<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://www.remain-silent.com/cm/YumReview/sweetbasillayout.jpg" alt="sweet basil needham MA" width="452" height="645" /></p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">images by paul r</span></p>

For some one who loves to eat and cook food as much as I do, I can be quite gastronomically ignorant sometimes. However, I am not ashamed to admit it as I am always eager to learn something new. My naivete recently reared it's head while taking a break in New England. My friends there kept buzzing about this <em>amazing</em> restaurant called Sweet Basil - "They only serve lunch and dinner", "The sandwiches are amazing", "the pasta is amazing", "it's all amazing." So of course I had to try it. 

All along i'm thinking that Sweet Basil is merely a name, not realising that <em>Sweet Basil</em> is also the name of the type of herb that is typically used in Italian cooking. { All along I thought there was just 'plain basil' and 'lemon basil' - I now know there are actually SEVERAL types of Basil. For shame! }

But I digress. 

The fact that this restaurant shares the name with a herb, should've clued me in to what I could expect from the dishes. Well paired seasoning, a distinctly fresh and home made taste yet with an edge that is without a doubt good dining.

The first thing that struck me about the restaurant was the entrance; for once you step inside Sweet Basil you are presented with a heavy floor to ceiling curtain - the sort used for theatrical entrances and what not - and a motif that appears in <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/n-new-york-2">establishments</a> that are personal favourites of mine.

A strong yet quick sweep aside of the heavy curtain reveals a double dining-roomed restaurant with walls covered in vibrant deep colour interrupted at the chair rail by a rustic ridged tin. A plethora of honey toned wood surfaces { the tables, moulding, open shelving } and vintage style light fixtures that looked like they come from <a href="http://www.schoolhouseelectric.com">Schoolhouse Electric</a>. My first impression was how from the interior alone it looked like it could be any nice, relaxed yet stylin' joint in London or Brooklyn. 

Liking the decor as much as I did, it was nothing compared to the food that was about to be served. There are several reasons why I am not a big fan of going out to eat a meal - desserts or coffee yes, but lunch or dinner not so much. Mostly because I moan that I could 'make it better at home' or that the food lacks an array of flavour or that it isn't as good as my mums { which lets face it was the standard I was raised with }. But despite a deceptively simple lunch menu of soups, salads, sandwiches and pasta's each plate no matter how familiar by name delivered a variety of flavours that are common to the palate but married in such a unique way no tastebud was left unfulfilled. 

I ordered the Sweet corn ravioli in lemon-herb sauce with tomatoes and spinach - the pasta had an ideal al dente texture, the sweetcorn so succulent I immediately wondered if it was sourced locally. I didn't expect each ingredient to stand out so clearly individually resulting in a very satisfying overall dish. The word from my friends, who ordered the baked gouda, BLT {smoked bacon, marinated tomatoes, crispy romaine and a basil aioli with homemade fries }, the interestingly named 'Steak bomb' sandwich  { gorgonzola, onions, mushrooms, roasted peppers with mixed greens }

The rare occurrence of struggling to choose only one item - as they all sounded so good. 
As for thoughts on going back - i've not been back in NY more than a week and we have already { semi-seriously } considered the feasibility of driving 4 hours to Needham, MA for lunch and 4 hours back. So it's NOT feasible right...?  I sense it