basi italia

Dine Originals Week – March 5-11

Caitlin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 03:25:39 +0000

Next week’s menu for Dine Originals: 3-course dinner $30!

Primo – Crispy Veal Sweetbreads with Duck Egg Hollandaise Sauce

Secondo – Pan Roasted Lamb T-Bone Chops with Sweat Pea Puree and Chili Lime Glaze

Dolce – Hazelnut Chocolate Terrine with Honey Caramel and Smoked Sea Salt

Welcome Rockmill Brewery to basi Italia

Trish — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 22:14:05 +0000

I just left a staff training for our newest addition to our beer list, Rockmill Brewery. After years of featuring only one beer, we are stretching out and expanding our options for our customer’s beer drinkers. We aren’t starting with just any beer. We are going straight for the most artisinal, small production beer possible. Matthew Barbee of Rockmill brewery makes his beer one barrel at a time. He hones the right combinations of the right hops, the right yeast, the right mash with local deep well water from Lancaster, Ohio, all brought together at just the right times and fermented at just the right temperature to create the most amazing aromatic beers that match with food much like wines. Our staff tasted each with items from our menu. The Saison was perfect with our Parmesan Creme Brulee,the Tripel was amazing with our Orecchiette with smoked chicken, he Dubel matches with hazelnut chocolate, and my personal favorite, the Cask Aged Tripel cut through Gorgonzola like a butter knife. I might just learn to love beer!

New Post

Trish — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 22:10:40 +0000

It is unbelievable, but this week we celebrate our 8th birthday here at basi! Many of you, who have been with us since the start, will remember when Johnny and our friend, Ron Arps, transformed Pisa Pete’s Pizza into what is now basi. They transformed a space with a few tables and a nautical theme into a warm, inviting little space. On the night we purchased the building our friends gathered there and the guys started knocking down walls and tearing up the floor. I remember with clarity, Ronnie saying to me ‘ Don’t worry, Trish, we will have it finished and open in two weeks. ” Apparently, Johnny and Ron had never dealt with city permit laws and inspectors before then. Over the next several weeks we managed to have most of our friends and family in wielding paint brushes to make it all come together. After what I now realize was a miraculous three month turn around, we were able to open up and start feeding the people. It was just that tiny indoor space. People came. More people came. Within 2 weeks were were full every night. Johnny had worked in the restaurant business for year, but I had no idea what we were getting into! It has been a roller coaster ride of love, laughter and tears ever since. Our team has become our own little family. Our neighbors and you, our guests, have made that family even larger. basi continues to be the little restaurant that could.

Each one of you who have dined with us have enriched our lives. Let’s raise a toast as we wish basi a happy 8th birthday!

Trish’s Wine Blog

Trish — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 01:21:02 +0000

This year marks our 6th year of Vino on the Veranda which starts tonight at basi. Every Thursday from 5pm to 8pm we will have wine experts on hand to teach about the featured wines of the week. It is casual and a lot of fun. Just come back on our patio and ask to sit at the wine table. Get to know your neighbors and chat up the wine rep. The chef crew usually makes us nibbles to eat. Of course if you prefer your own table that is cool, too. The wine expert will come to you and talk to you there. You can order a glass or try the whole flight. It is all first come, first serve. No reservations. We love a crowd so please join us weekly for this fun event all summer long!

How we choose our wines

Trish — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 21:40:22 +0000

Several years ago I had the opportunity to see the William Paley Collection, a beautiful and varied collection of art purchased over the lifetime of the founder of CBS and once director of the Museum of Modern Art. His method of purchasing art was not contrived or systematic. If he fell in love with it he bought it. He described a “sensuous, aesthetic delight” that he felt with the pieces of art he collected. So it is with wine for me.

There are some wines that offer that “sensuous, aesthetic delight” that I fall in love with and put on our menu with little thought for business. I wish I could put them all on the menu. But, we have limited resources, and, as I am continually reminded, we have limited storage so I have to pick and choose.

In the end we want to try options from varied regions and styles so you can have have a synergistic food and wine experience. I hope you like the wines we have chosen at basi. In the months to come I will try to post new wines. Hopefully, I will describe them with some elegance and accuracy so that you can learn and get excited about these sensual delights as I have.

Our Food

Trish — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:04:10 +0000

Specializing in Italian and Mediterranean inspired entrees, Basi offers full service dining and carry out. The menu changes seasonally to reflect locally grown produce. Sit inside the cozy interior or outside on a warm, inviting terrace where we also feature Vino on the Veranda – a wine tasting offering guest the opportunity to taste and learn more about the wines served at Basi. John and Trish bring the importance of food, friends and fellowship that they embrace in their personal lives to the restaurant setting of Basi Italia. Steaming plates of sumptuous food on intimate tables; friends and neighbors eating, drinking good wine and sharing their experiences with one another – that is Basi.

Basi reflects the lives of its owner-operators, husband and wife team John Dornback and Trish Gentile. As residents of the Short North, John and Trish understand the unique friendly quality of the Victorian Village neighborhood and strive to make Basi reflective of that quality. Basi has become the small eatery the neighbors frequent and the visitors seek out.

Our Philosophy

Trish — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:32:00 +0000

Simple, honest tradition is the core principle of “Basi Italia”. We wanted Basi to reflect the way we live our lives. As residents of the Short North, we understand the unique friendly quality of the Victorian Village neighborhood and strive to make Basi reflective of that quality. It started with the way we employed people. We needed staff, but wanted people to become part of something that was more than just a job and a paycheck. We would be feeding people and welcoming them into the world that would become “Basi Italia”. Our hope was that Basi would become that small eatery neighbors choose as their place to go for dinner and to provide a sense of community for our staff and our customers. We worked as a team, we lived as a tribe and we embraced life and the people that came our way. It was so simple, yet for us, so profound. Johnny & Trish

Our Photos

Trish — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:31:18 +0000

Adjectives are nice but a photo is worth a thousand words – that’s why our photo gallery can often convey the special atmosphere that IS basi better than mere words. From casual conversations to intimate settings, the basi photo gallery includes a dash of everything – and who knows, you might just recognize a few diners!

Chef Johnny

Trish — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:30:34 +0000

Chef John Dornback, co-owner of Basi Italia, honed his skills at Cleveland landmarks such as Ristorante Giovanni in Beachwood, Hecks Cuisine in Rocky River, and Parkers in Ohio City. In 1987 Johnny decided to pursue formal training and was off to NYC to study at The French Culinary Institute. His original plan to return to Ohio was traded for a life in Manhattan where he spent the next 15 years immersed in the city’s food culture, working with such noted chefs as David Burke at The River Café, Jonathan Waxman at Jams, and Larry Forgione at An American Place. In ’95 he took the position of Executive Chef of The Bryant Park Grill. This 1000 seat indoor/outdoor restaurant, located at 42nd street and Fifth Avenue, is the Ark Restaurant Group’s flagship restaurant location. He remained at the helm for 3 years before becoming Corporate Chef and went on to open several new properties for Ark Restaurants, including Red on the South Street Seaport and The Grill Room in the World Trade Center. In ’96 he was the recipient of the American Academy of Restaurant and Hospitality Sciences’ Five Diamond Chef Award; Johnny is very proud to point out the award was signed by the late great Frank Sinatra, who served as the President Emeritus for the Academy.

In 2000 it was time to return to Ohio and settle into Columbus with his wife and business partner, Trish Gentile. Drawing upon two decades of experience in the restaurant business, he realized his dream of creating a unique restaurant. Trish and Johnny have owned and operated Basi Italia in Columbus, Ohio for over 7 years. The name “Basi Italia,” is based loosely on Johnny’s interpretation of the Italian word basilare. Basil are refers to the sense of base or foundation and simplicity of approach or understanding. That is the basis for his style of cooking, running his business and being part of the community… a sense of simple, honest tradition to the core principles of “Basi Italia”.

Sign Up

Trish — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:28:13 +0000

Check back here to sign up to receive email updates and to find out what’s going on in the world of basi!