by Michael Vyskocil, photography by Nikola Tzenov
For the past nine years, Basta Pasta has been welcoming Carroll County residents and visitors from beyond the county’s borders to sit down, relax with friends and family, and enjoy great food.
Here, guests can leave the cooking to the talented culinary team directed by co-owners Ilias (Louie) Vassilaras and Yianni Livaditis.
“From the very first day, we wanted people to feel like they were stepping into a place where they are known, where portions are generous, and where meals feel like something you’d sit down to with family,” Vassilaras says. “Early on, our community really embraced that, and it has grown through relationships more than anything else.”
If you ask regulars what they love the most about Basta Pasta, they’ll likely tell you about the crab cakes. “We let the crab speak for itself,” Vassilaras says. “They are only packed with jumbo lump crab meat and very little filler.”
Vassilaras is quick to acknowledge Livaditis as the originator of the famous crab cake recipe, which remains a closely guarded secret. According to Livaditis, one crab cake can contain between 9 and 10 ounces of crab meat.
Beyond the crab cakes, Basta Pasta is renowned for its chicken parmesan, chicken alfredo, lasagna, shrimp scampi and steaks.
Each entrée comes with refillable bowls of salad and breadsticks. “People are sharing, passing plates and sitting together longer,” Vassilaras says.
“It feels more like a family gathering than just going out to eat, and I think that’s what people connect with.”
In addition to these Italian classics, the kitchen team at Basta Pasta loves to impress guests with specialties such as the Frutti Di Mare — a seafood pasta dish featuring scallops, shrimp and mussels.
Cocktails at Basta Pasta are meant for sipping and enjoying before or with your dinner. A lovely lemon lavender Prosecco spritz offers just the right notes of citrus and herbal dynamism in your glass.
The hibiscus margarita is another specialty cocktail, infused with the flavor of a house-made hibiscus nectar. This summer, guests at Basta Pasta can expect lighter, seasonal dishes, such as salads and seafood dishes, that incorporate fresh vegetables.
Appetizers like burrata — which features marinated tomatoes served with an Italian cow’s milk cheese and paired with homemade sea salt focaccia, pesto and basil oil — offer bursts of summer flavor with each bite.
Vassilaras is especially pleased to open a new private dining area this summer, “The Family Table.” Available for reservations, this intimate entertaining space will enable families and groups to enjoy good food and good company for special events and celebrations.
Just as extra-virgin olive oil and fresh herbs are essential ingredients in Basta Pasta’s cooking, so too are its customers who are equally integral in the restaurant’s success.
“We’ve watched families grow up here — kids turning into regulars, birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations, so many memories,” Vassilaras said. He adds that Basta Pasta believes in giving back to Carroll County. Through its “Hope Project” program, for example, the team helps pay off school lunch debt for local children in need.
“For us, it’s about being part of the community and supporting the people who support us,” he says. “That connection is what makes everything we do worth it.”
Basta Pasta
5957 Exchange Drive, Eldersburg
443-920-3477 • BastaEldersburg.com
