He soon hired Alan Henkin, formerly of Frasca Food & Wine, 1738 Pearl Street, to consult on his beverage program, and Henkin, the dining room presence Whitaker wanted, has now bought in as a partner.
A trained sommelier and bartender, Henkin is pushing forward the beverage program at Pizzeria Basta. He and Whitaker just rolled out Sundays with Al, which will have Henkin digging up some geeky wines, beers and coffee from LaMill (including a roast that was done exclusively for Benu, Corey Lee's new restaurant in San Francisco, of which Basta managed to get a small allocation). The roster of beverages will be paired with family-style dishes, and the regular menu will still be available, as well.
Whitaker and Henkin aren't pursuing a full liquor license (yet), but they did just purchase their first keg of wine from Infinite Monkey Theorem, which should arrive in the next couple of weeks. And that will make the restaurant the first place in Boulder to serve wine on tap.
