Italian v. Uni? @ Basta Pasta

Harmony asked me to join her on a food hunt.This place, on 14th Street & 6th Ave, was among the many gems around the area, which we gladly observed while we got out of the subway. Felt like a pre-meal window shopping walk.What greeted us after we opened the door and entered the space, was an open kitchen. I mean, the most open I have seen, almost like a table at the farmer's market. The meat, the stove, the squash -- everything. On the contrary of being greasy and foggy, it was so delightful as if everything was soaked in sunshine, in a picnic.The waiters led us through the open kitchen and seated us at a two-person table, parallel to tables next to us. Looking around I could see many guests in suits. Their lunch break, I guess.Three tiny pink Carnation lit up our table. Harmony and I took a close up at the flowers, trying to figure out if they were real flowers that could wither. Yes. Soon, just like how every other Italian restaurant will do, we received a basket of -- free -- bread!! We were served two kinds of bread in the basket, a grey one with raisin cut in small pieces and some sour dough. We asked for more raisin bread.Harmony ordered the uni pasta, and I, although also an uni lover, decided to go with something else -- the Risotto with Shrimp & Three Mushrooms. The pasta was cooked relatively al dante (which I like). The risotto was so satisfying with the flavor from the mushrooms.  Compared to those rice soaked in creamy pasta sauces that I used to have, this was, never enough.My remember my first attempt at uni pasta, which was about two years ago at a Japanese restaurant in San Diego; and when I saw the same dish at Basta Pasta, I was excited to see Italians embrace uni too. I thought...maybe it wasn't Japanese who came up with the idea of having uni in pastas then.Until I learned later, that Basta Pasta, is an Italian restaurant, owned by Japanese.THANK YOU.we ate two baskets of bread...very quickly. that's why they are gone in the picture.