Basta Pasta

It must be true that carbohydrates are addictive, because shortly after dining at Elio's, I found myself at Basta Pasta. Basta Pasta offers Italian cuisine with a Japanese flair; its chef was born in Tokyo.

My friend and I began with the seared tuna appetizer, a slab of tender, sushi-grade tuna perked up with diced scallions, zesty wasabi mayonnaise and barely dressed arugula. After inhaling this in about 30 seconds, we moved on to the grilled squid appetizer, a salad of white beans, tomatoes and squid in a ginger balsamic vinaigrette.

Although the menu listed many intriguing second courses (example: chargrilled marinated chicken breast with shishito peppers), we suffered from the aforementioned carb addiction and ordered pasta. My spaghetti with tobiko (flying fish roe) and shiso (Japanese basil) arrived in a sauce of butter, clam juice and sea salt. Crunchy pearls of roe coated the pasta, and the shiso leaves provided an astringent foil to the richness of the dish. A classic spaghetti with mozzarella, basil and tomatoes was given a new twist with the addition of shiitake mushrooms.

We somehow found room in our bellies for dessert, and agonized over the decision between almond flan and Earl Grey gelato. The dessert special, a rum-soaked sweet brioche with strawberry preserves and whipped cream, resolved our dilemma.

This carb infusion should temporarily hold us over...

Basta Pasta: 37 W. 17th St. (212) 366-0888.