Tiny Urban Kitchen

Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond

  • About
    • About Me
    • Tiny Urban Kitchen’s Favorite Equipment
    • Press
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Asian
      • Chinese
      • Taiwanese
      • Thai
      • Malaysian
      • Japanese
      • Korean
    • Appetizers
    • Soups
    • Salad
    • Pasta
    • Noodles
    • Rice
    • Vegetarian
    • Meat
    • Sweets
      • Baking
      • Ice cream
      • Cookies
    • Misc
    • Kawaii (Cute)
  • Travel / Restaurants
    • United States
      • Boston
        • Jen’s Picks
        • Boston
          • Allston
          • Back Bay
          • Brighton
          • North End
          • South End
        • Cambridge
          • Kendall Square
          • Inman Square
          • Central Square
          • Harvard Square
          • Porter Square
          • North Cambridge
        • Somerville
          • Davis Square
          • Union Square
        • Greater Boston
          • Brookline
          • Arlington
          • Belmont
          • Watertown
          • Newton
          • Lexington
          • Concord
          • Burlington
          • Natick
        • Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Berkshires
      • Vermont
      • Maine
      • New York
      • Washington DC
      • Philadelphia
      • Orlando
      • Chicago
      • Las Vegas
      • California
        • Los Angeles
        • San Francisco
        • Napa
        • Sonoma
      • Seattle
      • Hawaii
    • Canada
      • Montreal
      • Canadian Rockies
      • Toronto
    • Argentina
    • Europe
      • United Kingdom
        • London
        • Oxford
      • Italy
        • Rome
        • Piedmont
      • France
        • Paris
        • Bordeaux
      • Spain
        • Madrid
        • Barcelona
        • Catalonia / San Sebastian / Girona
      • Germany
      • Belgium
        • Brussels
      • Switzerland
      • Greece
      • Finland
      • Norway
      • Denmark
    • Japan
      • Japan Guide
      • Tokyo
      • Osaka
      • Kyoto
    • China (Mainland)
      • Beijing
      • Chengdu
      • Shanghai
      • Shaanxi
      • Shenzhen
      • Xiamen
      • Yunnan
    • Singapore
    • Hong Kong
    • Malaysia
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Australia/New Zealand
  • Michelin
    • Formerly had a star
    • Michelin Recommended
    • 1 Star
    • 2 Stars
    • 3 Stars
  • Jen’s Eating Guides!
    • Boston Restaurants
    • Boston Dishes
    • Tokyo
    • Hong Kong
    • Las Vegas
    • Napa / Sonoma
    • Taiwan (night markets)
    • Taiwanese (casual eats)
    • Street Foods of Bangkok (Part I)
    • Street Foods of Bangkok (Part II)
    • Kitchen Equipment
  • Trip Reports
    • All trip reports
    • New England
    • New York
    • Washington DC
    • Las Vegas
    • California
    • Canada
    • Europe
    • Florida
    • Japan
    • China

Basta Pasta Enoteca

November 24, 2009 by Jennifer Che 7 Comments

We have been long time fans of Basta Pasta in Cambridge.  In fact, when they first opened in our neighborhood (circa 2007), we used to eat there every week.  The place provided tremendous value, both in terms of quality and quantity.

After going weekly, we got to know the owners, brothers Reno and Altin Hoxallari.  They are good, honest hard workers, and have really become successful through their dedication and hard work.

A tiny bit of background . . . Reno spent about 10 years working in some of Boston’s well known high end restaurants before finally deciding to branch out on his own.  Though the original Cambridge restaurant looks like a casual pizza joint, just take one bite of one of Reno’s specials and you’ll know that this is not a random pizza joint.

Imagine our excitement when we found out that the Hoxallaris were opening their second Basta Pasta! This new one, in Quincy, has a full bar, full service, and also offers a wider menu selection that includes several seafood dishes, dessert, and coffee.

They finally opened in October, and we FINALLY had a chance to visit last week.

We had a fabulous time.
Antipasto
Antipasto with Grilled Fennel, Roasted Red Peppers, and Italian Cured Meat.  The vegetables tasted great and the cured meat was fine.  I’m not a big cured meat fan, so I only thought it was OK.  Bryan said “the salami is pretty good!”  I actually do not know if this is on the menu, but Reno treated us to this starter to welcome us to his new restaurant.
BastaPastaEnoteca
We tried four appetizers.  Upper left: Sauteed calamari with garlic, capers, olives, and tomato sauce ($6.95) Upper Right: Sauteed  Shrimp and Clams [this was a special because they had run out of PEI mussels, which are usually on the menu] Lower Left: grilled shrimp and arugula salad [this was the special of the day], and the Mini Arancinis ($5.50) – deep fried rice balls stuffed with Fontina cheese.

We have had the Sauteed calamari and Mini Arancinis many many times in Cambridge, and they both tasted the same here.  The calamari has great flavor, and tastes especially good with the grilled flat bread that comes with the dish.  The Mini Arancinis are really good too.  Eat it quickly though!  I waited too long to eat mine and it had turned cold and soggy.  It’s delicious when it’s fresh! We thought the shrimp was just slightly overcooked in the Shrimp and Arugula salad, although it was perfectly cooked in the Sauteed  Shrimp and Clams, which we all agreed was the best appetizer. The flavors in this dish were beautifully fragrant, with that aromatic broth you can only get from seafood.  Long after the shellfish was eaten, we continued to dip bread into the broth because it was THAT good!

Handmade Fusilli from Basta Pasta
They make their own homemade fusilli, which has an incredibly delicious chewy texture.  It’s totally worth the extra $1.95 to get fusilli as your pasta option.
Butternut Squash ravioli
I ordered the special of the day: Butternut Squash ravioli in a Brown butter Sage sauce ($18).  These were clearly homemade, and the texture was incredible.  I couldn’t stop chewing it!  The mushrooms were also very flavorful, having absorbed much flavors from the sauce.  The arugula added a nice peppery balance to the dish.  I really loved it. Yum.  Reno is an excellent cook and I have always loved his specials at the Cambridge location.
Frutti di Mare from Basta Pasta
One person ordered the Frutti di Mare with Linguini ($18.95), one of the several dishes that is unique to this location.  The seafood was fresh, and the flavors were delicious.  Furthermore, the portions are large and generous – we both took a significant amount of pasta home with us.
Orrechiette with broccoli rabe and sausage
Another person ordered the Orrechiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage [this was another special of the day].  I’ve had this at the other Basta Pasta before, and it’s pretty good.  The pasta was cooked to a good al dente texture and the ingredients were fresh.
Frutti di Mare with Fusilli
Bryan ordered the Frutti di Mare with Fusilli (same as above but with fusilli) – $18.95 (plus $1.95 for the fusilli).. This dish was an excellent value.  The portion size was generous and there was a lot of seafood.
Brick Oven from Basta Pasta
As we were enjoying our meal, Reno stopped by and excitedly told us about the new brick oven they had at this place. Check it out! We tried a simple Marguerita Pizza ($11.95).  It was fantastic.  The brick oven really makes a difference, and this pizza is actually BETTER than the ones made in the commercial ovens at the Cambridge location.  The pizzas range between $12 and $13 and are personal sized.
Marguerita Pizza from Basta Pasta
This location also has dessert, so we had to try all of them.  We tried the Homemade Cannoli ($4) and the Homemade Tiramisu ($5).  Both are solid, though not as good at the ones you can find in the North End.  The cannoli has a pretty good shell – solid with a hefty crunch.  The filling was pretty good and not too sweet.  Each order comes with 2 cannolis, so I shared an order with Bryan.
Cannoli from Basta Pasta
We also tried the Homemade Tiramisu, which definitely had a strong rum flavor (maybe just a tad too strong).  I thought it was OK – there are lots of tiramisus that I like better than this one.  It could be a matter of personal preference, I’m no sure. This tiramisu is still not bad, just nothing special.

We enjoyed a few espressos with the desserts.
Tiramisu from Basta Pasta
Over all, we think this place is a great addition to the Quincy dining scene, and personally I’m more than just a little jealous of people who live in Quincy.  I would love to have a restaurant like this near me. We have always wished that the Basta Pasta in Cambridge sold alcohol and seafood.  Furthermore, Reno’s an amazing cook, and he’s cooking full time in Quincy now.

We’re going back next week!

Basta Pasta Enoteca
150 Hancock St
Quincy, MA 02171-1706
(617) 479-7979
Basta Pasta Enoteca on Urbanspoon

©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
All Rights Reserved

Filed Under: Restaurant, Review Tagged With: Italian, Pasta

« Ma Peche (Momofuku Midtown)
Chinese Sticky Rice (Nuo Mi Fan) »

Recent Posts

  • L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Hong Kong January 18, 2021
  • Nostalgic Reminders of Home: Five Guys Hong Kong January 6, 2021
  • Elementary Hong Kong January 5, 2021
  • Happy New Year 2021! A Look Back at 2020 January 1, 2021
  • Restaurant Le George Paris December 29, 2020
  • Nice Yakiniku and Fine Wine Hong Kong December 28, 2020
  • Merry Christmas 2020 December 25, 2020
  • Sushi Shikon Autumn 2020 December 24, 2020

Latest Chinese recipes!

Comments

  1. Diana Bauman says

    November 24, 2009 at 9:25 am

    I want to taste the ravioli filled with butternut squash. Lovely photos and descriptions!

    Reply
  2. Lindsey@pickyeatings says

    November 24, 2009 at 10:42 am

    This place looks delish!

    Reply
  3. Sean says

    November 24, 2009 at 12:50 pm

    I was surprised to see how reasonable the prices were reading through your post (the portions seem real generous also).

    I have a soft spot for anything in a brown butter sauce in the fall and that orrechiette with broccoli rabe and sausage was pretty nostalgic also.

    Good stuff!

    Reply
  4. and this blog says

    November 24, 2009 at 1:56 pm

    we have a basta pasta in nyc that i love, but i think this one is dif…. looks really good too tough… lover ur pics as usual =)

    Reply
  5. Chow and Chatter says

    November 24, 2009 at 6:08 pm

    oh wow what an awesome feast oh and that pizza looks to die for

    Reply
  6. wasabi prime says

    November 25, 2009 at 1:01 pm

    Oh snap… you had me at antipasto. That platter looks beautiful. I think the one thing I covet most, funny enough, is the oven. Short of drilling a hole into the Earth’s core, it would be great to have a brick oven like that, with its amazing heat intensity!

    Reply
  7. Anonymous says

    November 25, 2009 at 8:41 pm

    Hi Jen:

    Made plans to go there for dinner with a friend of mine who lives in Quincy.

    Thanks for the pointer.
    Have a great thanksgiving.

    — rouilj

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome to Tiny Urban Kitchen!

JenChe

Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am a Boston to Hong Kong transplant, born and raised in Ohio with parents from Taiwan. Feel free to head on over to the About page if you want to learn more about me, or just explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Archives

Categories

Awards

Saveur
PFB

BostonGlobe

Most Recent Posts

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Hong Kong

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Hong Kong

Five Guys Hong  Kong

Nostalgic Reminders of Home: Five Guys Hong Kong

Elementary HK

Elementary Hong Kong

Happy New Year 2021! A Look Back at 2020

Restaurant Le George Paris

Restaurant Le George Paris

Great Yakiniku and Fine Wine

Nice Yakiniku and Fine Wine Hong Kong

Merry Christmas 2020

Sushi Shikon Autumn 2020

Foodhallen + Amsterdam Eats and Museums

4850 Restaurant Amsterdam

4850 Amsterdam – Nordic Inspired Creative Food

France!

Yam'Tcha Paris
David Toutain Paris
Divellec Paris
Breizh Cafe Paris
Clamato Paris

Kawaii! (Cute)

Norway!

Food Advertising by logo

Chinese Recipes

Okra with Chicken
Food Advertising by logo

Shop & Support us!

Spain!

Girona Spain
Amelia San Sebastian

Japan!

Bulgari Il Ristorante Luca Fantin
Sukiyaki Imafuku Tokyo
Sushi Ishimaya Tokyo
Disney Sea Tokyo
Tempura Fukamachi Tokyo
Shinjuku Gyoen

Cambridge restaurants

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress