Pasta schmo to pasta pro

Alto

Michael White is an Italian chef by training and affection, but his Norwegian frame brings to mind the captain of a Viking ship, not a master pasta craftsman. And unlike Mario Batali, his Norse name doesn't evoke the hills of Tuscany. Yet his two Manhattan restaurants, Alto and Convivio, are turning out some of the best pasta in town. You won't find a chef who's more enamored of Italian food—while he was showing off his airy fresh pastas, he exclaimed "That's pure sex!"