Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria

The informal offshoot of Il Buco on Bond Street is a perfect lunch spot and needs to be a strong contender to take the visiting family!  The Alimentari (up front) has stellar pork sandwiches and the back of the space is the dining room and wine bar.  In true Il Buco fashion, the restaurant boasts with rustic Italian furniture beautiful lighting fixtures.

The octopus carpaccio was topped with chilis, but maintained a citrusy, light flavor.

Aren't they gorgeous?

One dish not to missed here is the crispy artichokes with preserved lemon.  We kept saying while furiously popping these in our mouths, 'they are like the artichokes served in the Jewish ghetto in Rome'.  Every leaf so perfectly crisped.

Porchetta served with spring peas and pea puree.  Moist and spot-on with the herbs definitely challenging Sara Jenkin's namesake restaurant (which can sometimes be dry).

Although all were tasty, the dish that really made the meal was the Pasta Setaro. Creamy spaghetti with ample salty bottarga and parsley.  Pasta is always Il Buco's strong suit.

Strawberry Rhurbarb crostata with vanilla gelato.  Not too sweet, not too sour, not too great.

Basta Pasta

It was a last-minute decision to head to Basta Pasta, an Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant in Chelsea. Far more Japanese than Italian, this restaurant represents an interesting union between two cultures so passionate about their culture and cuisine. The industrial sized space favors Eastern minimalism, with the ambiance of a loud, Italian family gathered for dinner. Most patrons were Japanese (always a good sign in a Japanese restaurant) and the waitstaff was attentive and polite.

The bagna cauda appetizer was a simple crudite plate accompanied by a warm anchovy cream dip. The dip was a well-balanced blend of cream and anchovy; not too creamy and the right amount of anchovy that doesn't result in fishiness.

The spaghetti was the lighter of the two pastas served with the tobiko highlighted. Tobiko is versatile in cooking with its slightly sweet, salty flavor followed by crunchiness. The shiso leaf is such an underused ingredient; typically used as a garnish under the ginger and daikon in sushi restaurants (try it on a piece of tai, Japanese snapper, sushi with lemon and salt). It's pretty much used the way for the pasta, but with the shiso shredded on top, it actually has a chance of being consumed with each bite.

The uni linguine didn't sit for more than 20 seconds before I had to dig in, therefore, no photo was taken...next time. The brininess of the uni was lost in the pink sauce with basil, but the richness and creaminess was not. My tastebuds were overhyped and although it wasn't a letdown at all, I expected a little more.

The poached pears covered with vanilla ice cream and zabaglione were...if I may...a light way to end the meal. They somehow managed to play perfectly off one another in a dessert that could have been a sugar overload.

Basta Pasta 37 West 17th Street (212)366-0888
www.bastapastanyc.com