John Volo
My wife and I took my parents and brother (all in town for the
holidays) to dinner at Basilico's Pasta e Vino. We signed the waiting
list posted outside and braved the cold for 20 minutes before being
seated inside the cozy (35-40 persons) dining room. We settled in
with a round of Moretti's (an Italian beer) and a basket of warm
bread before eyeballing the menu.
The menu surprised me -- not a single veal entree and only one
chicken dish. There were, however, several sandwich options (for
dinner?) and plenty of pasta.
For appetizers, we ordered caprese salad ($7.95) and risotto cakes
($4.50). The caprese is a plate-long pattern of thickly sliced
mozzarella overlapping a full basil leaf, overlapping sliced roma
tomato, all lightly drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The
risotto cakes (Italian rice in the shape of a mini bundt cake) are
coated with a balsamic vinaigrette sauce that creates a caramelized
texture outside. The inside remains soft and creamy. It was served on
a bed of spinach leaves and arugula. Both appetizers far exceeded my
expectations.
I was surprised once again: this time by the enormity of our
dinners (all served in huge bowls). I knew, even for a big eater like
myself, finishing my cavatelli pasta with Milanese ($10.95) would be
challenging. The cavatelli, a canoe-shaped pasta, was tossed in an
olive oil and garlic sauce. The Milanese (much like the beef cutlets
my Italian grandma made for Sunday dinner) is a thinly sliced steak,
breaded and deep-fried. I squirted on some juice from a lemon wedge,
took one bite and knew this was too good not to finish.
My dad and brother both enjoyed the seafood linguini ($15.95).
Shrimp, scallops (large), calamari (tentacles and all) and clams (in
an open shell) mix with linguini in what is advertised as a light
tomato sauce but actually resembles a spicy Fra Diavolo sauce.
There's an abundance of seafood and flavor in this culinary delight.
My mom (an admitted shrimpaholic) chose the linguini with shrimp
($12.95). On top of this huge mound of linguini (in an olive oil and
garlic sauce) I saw but a few shrimp. Like an archeologist digging
for ancient artifacts, I carefully forked through the linguini in
search of lost shrimp. Voila! I uncovered a plethora of hidden
shrimp. This slightly peppery dish should satisfy all shrimp lovers.
My wife selected Basilico's one and only chicken dish: the chicken
parmesan ($11.95). In my opinion, chicken parmesan is chicken
