Basil Pasta Bar cheap with good portions

Basil Pasta Bar (on Davie) has a dingy, dilapidated feel to the small place. Window seat is still the best because people don't bother looking in, and hey, it's Yaletown -- chances of a really cute/hot girl walking by once every 2 minutes or so are pretty good.

Portion sizes are good so their ad copy is no lie. For under $10 (usually $8.95) you can have a filling lunch of pasta. However, taste is mediocre, probably because the sauce tasted thin. Lots of pasta, yes, but you miss the richness that comes from good sauce. After all, pasta really just moves the sauce from the plate to your mouth.

I got the "spicy" Penne Arrabiata (spicy tomato sauce with chorizo sausage, red peppers, and garlic; garnished with fresh parsley and goat cheese) and my friend tried the Spaghetti Carbonara.

Penne Arrabiata was barely spicy but there is a mild buzz in your mouth. Otherwise tasted okay - which is to say on par (maybe even inferior to) getting your own pasta sauce from the supermarket and pouring it into pasta you boiled at home. You'd probably be too lazy to get your own chorizo and goat cheese, though so Basil Pasta Bar would still be one step ahead of you.

2016-Sep-20 - Basil Pasta Bar (davie) - Penne Arrabiata

2016-Sep-20 - Basil Pasta Bar (davie) - Spaghetti Carbonara

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