Sunday, December 4, 2011

Experience Columbus, Basi Italia:





“Do you want to try some of this?” Joe asked, his fork hovering over his rigatoni. “Sure, thanks! Want some pork cheek? Who wants pork cheek?” I replied, glancing around the table and pointing to my plate.

“Oh, I’d love some.” Julie remarked, holding her own dish steady while David snapped close up pictures of smoked chicken risotto.

Though most of us had only met earlier in the day, gathered around the table at Basi, I felt like the group of food bloggers (brought together by Experience Columbus for an all expenses paid trip to enjoy the city) had known each other much longer than that. Maybe it was simply the love of delicious food that made me feel closer to my new friends. Or maybe it was the atmosphere that is Basi starting to soak in.

Let's play a game, how many DSLR cameras can you spot amongst the food bloggers?

Basi is in a renovated house with a beautiful courtyard, right in the middle of the Victorian Village neighborhood in Columbus.


The style of cuisine? Mediterranean and Italian. Owners and operators John Dornback and Trish Gentile have set out to create an approachable and friendly restaurant focused on delicious dishes and bringing the surrounding neighborhood together.

We did have a wonderful meal, though I enjoyed some dishes more than others. David raved about his veal ravioli, and I still think about the tender barbecue pork cheek I ordered. I thought the smoked chicken risotto had nice flavor, but the texture was a little off--it needed more liquid and was more a pilaf than a risotto--but that's really the only complaint I had about all the dishes we tried. The honey pistachio flatbread served as an appetizer was amazing, and I could have eaten two of them for dinner by myself.

John's enthusiasm for his restaurant was infectious
It gets hot in the kitchen at Basi

Pecorino and zucchini with toasted almonds
tomato cocktail with Gorgonzola cheese
Smoked chicken risotto with medjool dates, goat cheese and crushed pistachio
Veal ravioli with blistered tomato, arugula and Parmesan broth
Rigatoni with sweet sausage, tomato, raisin, fennel and pine nuts
Penne pasta with Shrimp, roasted red pepper bechamella and spinach
Braised pork cheeks with sweet potato, espresso BBQ and braised kale and Swiss chard.
Dessert

Basi Italia on Urbanspoon

5 comments:

  1. Basi sounds like a place I’d love. Adding to the list for my next trip to Columbus. Your photos are gorgeous (as always). Enjoyed meeting you at the Todd Kelly event.

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  2. That pizza/flatbread looks amazing. Well everything does. One more restaurant to add to the growing list of places I need to try in C-Bus.

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  3. Thanks for the gorgeous photos--and the beautiful memories of that great meal and the wonderful trip. You're absolutely right about how friendly the group was, right from the start. I'm totally ready for a second helping of Columbus.

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  4. Gorgeous photos! I am so happy to have this reminder of our fun evening there since I lost all my shots from this day!

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  5. Love your photos! Most of my entries on my Louisville blog are with my crabby cell phone. What type of camera do you use? www.megabiteslouisville.com

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I try to be honest, fair and keep a good sense of humor in my posts--I would appreciate if you follow the same policy with your comments.