Hey, Presto!

For someone who likes (okay, looooooooves) sugar so much, I am surprisingly lukewarm when it comes to other starchy carbs. I basically avoid potatoes (unless they're mashed), rice (unless it's in rice pudding), and I am not that crazy about pasta, probably due to too much pasta salad growing up and then in college. I like Asian noodles (for some reason, when you make pasta out of rice, I am okay with it), regular Italian food? Take it or leave it. Give me a good steak (minus the frites) and veggies any day.

So when we ended up trying Basta Pasta in Cambridgeport (maybe a 15 minute walk from the Central Square T stop) a few months ago, I wasn't looking forward to it. We were supposed to go to The Similans by Cambridgeside Galleria, but they're closed on Sunday. We ended up at Basta Pasta instead, at the suggestion of our chicken parm aficionado friends.

Surprise! Pasta I actually like! Apparently it is run by Albanians, and if you know anything about that part of the mediterranean, you know that when Albanians leave for a better life, they often end up in Italy (sadly, not always of their own volition; there is a serious problem with human trafficking, and the coast of Italy is only a speedboat ride away, but that's not the case with the owner of Basta Pasta), where he perfected the art of cheap, high quality Italian food. You have to go with the homemade pasta, though- usually the gemelli, and the cheese ravioli. I got the puttanesca sauce with the gemelli, and it was just okay. Let's just say I was set to scare away any vampires that wanted to come cuddle in bed with me that night. Not enough anchovies, and just overwhelming with garlic and spiciness. However, the first time we went, I got the cheese ravioli, and my husband got the bolognese sauce. both of them are great, as is the garlic bread. We haven't tried their pizza, but supposedly it is good. Also, this place is cheap for the quality. It's not exactly a unicorn, but it's not as common as Whole Foods or Dunkin Donuts, either.

You know this place is good b/c it is usually full of cops getting their eat on. If that's not a good recommendation, I don't know what is.

Take-away Curry

Apparently, Central Square in Cambridge is Indian Food Central. I have noticed a few Indian restaurants, but when you actually look them up, man, there are a lot! I walk by India Pavilion every day, and I knew about Shalimar, the Indian grocery store next to Harvest Co-op (and their take-out counter in the back), as well as the possibly-affiliated Shalimar restaurant across the street. But there are several more.

I decided to get Indian for lunch a few days ago, and I was faced with the daunting task of deciding which one to go to. Desi Dhaba? India Pavilion? The other one around the corner?

I decided to head towards the Charles River and go to the take-out counter in India Food and Spices, which is on River St, south of Central Square. I have tried the takeout counter in the back of Shalimar (not the restaurant but the grocery store across Mass Ave.), but it was kind of dirty, and the food was served cold (but microwaved if you desire it). The food was okay, but not good enough to pass up trying a new place.

In contrast, India Food and Spices is at least cleaner (I wouldn't say it's spotless, but it is okay), and the owner doesn't microwave the food for you, and makes the roti right there for you.

The food was quite good, although the portion was small. I think the value here is in the lunch specials, which I didn't get, since I wanted a lamb dish. The lunch values are only available for vegetarian and chicken dishes. Not only do you get the main dish, plus rice and chutney, which is standard with any entree, you also get roti, raita, and pickle. I ordered roti, raita, and pickle separately, but he only gave me the roti (at least I didn't pay for the raita and pickle, though). I also got a mango lassi and a cup of Reena's saffron pistachio ice cream, which is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, the Reena's both here and at Shalimar had a grainy taste to them, like the ice cream had melted and then refrozen. I've had Reena's before (a long time ago, though), and I don't remember it having that texture.

The best part about the meal was the onion chutney that came with my lamb korma. It was to die for! I went back to see if I could just buy a big container of it, but they don't sell it. I got prepackaged commercial frozen cilantro chutney instead, which is actually pretty good. It comes in small cups for convenient serving, and I confess that I ate a cup by myself with no bread or any other dipping starch.