Donatella

This was the BEST Strawberry Shortcake I have ever eaten!  By a landslide.  Donatella's post will be reversed starting with the magnificent desserts.  The seasonal strawberry shortcake was a soft, non-biscuit (no taste of butter) biscuit with a hard, sugary top.  In the middle?  Homemade whipped cream and sweet strawberries with an ever so tiny scoop of strawberry rhubarb sorbet.  P.e.r.f.e.c.t.i.o.n! 

I was equally impressed with the off-the-menu ice cream sandwiches.  Smaller than your palm, these round beauties' top and bottom layers were Italian tricolore cookies with slivers of ganache.  Some of diners thought it was too sweet, but I didn't share that sentiment.

Affogato is always a simple dessert with a small scoop of vanilla gelato.  These "biscotti" were actually small cookies (ones I did deem sweet, but fabulous nonetheless).

Moving right along to the pizzas....also some of the best personal pizzas I've had in New York.  Doughy, thin-crust with fresh ingredients. 

Classic Margarita

Diavola with spicy, slivered salami and chili oil.  This pizza had the perfect amount of heat.

Enzo - Smoked Mozzarella, pork-fennel sausage, broccoli rabe and pecorino.  Instead of plain jane spicy or sweet sausage,  I absolutely love the fennel sausage in addition to the sauteed rabe.  This was unreal!

Polpette - Veal Meatballs and Caciocavallo (a teardrop cheese that is left to mature 'a cavallo' i.e. straddling a horizontal stick) 

A ricotta gnocchi that gives April Bloomfield a run for her money.  Served with summer corn, basalmic, parmagiano, and chives.

A luscious mixed green salad with lemon citronette, candied walnuts and pecorino.

Our starter of spicy, braised veal meatballs.  Soft, perfectly spiced and sized.  If you are deciding between Polpette (meatball pizza) or a side of meatballs, get the meatballs.  The pizza doesn't do these meatballs justice.

AND you have to love the bottle and wine glass chandeliers! 

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