Basta Pasta

When I was growing up and we would come to NYC one of my favourite places to go was a little west village eatery called Villa Cucina Trattoria. They had a dish called the wheel of cheese, which was basically warm noodles tossed in a huge hollowed out wheel or parmigiana cheese. It was rich, creamy, and cheesy- a 10 year old's dream! 
This past week my Mom brought my cousin to NYC for her 10th birthday. We wanted to take her to Villa Cucina, but sadly it has closed. So I did some research(googled wheel of cheese) and found this place. The reviews were good and the flat-iron location worked great for us so I made a reservation. 
It was very intriguing at first glance as it is a relatively traditional Italian restaurant but it is run entirely by Asians, and there are hints of Asian flare throughout the menu. 
When we first walked into the restaurant I was a little nervous. The front had a nice sized bar and then you walked through a large open kitchen to get to the dining room. The décor left a good bit to be desired, white wall, with random mobiles hanging from the ceiling. 
Once we sat down I realized almost every table was packed with people who looked like locals,  not tourist, out for dinner with their families on Sunday night. This is always a good sign, so I took a deep breath and decided not to judge this book by its cover. 
The menu was large and there were several options in each course that were appealing to me! I started with a Caesar salad. It was a de constructed version that showed up with a large wedge of romaine and the fixings spread around it. Once I had sufficiently mixed it, it was one of the best Caesar salads I have had in a long time, delicious! We also had the asparagus appetizer which was baked baby asparagus under a crackling parmasean cheese topping. It was warm and hearty and would be a great side dish to attempt at home. 
Two of the members of my table went for the wheel of cheese pasta, which is jazzed up a bit here but the addition of prosciutto and herbs. It was divine, just like I remembered. Creamy, warm, and not heaving like a traditional cheese sauce. It was a total hit. 

I ordered the shrimp and mushroom risotto which was also delightful. The risotto was artfully prepared, which any chef knows is not the easiest task, and the flavour was wonderful as it is obviously seafood stock based. We finished off the meal with two very good deserts. One was more traditional a molten chocolate cake, the other a strawberry and crème fraiche concoction. They were great together as one was super rich while the other light a summery. 
Overall I thought this place was tremendous and exceeded what admittedly were low expectations. This will for sure be one of my new neighbourhood go-to's- as the service and food could not have been better. I look forward to going back and exploring some of the more Asian inspired dishes, as they have proven their mastery of the traditional Italian! 


So check out their website here!
*They are on Open Table!