Hot pork happiness at Pizzeria Basta
Pizzeria Basta is a people-pleasing kind of place. It serves homemade, wood-fired pizza, which makes almost everyone smile, and it even caters to the rare freaks who don’t like pizza with a triumphant lunch sandwich: a hot hunk of juicy pork love.
No, it doesn’t have a funny name. Just like every other restaurant in Boulder, Basta switches up its menu to fit with the seasons and locally available ingredients, so it didn’t waste time coming up with an appropriate moniker. It’s just the “hot” sandwich, as opposed to the cold choice.
Again, because this is Boulder, the sandwich’s preparation utilizes a super-trendy cooking technique: pork sous-vide. It’s fairly simple: Meat is vacuum-sealed (“sous-vide” is French for “vacuum”) inside an airtight pouch, then submerged in a water bath for hours. The water is kept at a lower temperature than, say, the boiling water used for poaching—hence the long cooking time. Basta cooks its pork sous-vide for 12 hours, resulting in an evenly cooked, incredibly moist meat. Et voila: C’est sous-vide!
The hot sandwich piles the succulent pork, made of pricey Berkshire hogs, on an airy bun, and takes a minimalist approach to toppings: spicy mustard, pickled jalapeños, and melted Wisconsin cheddar. It’s an odd little number for a pizza place—the cold sandwich offering features more predictable fillings, like pesto and mozzarella—but it’s so good that the cultural disconnect doesn’t matter.
The mustard and pork make Basta’s sandwich kind of a cockeyed Cubano. The cheese is melted perfectly, a little crisp at the edges and tangy inside, making a nice counterpoint to the slightly sweet jalapeños. Keep a fork handy: Thin slices of pork tumble out of the sandwich throughout the meal, creating a small heap on the wooden plank that serves as a plate. Think of it as dessert.
One of the best things about Basta’s pork masterpiece is the price: $8 for a meat-stuffed half-sandwich the size of a chunky guinea pig. A full sandwich is $12, but it should be reserved for the most Herculean of appetites. The half will sit in your stomach like a burly Occupy protester for the rest of the day—no side items needed.
Another best thing? The bread. It’s actually a lump of Basta’s pizza dough, thrown in the oven and puffed up into a roll of sorts. It’s light and soft, with a delicate, slightly salty flavor. Combine the tender, freshly baked bread with silken slices of meat, and it’s piggy rapture.
Just remember: Menus can and do change, especially in this age of local/seasonal obsessions. Basta will always have pizza, but the pork sandwich could be gone with a springtime breeze.
