37 West 17th Street
New York, 10011
I am absolutely a fan of Basta Pasta, which is supposed to be a Japan meets Italy concept, though it's a little more Italian than it is Japanese. Regardless, the food is amazing.
We started with the Caesar Salad and the Japanese Pumpkin Gnocchi. The Caesar was solid, but nothing crazy, but the Japanese pumpkin gnocchi served in a cream sauce were excellent. They were so well prepared, so soft and light in a luscious cream sauce. I could eat those all day long.
I followed it with the dish pictured above (which I realized with poor lighting and poor camera quality doesn't do it justice): Fettuccine alla Bolognese. I loved how the noodles were so thin, yet cooked perfectly al dente and paired with sauce with such robust flavor. While the portions weren't huge, it was immensely satisfying. The sauce just hugged the noodles and the flavors were balanced perfectly.
Finally, we shared the crepe con mela (crepe filled with vanilla gelato, apple compote, early grey jelly and sliced almonds). I know the entire table didn't love the dish, but I was a huge fan. It was a really subtle dessert, not overpoweringly sweet and when you got the perfect bite (a little bit of all the components) the flavors and textures complimented each other in a way I haven't quite experienced in a dessert dish. It was definitely a light dessert as I probably could've eaten the entire dish myself and it was definitely a sweet ending to my meal.
This place gets two thumbs up, and it if weren't for all the restaurants I have yet to try in NYC, I would come back often.
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