A Food Network Chopped champion will soon have a permanent home in Montclair.
Chef Joseph Gramaglia is poised to open Basta Alla Pasta at 5 Willow Street in Downtown Montclair. And while Italian is certainly not hard to come by in the area, the acclaimed chef tells Montclair Local that he’s “not worried about competition.”
The name employs some clever wordplay, translating to “no more pasta.” But there will be pasta. Lots of it. Unlike many other Italian restaurants in the area—which include a mix of pasta and plated entrees—pasta will be the only main course on the menu, along with a long list of appetizers, salads, and more.
With pasta front-and-center, that means making it in-house is a must. Expect handmade pastas that teeter the line between family recipes and Gramaglia originals.
Montclair Local also reports that in addition to the standard menu, Gramaglia plans on offering something akin to the Sunday Suppers he grew up eating in Jersey. That means family-style meals, built for groups of four or more. “All my sauces come from my grandmother’s recipes,” he said.
Formerly occupying the space was Urban Natural—a furniture store. This means Basta Alla Pasta’s kitchen infrastructure is being built from scratch. That’s no easy task.
When construction is done, Montclair will have a brand-new Italian restaurant on the map. Basta Alla Pasta is set to open late winter or early spring.
It will join a fierce competition of Italian restaurants in the neighborhood, but if there’s one thing to know about Jersey, it’s this: there’s never too much Italian food.
Peter Candia is the Food + Drink Editor at New Jersey Digest. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Peter found a passion for writing midway through school and never looked back. He is a former line cook, server and bartender at top-rated restaurants in the tri-state area. In addition to food, Peter enjoys politics, music, sports and anything New Jersey.
