Whether you’re feeling happy or blue, excited or depressed, decisive or noncommittal, or just plain hungry, pasta always hits the spot. There’s something about a tangle of noodles laced with tomato sauce, glossed with cream and butter or tricked out in pesto that puts everything right.

Houston currently is enjoying a bit of an Italian moment, with new restaurants and menus that do pasta proud. Remember that Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini said that “life is a combination of magic and pasta.” These new spots will provide the pasta — the magic is yours to make. Buon appetito!