This restaurant wants to make cheap, fast-food pasta the next big thing - but it still has a long way to go

• Pasta Flyer is a new fast-food restaurant that's aiming to be the McDonald's of pasta.
• Meals range from $7 to $10, and sides and snacks are also available.
• While not bad by any means, the food doesn't live up to expectations.

The McDonald's of macaroni, the Burger King of bucatini, the Chipotle of casarecce - call it what you will, Pasta Flyer has landed.

Mark Ladner's pasta-focused fast-food restaurant is a far cry from famed New York City restaurant Del Posto, where he was formerly executive chef.

The concept is a familiar tune: successful chef wants to bring the fast-food format to something other than burgers and fries. The ultimate aim is to create a chain that lures fast-food customers with higher-quality ingredients but the same speed. But fast-food pasta? That's a tall order.

We visited Pasta Flyer to see if it has what it takes to break into the competitive fast-food maket.