Al Dente Spaghetti Puttanesca: dotted with black and green olives, capers, anchovies, lightly sauced with fresh and canned tomatoes.

There is a crowd at the Archers Nook across from La Salle daily, from noon to 2:00 in the afternoon as students, teachers, and professionals grab every available space for a gourmet meal at fast food prices.

The favorite nook on the Taft Avenue block is the third Flaming Wings restaurant (following BF Paranaque and Katipunan) that boldly offers pasta concoctions which taste Italian, with no hint of banana catsup or syrupy sugar. “Hindi lasang Pinoy.”

We went on a rainy Sunday afternoon to the Katipunan branch, and found it full of customers despite the heavy downpour. Several tables were joined to accommodate an extended family of three generations, whose Sunday after-mass routine includes a long lunch of pasta, chicken wings, and homemade desserts.

The pasta varieties include Cabonara, Pomodoro, Bolognese, Marinana, Puttanesca, Pesto, Vongole (clam sauce), for only P105-P108 per serving that’s generous enough to be shared by two persons as a second course. Another very special feature: Parmesan cheese shakers at every table. Real Parmesan, grated from huge wheels; not the kind from green-and-red cans and cardboard cylinders.

The clientele’s favorite first course is the Lettuce Wrap, which is fun, unique, healthy, and delicious. For P115, the order has three large iceberg lettuce leaves, a platter of crisp rice noodles topped with boneless chicken cubes stir-fried in oyster sauce, generous enough for three persons.

And of course, there’s the signature dish for which the place is named. The smallest order of Buffalo Wings has six pieces (three wings each cut in half) of meaty portions, served with a choice of sauces and dips.  The wings were marinated and cooked slowly, then brushed with more sauce. Cooked this way, the flavors were really absorbed even by the bones, which we licked dry.

“We source our wings directly from large producers, as they are the only ones capable of delivering uniform-sized wings which have no blemishes,” says Sandra Fey Pauco, who with husband Marc started the restaurant venture in 2005.

Three of us shared Lettuce Wrap (P115), Buffalo Wings (P143) and three Rice Pilafs (P25 per huge mound) and our food bill came out to only P333, or P111 per person, all tax included. That’s cheaper than a so-so fast food meal anywhere in town. With beer at P42 per bottle, the restaurant makes for a good after-school, after-office hangout as well.

FLAMING WINGS: Open from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. For inquiries, call BF Parañaque (8295782), Katipunan (9296900), and La Salle Taft (5247429).