Basta Pasta, a Japanese restaurant serving Italian dishes. was established in Tokyo Japan 1985, which was designed after the TV program Iron Chef with a totally open kitchen as a Kitchen Theater.
As soon as the waiter brought our glass of water, we were served a slice of toast with gorgonzola and mascarpone cheese. A basket of freshly baked bread and breadsticks and virgin olive oil for dipping was brought in with our glass of Pinot Grigio.
For my Antipasti, I had the Tortino di Granchio Crab meat, avocado, green apples, Yukon gold potatoes & basil aioli with grapefruit jelly, daikon radishes & chayote
Trina had the Frittura di Mare con Verdura Primavera "Kakiage" in tomato sauce (mixed shrimp, sea scallops & spring vegetables tempura
My Primi Platti was the Penne with shrimp with cauliflower in vodka sauce
Trina's Primi Piatti was the Spaghetti con Uova di Pesce(translation: Spaghetti with tobiko (flying fish roe) & shiso(Japanese basil))
And finally, for dessert, we had the Tiramisu.
Maybe next time, we will try their famous Spaghetti Con Prosciutto E Parmigiano (spaghetti with parmigiano reggiano and parma prosciutto) served in half a wheel of parmesan cheese at table. No, we did not have this dish. I figure, I can make this dish with so few ingredients.
For anyone interested, here's the information
Basta Pasta
37 W 17th St
New York, NY 10011-5503
www.bastapastanyc.com
(212) 366-0888
we had crab cakes, oysters, mussels and usual sides such as fries, coleslaw and green salad
Unfortunately, there was not a picture of the clam chowder soup which everyone consumed before I can take a picture. 
for dessert, we had the "americanized" version of leche flan
As soon as the waiter brought our glass of water, we were served a slice of toast with gorgonzola and mascarpone cheese. A basket of freshly baked bread and breadsticks and virgin olive oil for dipping was brought in with our glass of Pinot Grigio. 
For my Antipasti, I had the Tortino di Granchio Crab meat, avocado, green apples, Yukon gold potatoes & basil aioli with grapefruit jelly, daikon radishes & chayote
Trina had the Frittura di Mare con Verdura Primavera "Kakiage" in tomato sauce (mixed shrimp, sea scallops & spring vegetables tempura
My Primi Platti was the Penne with shrimp with cauliflower in vodka sauce
Trina's Primi Piatti was the Spaghetti con Uova di Pesce(translation: Spaghetti with tobiko (flying fish roe) & shiso(Japanese basil))
And finally, for dessert, we had the Tiramisu.
Trina was dying to eat oysters. I tried only one. I was reserving my appetite for the dungeness crab. We did not expect to pay so much for the crab. I wonder why they have to remove the "taba", and I wish they serve vinegar as dipping sauce for the crabs.
The mussels with chili in coconut sauce was so good.
The clam chowder soup was served by mistake. I took two spoonfuls to taste but we ended up not eating it, although the waiter did not remove the dish. There was too much food and not enough space for my tummy for something we did not order.
Of course, Starbucks coffee house.
another conveyor belt sushi restaurant - Sushi land in Queen Anne area of Seattle.
French bakery at Pike Market
Seattle Chinatown - We were late for the dimsum eat-all-you-can lunch hour.
