Norwalk nightlife and dining has always fascinated me for the simple fact that there is so much to choose from, and that there seems to be a decent, undiscovered bar or eatery on every corner of the city. It's not necessarily a big city, but it's incredibly diverse, and there's a little something for everyone. It's also a city that is smack dab in the middle of the CT Gold Coast, so it's easy enough to get to whether you live in Fairfeld or Greenwich.
The idea of Basso also appealed to me because it was in a quiet neighborhood on the Norwalk/New Canaan line, far enough from the hustle and bustle of the amateurs down at the Black Bear in South Norwalk or the wannabes at SoNo's Ginger Man. Basso also excited me because it's a BYOB restaurant. That meant that I didn't have to pay through the nose for a crappy glass or bottle of Barefoot or CK Mondavi. I instead brought a very nice bottle of Pinot Noir I had received as a birthday gift a few days prior and eagerly awaited what I would put it with.
I used Basso's website to make a reservation (which was strongly encouraged), and it was easy enough. An hour after making the online reservation, I received a phonecall from the owner himself, confirming that I still wanted my 8:00 pm table for two, and asking if I had ever been to Basso before. When I told him no, he proceeded to ramble on and on about what a wonderful experience I was in for.
Well, it certainly started off on the right note when we were greeted at the door of the small establishment (Basso is a nice place, but small and noisy) by a stunningly attractive hostess. Blessed with what appeared to be an wonderful mix of Asian and Eastern-European genes, and a figure that kept me distracted from the menu, I was pleased with my first few moments at Basso. Oh, and she was friendly too.
I'll cut to the chase now. The food was fantastic; by no means inexpensive, but delicious. The lovely female who I was with that night is an incredibly picky eater (when she chooses to eat at all), and even she was impressed with Basso. Wow. We split a grilled calamari appetizer which was fresh, tangy and tasty. From there, she had the seafood special- Grouper in some sort of creamy sauce with plantains- and I had the steak, a delicious and large portion of sirloin that was cooked to perfection.
There wasn't much room for dessert, but the homemade coconut gelato was hard to pass-up, and I'm glad we didn't.
Basso's owner and chef, Renato Donzelli, is from Italy, and many of the items on the menu are clearly Italian; but this doesn't mean that Basso should be classified as an Italian restaurant. In fact, the majority of the menu items have influences from all around the Mediterranean peninsula, as well as parts of South and Central America. That means that you can order the eggplant parm if you'd like (which I've heard is outstanding), or get some chorizo or boquerones off of the tapas menu. That's what's enjoyable about a place like Basso- it's menu isn't ridiculously large and it doesn't require three hours to read, but it's also a menu that defies classification. More importantly, it's a far cry from the run-of-the-mill quasi-upscale burger bar and pizza cafes that seem to be popping up everywhere these days. Basso is unique, somewhat upscale, but quite welcoming.
We had eaten so much that we needed to walk off the meal and wine. Lo and behold, behind Basso was a strip mall, with a Spanish restaurant that had just opened. I saw no harm in stumbling across the parking lot for an after dinner drink or two.
More on that tomorrow.
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