hair pasta. Most
companies make the entire range of pasta sizes under their brand names, but the
stores don't always carry them all. If you live in an area with a large Italian
community you are likely to get a wider range of pasta because Italians use the
different pasta sizes for specific types of sauce while most of the rest of us
are content to use whatever is handy.