Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I agree with the comment above and for years I used to eat at Basta Pasta sometimes even twice a day.

* When Reno cooks, the food is amazing beyond words -- you can point to anything on the menu and it'll be good, e.g. even the hamburgers are amongst the best I've had in Boston.

* Several months ago, Altin and a new chef joined on pasta and they're not as amazing but still decent.

* Last month, I walked in and saw completely different staff in the kitchen. The recent cook(s) are pretty bad:
- The penne was underdone (I like al dente but the pasta was actually undercooked).
- The Bolognese was poorly made and tasted strongly of garlic [powder?].
- The Squashed Olives was inedible and almost made me gag -- dry, tasteless, sticky with clumps of cheese.
- The Arancini was over-fried and didn't come with enough sauce.

I sympathize that Reno is opening a new Basta Pasta so he can't be in Cambridge all the time, but I hope that the quality at least improves to a minimal level or they replace their current cooks.