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Basta's is great for a special night out
By JOCELYN HOWARD
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 14, 2002
Editor's note: This is the first in a series of occasional X-Team restaurant reviews.
Basta's Ristorante, 1625 Fourth St. S, (727) 894-7880
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Basta's is easy to find on Fourth Street in south St. Petersburg. It is an Italian restaurant that is very family friendly. Our waiter offered to divide our dinners on separate plates at no extra charge.
It is a fancy restaurant, so I suggest a nice outfit; no jeans or T-shirts. It has subdued lighting, with murals adorning the walls and a combination of booths and tables. It is fairly expensive. Appetizers range from $5 to $10, pasta from $13 to $23 and entrees from $16 to $25. It has pasta of all kinds, including primavera and fettuccine Alfredo, and other dishes with chicken, veal, seafood and steak.
As soon as we were seated, our waiter brought us hot bread with butter and a wonderful pickled onion relish that complemented the bread and butter.
We ordered two Italian classics, chicken parmigiana and veal Marsala. The chicken had a rich marinara sauce with melted mozzarella. The veal was smothered with the wine and mushroom sauce.
With every entree you have a choice of pasta or the vegetable of the day. Our vegetable was fresh, stir-fried zucchini and onions. I chose pasta, and they made it to order, with olive oil and garlic, just the way I like it. They even put in some fresh basil.
Basta's provided a relaxing, delicious evening, and I highly recommend it for a special night out.
-- Jocelyn Howard, 11, is in the sixth grade at Bay Point Middle in St. Petersburg.
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