“Bastone is intended to be noticed on the sidewalk. The large, bright red sign stands out dramatically against the building’s white facade. At the intersection of 8th Street and Howell Mill Road, chef Pat Pascarella’s newest restaurant Bastone Atlanta is currently welcoming diners.
Bastone, located at 887 Howell Mill Road in the former Boacado space, took its name from the ace of clubs in the Italian Neapolitan card deck and was Pascarella’s grandfather’s favorite playing card.
What is exciting about it?
In West Midtown Atlanta, you’ll find Bastone, a bar known for its mozzarella and wine. They’ve recently started serving a mouth-watering brunch. Chef Pat Pascarella is planning to open Bastone in Atlanta mozzarella bar in the former Bocado space later this year. This comes after he successfully opened his second Italian restaurant, Grana, in Piedmont Heights and oversaw a renovation that added a patio to his Italian restaurant, the White Bull, in Decatur.
Bocado’s Howell Mill Road store had been open for 12 years when it finally closed in March. No explanation was given for the decision to end operations.
From what you can see from their website, the mainstays of the Bastone Atlanta menu are the Pascarella specialty of hand-made pasta served with a selection of wines and drinks created with mozzarella and cheeses imported from around the world.
In 2018, Pascarella established The White Bull near Decatur Square. There are about 16 items on the menu, four being pasta cooked from flour ground right there in the restaurant. As the American author, Ernest Hemingway once put it, “the white bull” is the blank sheet that must be overcome to create a masterpiece.
To enhance the outside sitting options, Pascarella temporarily closed the White Bull in April 2020 to repair the kitchen and modernize specific equipment, install new floor-to-ceiling glass windows in the front, and build a new patio in the back. The White Bull also features a retail section at the front where you can buy pasta, sauces, and meatballs to take home.
Atmosphere:
There will be 70 seats inside, 16 of which are in the pasta kitchen, and 100 chairs on the front and back patios.
White brick and subway tile, marble worktops, leather tufted bar stools, and camel banquettes, and exposed metal ceilings will all be part of the decor.
The main eating area is divided from the bar, and there will be a pasta-making room/private dining section off the rear patio.
Menu
Each night, Bastone serves ten different types of pasta, eight of which are prepared fresh from scratch in the dough room. According to Pascarella, the White Bull in Decatur has successfully switched up its menu twice or thrice a week.
Like a meal served at the White Bull, the raviolo here is a riff on the original. Bolduc and Pascarella experimented with making pasta in the shape of a doughnut. After being filled with lobster and ricotta, the pasta is topped with shrimp, nduja (a spicy salami), and tomato sauce spiked with Calabrian chilis.
The busy Pollo Genovese in Bastone is another option. Using a foundation of chicken and onions, ragu is blended with hand-rolled busiate (similar to long macaroni noodles) and topped with peppercorns and fondue. According to Bolduc, it’s pretty reassuring, much like chicken and dumplings.
At first, Bastone will only serve supper, but they plan to add lunch and brunch in the following months. In addition to table service, customers can order food for takeout or delivery.
The time of opening is 4-10 pm. Time: 4-11 pm Sunday-Thursday Fridays-Saturdays.
Conclusion:
Bastone is Pascarella’s most ambitious restaurant to date, realizing a lifelong ambition of the chef to have his establishments become a proving ground for the city’s next generation of culinary talent and pasta makers.
