In October of 2024, Pasta d’Oro opened its second location in the former Jolly Onion in Pine Island. Chefs and owners Edison Narkaj and Christian Dushaj opened the first Pasta d’Oro location in Wurtsboro in 2019 and have revolutionized the restaurant scene in the small town. With their new location at The Jolly Onion, they hope to revive the restaurant back to its glory days.
“We really fell in love with what we were doing in Wurtsboro, so when the opportunity came to Christian and I to take on The Jolly Onion, we were thrilled,” said Narkaj. “We saw a lot of opportunities here. Our goal was to bring Pasta d’Oro to this place, but also pay homage to The Jolly Onion. So we decided to keep the name, but also give it our identity.”

A shared passion for food
Narkaj has extensive experience in the restaurant and hospitality business. He started working in restaurants when he was 14 years old and, by the time he was 17, took on the general manager role at Limoncello in Goshen. He quickly climbed the ladder, becoming the executive chef at 19 years old and the co-owner at 21.
“I was very young and soaking up all of the experience like a sponge,” Narkaj fondly recalls. “Ever since I was a kid, this is all I’ve ever wanted to do. God works in mysterious ways, and he sent me every mentor I ever needed at the exact moment that I needed them.”
Dushaj, similarly, has substantial experience under his belt. He and Narkaj met while working at Limoncello, where Dushaj first started as a busboy. Just like Narkaj, he worked his way up the ladder to take the general manager position after Narkaj became co-owner. “He’s the best partner I could ever ask for. We work very well together and we have each other’s backs,” Narkaj shares.

The one thing that unites Narkaj and Dushaj perhaps more than their history is their shared love of the business.
“We’re a bunch of passionate people. When you come to dine at either of our locations, we truly make you feel as if you are family,” Narkaj enthuses. “The whole Pasta d’Oro concept is based around the idea that if you come and dine with us, we want to make you feel like you went and did something that night. We want you to leave here and talk on the car ride home about what a fun night you had and how excellent the food was. We want the towns that we’re located in to be proud of us.”
On the menu
Much of the inspiration behind the menu at the Pine Island location comes from the black dirt upon which it is located. The Hudson Valley’s black dirt region takes its name from the dark, extremely fertile soil left over from an ancient glacial lake bottom that was augmented by decades of past flooding by the Wallkill River.

“My family and I were farmers from Albania, so driving through the black dirt region here gave me goosebumps,” Narkaj shares. “We have the best produce in the entire country located in our backyard.”
Because Pasta d’Oro at The Jolly Onion opened in October 2024 – at the end of the farming season – the current menu is super farm-driven. However, come spring, Narkaj looks forward to creating an “extremely” farm-to-table menu that showcases all Orange County has to offer.
Naturally, something that was incredibly important to Narkaj and Dushaj was ensuring that they were paying homage to the iconic Jolly Onion. As such, on the menu you can find Jolly Onion staples such as the “Jolly Onion,” a signature black dirt blooming onion served with a variety of dips and crème fraîche; “The Jolly” salad, featuring arugula, local onions, pancetta, pinole nuts, parmesan, and lemon-thyme vinaigrette; and the “Pine Island Soup,” a modern take on French onion soup.

The menu is quite diverse and luxurious, with goodies like wild-caught octopus, caviar, and oysters regularly making an appearance. Of course, it also features a healthy dose of the Italian Pasta d’Oro goodness that locals have come to expect, including steak, seafood, chicken, and pasta dishes.
“We have something for everyone,” Narkaj notes.
Looking ahead
The first item on the to-do list for Narkaj and Dushaj is to restore The Jolly Onion location to its “original glory.”
“Back in the day, if you wanted to go out to eat somewhere in Orange County, The Jolly Onion was usually the first thing on people’s minds,” Narkaj explains. “This was the place to be, and it’s an honor for us to be occupying this space now.” When the weather starts to warm up, he and Dushaj plan on hosting outdoor events, including a food festival and a car show.

Narkaj notes that when they first opened the restaurant’s doors in October, they had lines out the door full of people whose families had been coming to eat at The Jolly Onion for generations. “Some of the old timers had tears in their eyes because they haven’t seen this place since it was The Jolly Onion,” he shares. “It’s a great feeling to be able to bring back those memories of joy, conversations, and stories. We’re so proud to be able to do that.”
“We may own this place, but the restaurant belongs to the people,” he continues. “It’s as much everybody that dines here as it is ours. We’re thrilled that we got the opportunity to bring this place back to its feet.”
Pasta d’Oro at The Jolly Onion
625 Glenwood Road, Pine Island
Website
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