OUR DINING DISCOVERIES:
 | | Fra Diavlo Pesce |
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| RESTAURANT: SWEET BASIL
LOCATION: 942 Great Plain Avenue, Needham 02492
PHONE: 781 444.9600
Review by EM
Overall Rating: Four Stars
I wanted to make sure that we have time to focus on dinner and our regulars. It gives me a chance to tweak anything needing my attention while knowing we haven’t over extended ourselves.
Food: Four Stars
Fresh, lively preparations of contemporary interpretations of Italian favorites in an intimate setting.
Value: Four Stars
While even suburban restaurants have been pushing prices up into the stratosphere, Sweet Basil still offers prices ranging from $7.95 for appetizers topping off at $19.95 for the priciest entrees—a good value given the generous and flavorful offerings.
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Atmosphere: Three Stars
The tiny space has expanded lately by taking over an adjacent space, but the casual, family-style setting means fellow diners are always close at hand and those waiting for a table still line the sidewalk outside.
Service: Four Stars
Friendly, unpretentious wait staff seem eager to please. No liquor or wine (though you may bring your own wine) and no desserts or coffee.
Best Dishes: Mixed greens salad served with baked Gouda, berries, and dried apricots; Prince Edward island steamed mussels; seafood Fra Diavolo; shrimp scampi; osso bucco; pappardelle Bolognese.
Things That Matter: Consistency and straight-forwardness, from the staff to the food to the prices.
Enter Sweet Basil of Needham through its new door and be warmly greeted by a smiling host. After saying how many are in our party, we wave to the owner/chef Dave Becker in the open kitchen as he keeps a keen eye on his patrons. Seated in the old part, now redecorated, we have a table of ample size and legroom. Gone is the rumble of the dishwasher, the cold air blowing on us each time the door is opened, people staring at us while we eat, hoping we will finish so they may take our table as their appetites salivate. If you are a regular at this legendary Needham restaurant, then you know exactly what mean. If you make a trip to experience Sweet Basil for the first time, then you will enjoy your dinner in a newly-expanded, tastefully decorated restaurant that serves honest, delicious food at a reasonable price.
Dave Becker has owned and been head chef and, yes, bottle washer at Sweet Basil for seven years. In those seven years, he has not raised the prices on his menu, kept many of the same employees, cooked good food and retained his low-keyed demeanor. Sweet Basil used to seat around 25 people, although not comfortably, and now seats around 50 very comfortably. When I asked Becker about the expansion, he said, “I am really psyched about it and the customers are loving it.” He has opted to close for lunch in these first few weeks of the reopening. “I wanted to make sure that we have time to focus on dinner and our regulars. It gives me a chance to tweak anything needing my attention while knowing we haven’t over extended ourselves.” Sweet Basil was due to re-open for lunch in May.
When choosing from the extensive menu at Sweet Basil, from appetizers and salads to entrees, almost every dish is large enough for two. A Caesar salad, $7.95, comes in a very large bowl with fresh romaine hearts, grated asiago, fresh anchovies and a very creamy, garlicky dressing. Another winning salad is the baked Gouda wrapped in filo dough with fresh berries and dried apricot, served over an abundant mix of greens, $9.95. Chef Becker enthusiastically describes the marriage between reduced balsamic and fresh berries and the sweet result of the two. He is on target with his description. The nice use of Gouda instead of brie wrapped in filo offers a surprisingly good twist.
Never having had any of Sweet Basil’s soups, we tried a white bean soup that was being offered as Nilson’s soup of the day, $7.95. Nilson is a long-time and devoted employee at Sweet Basil, often mistaken as the owner because he takes such good care of every patron. The vegetarian offering was a hearty, almost meaty broth that arrived steaming hot. It was a good choice on a cool night. Another enormous bowl arrived at the table when we ordered steamed mussels from the starter menu, $9.95. The Prince Edward Island mussels are cooked in garlic, wine, butter, tomatoes and olive oil that Becker said he “lovingly” talks to as they meet the depths of his steaming pot. My advice is to keep the fresh bread handy for this dish. Dunking is a must.
When asked about some of the menu items, you can hear the passion in Dave’s voice. He describes his basic reduction sauce, which appears in several of his dishes and “makes the kitchen smell like Thanksgiving every day. How great is that?” he asked. This mirepoix he speaks of is carrots, onions, celery and port wine reduced down so as to caramelize the vegetables. He then adds chicken stock and plum tomatoes to finish the sauce. It is used in two of Sweet Basil’s signature dishes: their famous chicken cacciatore, $18.95 and lamb Osso Bucco, $19.95. The cacciatore was a bit of a surprise to all since this basic stock is brown in color, not red, like a traditional cacciatore. The sauce is sweet and rich, good but not what we expected. The lamb, quoted as a special, has become such a house favorite that it now appears permanently on the take-out menu. Expect a huge lamb bone with tender meat still intact lying in a bowl of peppers, onions, carrots and Dave’s famous mirepoix. According to Becker, this dish is slow cooked for 3 1/2 hours to achieve its richness and tenderness. Too much to eat at one sitting, this dish is certain to be the next day’s lunch for both the diner and an eager pet.
Shrimp scampi, $19.95, has seven to eight large shrimp that have been sautéed in garlic, butter, tomatoes, white wine and served over house prepared linguini. The diner who ordered this asked our server if it could be prepared with less butter, oil and garlic and he was accommodated. We all agreed that the dish still had plenty of flavor and remained true to what one expects when ordering a scampi. Chef Becker liberally uses garlic in many of his dishes, starting with the pesto served with the bread basket, which arrives at every table and is refilled liberally, and continues through many of his dishes, so if your palette suffers from too much garlic then let your server know. Otherwise, beware, there is a good chance everyone at the office will know that you had garlic the night before.
Bolognese, $19.95, is prepared with beef, sausage, and mushrooms over pappardelle pasta – wide noodles – and is hearty and true to its roots. Each meat holds up through the cooking process, leaving their individual influences on every fork full.
Consistently, my favorite dish at Sweet Basil is seafood Fra Diavolo, $19.95. Again, served as an enormous portion, always the next day’s lunch, this dish uses plenty of garlic, spicy tomato sauce and a plethora of seafood: shrimp, clams, mussels, and calamari. White fish, such as cod, is added as well. Not only are there plenty of delights from the sea, there is linguine freshly made in the kitchen of Sweet Basil that soaks up the Fra Diavolo sauce. I think three people could enjoy dinner from this one entree. If there is room, your table needs to find another venue for coffee and dessert. These are unavailable at this restaurant.
What brought me originally to Sweet Basil several years ago was not only the reputation they had for excellent food, but the fact that you could bring your own wine to dinner. As a gourmand who has an ample wine cellar, this appealed to me: bring your own, be charged a $5 corkage fee and get to enjoy better wines without the typical restaurant up charges on wine. What keeps me going to Sweet Basil is the staff headed by an owner who cares, treats everyone equally (Dave swears his parents even have to wait on a Saturday night), and servers who have been there for years and who are knowledgeable and caring. The prices at Sweet Basil make it an easy destination often since you don’t pay for wine. Prices range from $7.95-$19.95 and the most expensive entree is $19.95. Two people could easily dine for less than $45, and, if hungry, you would spend perhaps $65 for two before adding tax and gratuity. Note again that the prices at Sweet Basil have never increased since Dave Becker took it over seven years ago. That’s Dave.
That’s the charm of Sweet Basil.
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