No frills, just good Italian food at Pasta Basta
Friday - March 07, 2008
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When Donato Loperfido opened his casual, no-service restaurant, Pasta Basta, almost a year ago, it was almost too much to hope that the $9 plates of pasta on the menu and the $12 entrees could compare to the heavenly offerings his Manoa restaurant offered at more than twice the price. But Donato was as good as his word, and somewhere along the line he’s even managed to break the longtime curse of the Restaurant Row location that’s seen a dozen restaurants come and go in as many years.
“I knew that in this location we would have to rely on a good lunch crowd, and then on giving people what they want for dinner,” says Donato.
“By eliminating service we’re able to pass on the savings to our customers, and we make everybody happy, including ourselves.”
The lines that form at lunchtime most days are evidence that his formula works, and in the evening savvy diners happily pass on the trappings of finer restaurants to feast on dishes like fat, fresh pappardele noodles with olive oil, asparagus and smoked salmon, Orechiette Pugliesi, and the best risotto in town.
Pasta Basta works on many levels - at lunch it satisfies a demanding office crowd protective of their precious time, and at night you can bring the kids and enjoy a bottle of wine as they devour thin crust pizza or fresh pasta.
“This is a family place,” says the irrepressible Donato. “We want people to bring the kids, make as much noise as they want ... it’s not fine dining, where you have to restrain children.”
But don’t expect fast food. “It’s quick and its fresh because its made to order,” says Donato, “but it’s not fast.”
There’s an eclectic wine list of Italian whites and reds that Donato sources and distributes through his company Flavors Of Italy.
“People can’t get enough of the wines,” he says.
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You’ll find some of his selections at Vino and Fujioka’s Wine Times, as well as on the wine list at Elua, the fine dining restaurant he opened last year with Chef Philippe Padovani. You can try most of them by the glass at Pasta Basta for as little as $6, making it easy and inexpensive to find a perfect match for your $12 entrée of Tagliatelle Boscaiola (handmade fresh spinach pasta tossed with prosciutto, chicken breast, sautéed mushrooms, olive oil and pine nuts), or $9 Penne Putanesca. “That dish,” says Donato, pointing to the Boscaiola, would have cost $25 in my Manoa restaurant.” So would any of the 20 or so other fresh pasta dishes, like Linguine Pescatore ($15), Crudaiola ($10) or Gnocchi Toscani (with Tuscan meat ragout and white truffle essence, $13). There’s a selection of grilled panini that satisfies equally for dinner, and salads that include a classic Nicoise and Caprese featuring local greens. And thin crust pizza comes from the brick wood-burning oven that after so many different owners seems finally to have found its true purpose.
Honestly, the food is so good you could point your finger at the menu with your eyes closed and still end up with some of the best Italian food in town.
And the service - well, that part’s up to you.
Pasta Basta by Donato
Restaurant Row
Monday-Friday 11.a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
pastabastabydonato.com
5-10 p.m.
Saturday 5-10 p.m.
Phone and fax orders are welcome:
Ph: 523-9999
Fax 523-9997
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