660674 Mon Oct 19 08:34:19 -0700 2009 38 12 Boston Area 0 5114159 Basta Pasta opened today @ 11;30am. Mon Oct 19 08:34:19 -0700 2009 113423 pjr 1 5114297 I looked in the other thread but couldnt tell where exactly it is .... Mon Oct 19 09:18:36 -0700 2009 5114159 43893 C. Hamster 2 5114317 It is in North Quincy on Hancock Street, just north of the North Qunicy MBTA stop. Mon Oct 19 09:26:10 -0700 2009 5114297 98619 Delhiwala 2 5114438 The old Tullio's location. Mon Oct 19 10:01:46 -0700 2009 5114297 26213 Pegmeister 3 5114708 THANKS! Mon Oct 19 11:39:29 -0700 2009 5114438 43893 C. Hamster 1 5119189 Has anyone tried it yet? Wed Oct 21 04:45:22 -0700 2009 5114159 1081696 Chocomom 2 5119208 It's 2 minutes from my house, I'm giving them at least a month to iron out the kinks. Wed Oct 21 05:01:24 -0700 2009 5119189 279409 typhoonfish 3 5120524 Great, I'll await your review before I give it a try. Wed Oct 21 13:09:30 -0700 2009 5119208 1081696 Chocomom 3 5120574 A month? This ain't fine dining. This is pasta and sauce. Wed Oct 21 13:23:05 -0700 2009 5119208 10820 Blumie 4 5123690 I was just about to post this verbatim when I read your post... Also the price point is quite low, so not a lot of risk to giving it a try. Thu Oct 22 15:51:06 -0700 2009 5120574 13687 Gabatta 2 5119845 Yesterday around 7:30 pm I went by the place, and the parking lot was full. Wed Oct 21 09:45:59 -0700 2009 5119189 98619 Delhiwala 1 5120581 I look forward to hearing reviews for the new location. We've been waiting for a good Italian place in the area. Their menu looks promising. http://www.bastapastacambridge.com/quincymenunowopen.html Wed Oct 21 13:26:04 -0700 2009 5114159 12723 mangorita 1 5139576 Not real busy last night at 6:00. There was no one at the bar and maybe 10 people dining at tables. I really only sampled the meatball sandwich so not much to make a post about. Sandwich was okay, bread held up to the meatballs, but the sauce needed something. House wine was $9 for a Blackstone merlot which I thought was a little over the top for the less than generous pour. All in all I would give it another shot, although probably just for a takeout since it's minutes from my house. My first impression is that this place is a step above your average sub shop. Thu Oct 29 04:45:59 -0700 2009 5114159 26213 Pegmeister 1 5140399 I just took out an Italiano Pollo panini and an order of canoli for lunch 10 minutes ago. The panini is huge and I am splitting with my coworker . I liked the panini, the bread is the rustic ciabatta, not as oily/greasy as ficaccia. the filling (pesto sauce, grilledchicken, mozzarella, etc) is just right (Not as salty as Panera Bread). 2 big canoli per order ($4) are also good. the filling seemed a bit runny but the shell is crispy. the kitchen and the order taking seem to be still trying to work out the kinks. While I was waiting, all the eat-in orders are on panini - so that must be good at least for now. I will defnitely come back to try their pasta and pizza...it will be a good take-out place when I don't feel like cooking. Thu Oct 29 10:09:23 -0700 2009 5114159 219721 foodie_the_cat 2 5143907 Basta Pasta's Quincy's new website is" www.bastapastaenoteca.com/ : Fri Oct 30 15:05:36 -0700 2009 5140399 113423 pjr 3 5144085 What's up with the no takeout after 5pm? Menu certainly doesn't make it look like they're striving for the fine dining market and encouraging everyone to eat there. Seems like they'd only be limiting their own business. That immediate area is close to several apartment complexes, which house a lot of young professionals and students - many of whom would probably visit for takeout more often than always wanting to dine in. Fri Oct 30 16:38:01 -0700 2009 5143907 13028 kobuta 4 5144884 I stopped in for take out last week at 7 p.m. and was shocked when they said that they didn't do take out after 5 p.m. Bad business decision. I left and did not give them any of my money. I still want to try it, but we need some good Italian take out in Quincy -- not the cookie cutter pizza place with sub-par pasta on the menu. Sat Oct 31 07:52:38 -0700 2009 5144085 217216 FeastNut2008 5 5145352 Yeah, boggles the mind. I would've at least tried for takeout since I'm only minutes away myself. Oh wells, guess they don't need my business. Sat Oct 31 12:34:00 -0700 2009 5144884 13028 kobuta 6 5148551 That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. What kind of place with pizza doesn't even let you get a pizza to go? I was hoping this place could be added to my rotation, but this attitude is strangely off-putting. Mon Nov 02 06:30:46 -0800 2009 5145352 24968 EmmaFrances 7 5148570 Why is everyone assuming it's an "attitude" issue? Some kitchens just don't have the capacity properly to service in-house diners and take out orders. So rather than piss everyone off by doing it badly, doesn't it make a lot of sense not to do it at all? If they serve delicious food in their dining room, why would you avoid eating there just because they don't also do takeout? Mon Nov 02 06:37:35 -0800 2009 5148551 10820 Blumie 8 5148606 Quincy is home to a lot of single professionals, who may not want to sit in and eat after a long day of work. Makes sense to me. The stretch they are in is more residential than commercial - offering takeout is good business sense. If they're doing takeout at lunch - which should get busy with the nearby businesses of State St, BDS, etc. - then they will need to handle high volume takeout. This is not to suggest that when I want to dine in, I'd snub this place. But dine-in for me means visiting a few times a year. If they did take out, they might actually get my business a few times a month. Mon Nov 02 06:55:35 -0800 2009 5148570 13028 kobuta 9 5148712 You're missing the point. I'm not arguing that there is not a potentially strong market for a good takeout business in Quincy, I'm suggesting that perhaps they've made the decision that it's a capacity issue -- perhaps they just don't have the capacity in the kitchen to service the takeout business. This is pure speculation on my part, but given the strong takeout business they do in Cambridge, I don't know why else they would make this decision. But in any event, I certainly would not avoid a restaurant simply because they did not offer takeout. That's just silly. Mon Nov 02 07:33:28 -0800 2009 5148606 10820 Blumie 10 5148791 I was going to agree with you about the "attitude" thing, but take a look at their website. Right there in bold letters NO TAKEOUT AFTER 5:00. Probably would have been best to tone it down. For me, I can still get take out because I get out of work so early. Mon Nov 02 07:58:16 -0800 2009 5148712 26213 Pegmeister 11 5149379 Peg they heard you! They changed the website... Mon Nov 02 10:45:40 -0800 2009 5148791 13028 kobuta 12 5149716 That's cool. It shows they are listening and maybe they'll change their policy. Mon Nov 02 12:29:56 -0800 2009 5149379 26213 Pegmeister 13 5149846 They also added a "for now" in front of the policy, which I hope means that they will consider changing it in the future. It just seems unusual for a place that serves pizza. I won't discount them entirely, but like others, I'm more inclined to do take out on a regular basis than eat in, and I was looking forward to another option. Mon Nov 02 12:58:42 -0800 2009 5149716 24968 EmmaFrances 10 5149390 Actually I got your point in the first note. The irony is that I would think they might be busier during lunch hours due to the bigger corporate offices a few streets down (hence why I find it odd not to offer takeout for dinner too). Mon Nov 02 10:49:46 -0800 2009 5148712 13028 kobuta 11 5149448 With a new baby, the only way we're going to eat there is with take out. Gennaro's will stay top dog, I guess Mon Nov 02 11:08:59 -0800 2009 5149390 279409 typhoonfish 12 5150652 They are limiting take out until they get settled. When things are running more smoothly they said they would expand take out hours. Mon Nov 02 17:14:14 -0800 2009 5149448 113423 pjr 12 5184944 I haven't been to Gennaro's for so long! I'm not in Quincy anymore, and I miss going there, and getting pizza from the Alumni, and goodies from Kam mkt... Mon Nov 16 06:02:11 -0800 2009 5149448 1090797 CookieLee 2 5158808 I went with my family, and it was decent, but still needs some work. One odd thing is that there are no non-starch entrees (all entrees are pizza or pasta). The table bread is ok, but not awesome. The Caesar salad was ok, but the leaves weren't dried properly so the dressing got slightly watered down, and the grated cheese was grated a while ago by someone far away. The homemade fusilli has a great texture and taste, and the red sauce is decent, although a bit heavy on the oregano. And the ravioli was decent, but not fresh made. The meat balls were good. But the one big problem we had was the Aglio Olio sauce was way too garlicy, even for someone who loves tons of garlic raw or cooked. (They did take it off the bill after my wife couldn't eat it and we complained.) They did have a fair amount of business and apparently only we were confused about which door to use, it was a bit loud inside especially since the side door was open for temperature reasons but the train goes right by there. So, not either perfect or cheap, but worth going to again for us. Thu Nov 05 12:34:06 -0800 2009 5140399 167065 winq 1 5184421 I have eaten there twice already. SUPER INEXPENSIVE, especially for what you get. There are about 15 different pasta options, four rissotto options, wood fired pizzas, and paninis. Great inexpensive wine list and appetizer options. The arancini (rice balls) are fantastic. Definitely get the homeade fusilli pasta. It's amazing!! A lot of times you can't even get homemade pasta in the north end so this speaks volumes of this Quincy italian restaurant- they definitely know what they are doing. The waitstaff was on point. They have a great bar to wait at while you are waiting to be seated. I will be back several times a year!! Can't beat the price, service and food. This is the kind of place you go to when you don't feel like eating at home but don't want to go too far or spend too much to get something great to eat. Way better than Tullio's ever was even with the original owners. definitely GO HERE! PS: I have eaten at some of the most expensive restaurants in Boston frequently and I think it's silly that people are upset about the whole "take out" thing- they do it, they don't, whatever. Maybe it's just not that kind of place. Try the Outback and good luck with that. I heard there's a million sub shops in Quincy! Bon apetit! Sun Nov 15 19:45:14 -0800 2009 5114159 1124864 MandyKate 2 5184847 Welcome new poster. I can't help but wonder if you happen to work there? I'm also curious why you would only go several times a year if it's that tremendous? That said, I'll proably give it another try, although $9 for a house merlot is not inexpensive IMO. Mon Nov 16 04:50:19 -0800 2009 5184421 26213 Pegmeister 3 5185835 LOL, peg! Mon Nov 16 10:55:49 -0800 2009 5184847 43893 C. Hamster 2 5185630 I think Alfredo's in Quincy also serves (and sells) homemade pasta. Not a comparison of what's better, but just to point out that Basta Pasta isn't unique in this aspect in Quincy at least. Mon Nov 16 09:55:01 -0800 2009 5184421 13028 kobuta 3 5185886 There is the Alfredo's store in Quincy Sq that sells fresh and frozen items, as well as dry goods. Do you mean the restaurant sells homemade past as well? Mon Nov 16 11:14:08 -0800 2009 5185630 1090797 CookieLee 4 5185981 FYI--some of the pasts's at Gennaro's are home made (the clearly hand-shaped, delicious fusilli comes to mind and are "wicked"--and I mean flippin' wicked--good! Mon Nov 16 11:49:34 -0800 2009 5185886 18253 SeaSide Tomato 5 5186156 I used to do deliveries to Gennaro's for my aunt's paper company early in the morning. Gerry would be making everything from scratch early in the morning every time I was there. For my money, I still think they are the best. I haven't tried Basta yet. Mon Nov 16 12:43:36 -0800 2009 5185981 279409 typhoonfish 5 5187201 Oh, I know that! I just don't get the opportunity to go there these days. I think we'll have to make a special trip. Mon Nov 16 18:29:28 -0800 2009 5185981 1090797 CookieLee