In My Head

Trattoria L’Incontro, 2176 31st St, Astoria, NY 11105, (718) 721-3532, http://www.trattorialincontro.com/main.html

Vino di Vino, 29-21 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, NY 11105 , (718) 721-3010, http://vinodivinowinebar.com

The hubby and I wanted to treat ourselves to a nice meal out tonight and decided to try Trattoria L’Incontro, an Itlian restaurant located – yes, you guessed it - around 2.5 blocks away.  I was hesitant to try it as I’ve often been disappointed by “Italian” restaurants in the past.  Thankfully this experience was pleasantly surprising.

We arrived as early birds since we made reservations at the last minute and their openings consisted of 5:30 PM or after 9:00 PM.  The hostess was nice & friendly. 

While the menu is extensive, return patrons know that the majority of the dishes aren’t found on paper.  Our waiter, who was quite knowledgable, smiled when he told us he had about 42 specials, and silly us, we thought he was kidding!  He recited  the 25+ specials and all of their details from memory!

If you’re looking for eggplant/chicken/veal parmigiana, this isn’t for you.  Sure you’ll find these (boring!) standards here, but who orders eggplant parm at a fine Italian restaurant???

We started with two appetizers, the beef carpaccio with arugula & parmesian and the fried/stuffed zucchini flowers.  While the zucchini flowers were too over-batterd to really let their delicate flavor come through, the beef carpaccio was to die for.  Hubby and I almost orered a second serving!

As a main course, Hubby had the wild boar tasting which consisted of two wild boar & herb sausages and two lightly breaded wild boar chops.  If you like gamey meats, which we do, this was a fantastic choice!  The sausages were especially delicious with intricate flavor nuances.  I ordered a medium-rare pork chop with a port wine reduction sauce.  It came out well done… dry as a bone.  HOWEVER, the waiter talked with the maitre d’ and they both apologized profusely & insisted that I should get a new one.   Really wanting to know what that dish should taste like, I accepted. The second time, executive chef Rocco Sacramone brought it out himself and apologized for the mistake.  He too was extremely friendly.  The dish was oh-so-delicious!

Afterward we enjoyed desert and cappuccinos on the house.

Our experience was so good that I asked to thank Rocco personally if he was available.  Though it was quite busy, Rocco came out and shook our hands and thanked us after we raved about the excellent food and service.  He then invited us to enjoy some live jazz music and a glass of desert wine (on the house) next door at Vino di Vino, their sister establishment.  This cozy wine bar with with over 60 (mostly Italian) wines by the glass,  and nearly 400 bottle options, including amarone, brunello, super Tuscans, and reds from the trattoria chef’s native Abruzzo region was the perfect spot to end the evening.

Overall, Trattoria L’Incontro was worth every penney.

Le Souk, 47 Ave B, New York, NY 10009, (212) 777-5454, www.lesoukny.com

My friend Sabrina invited us to join her colleagues at a North African restaurant in Alphabet City (near the East Village) called Le Souk.  The experience of well prepared North African/Mediterranean cuisine, the ambiance, hookahs, and belly dancers made for a fun group environment.  They even had a male belly dancer, quite a fun and unexpected treat.  Later in the evening it’s also a trendy lounge though it gets way too crowded for my taste.

(Click on photo for larger version.)

Aphrodite, 33-01 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria NY 11105, 718-956-0222

After my class, the hubby, looking out for me, met me at the connecting spot where I switch trains.  Just wanted to make sure the ride was safe at that time of night.  Turns out there were plenty of normal looking people out and about.  Nothing sketchy.

I hadn’t had dinner yet, so we stopped in at Aphrodite Restaurant, a local Greek cafe.   So far the Greek food I’ve had has been ok, but nothing to write home about.  I asked our waitress what she recommended (as I was done trying to figure it out on my own).  Her suggestion was the pork & beef gyro.  I wanted meat, so I went for it.

The waitress was so nice!  She was full of smiles and happily educated us on Greek food.  She was also right.  The gyro was oh-so-yummy!  Will definitely go there again.

By the way, I got out of class just after 9:00 PM.  Rode the train home.  Walked up and down the main drag before settling on a place to eat.  By the time we were done eating, it was just after 10:00 PM. 

Did I mention that I LOVE NEW YORK?!

Corner 26 Taverna, 26-02 23rd Ave, Astoria, NY 11105, 718-777-5511 (Cash only)

For dinner, Hubby and I decided to try a local Greek restaurant called Corner 26 Taverna.  A small place, seating up to 20 indoors and maybe 15 outdoors, Taverna is homey and personal, almost like sitting in someone’s livingroom or terrace. There’s a hostess and a waitress–and she’s the same person, a friendly Grecian lady.

The menu is simple and includes traditional Greek basics. Some of the best ones to try are the appetizers including the zuccini & eggplant patties and the fried cheese (be sure to drizzle with the accompanying lemon).

As an entree I had the fried whiting and scordalia.  Whiting is a  lite-flavored flaky white fish (reminiscent of the kind you find in a frozen fish patty).  On my plate were 4 fried bodies of whiting (sans the heads) accompanied by scordalia, cold, ground mashed potatoes & fresh garlic.  The scordalia was tasty (as long as you like garlic).  The whiting was rather flavorless… nothing to write home about.

The hubby had the beef (not lamb) gyro platter which was huge and satisfying.

By the way, gyro is probably the most often mispronounced food name. Even its fans usually do not get the pronounciation correctly – whether it is mispronounced as “jee-rohs,” “jai-rohs,” “gee-rohs,” The correct Greek pronunciation is “yee-rohs.” Learn it. Love it. Live it! (Or spend the rest of your days sounding like G.W. who pronounces nuclear as “new-kew-ler” instead of “new-clee-er”.)

The prices were very reasonable.  For $50 we had 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, a caraffe of white wine, and a beer.  Tasty bites of sweet semolina & cinnamon cake were free.

Taverna Kyclades Seafood, 3307 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, NY 11105 (718) 545-8666, www.tavernakyclades.com

At around 1:30 PM today, the hubby and I decided to break from our unpacking and took a walk to find lunch.  There are a lot of choices in the area, and today’s was Taverna Kyclades Seafood at 33-08 Ditmars Blvd, (a Greek place).  While Astoria is populated by a wide variety of cultures living together in harmony, it is still primarily Greek.

I had the grilled calamari with boiled dandylion greens.  The calamari was excellent.  I’d never had cooked dandylion greens, so I figured I’d try them.  While not awful, once was enough.  They reminded me of that canned spinach Mom made us eat when we were children.

The hubby had the Greek burger and “fries”.  OMG, that was a yummy burger!  The fries consisted of potatos sliced into thin rounds and fried… a fond memory of Mom’s fries.

The restaurant is located right next to a fresh produce market.  In fact, our seat was right next to some of the fruit.  It was quite pleasant to eat our meal with the fragrance of nectarines, peachees, oranges and melons permeating the air.