ASTORIA SeoulFOOD: Trattoria L’incontro, Italian done right

GRUB 411:

• TRATTORIA L’INCONTRO 2176 31st Street; Astoria, NY 11105; (718) 721-3532
• TYPE: Italian
• PRICE: $$$
• OVERVIEW: After reading much hype about this place on Yelp and Chowhound, it was nice to discover the hype was well-deserved!  Delicious homemade pastas combined with fresh fish and meats makes this local Italian eatery “extra”.  But it don’t come cheap.  It’s a little pricey by Astoria standards, but worth it!
• SEOULDIVA TIP: The waiter said it gets extremely crowded, so reservations are recommended.
• SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

FULL REVIEW:

Astoria is often hyped to be one of the best destinations for delicious NYC eats.  True, there are several restaurants per block, but they don’t always blow me out of the water.  Most are average at best, but no culinary Cirque du Soleil so far.

After reading several rave reviews of Trattoria L’incontro on Yelp and Chowhound, I was hopeful, but skeptical.  I went there with my ever-knowledgeable Momma & Poppa Park for a test eat.

The interior ambience seemed very “family” — not overly bourgie, but not a dump.  Service was extremely attentive.  God bless the waiters: they have to memorize nearly 40 specials to recite to each table without cheat sheets!

VERDICT:  Hype = well-deserved!  This is just my theory, but the ingredients are really the hero at Trattoria L’incontro.  Being in Astoria, the seafood is über-fresh, making all the fish options top-notch.  Living proof that better ingredients make better food.

Not all the pasta dishes are homemade, but a good majority are.  If you’re gonna go Pasta, go FRESH!

To see the menu, click below:

• Menu – Apps & Salads
• Menu – Pastas & Risotto
• Menu – Meats & Fish
• Menu – Pizzette

Here’s  a plate-by-plate of our meal.

BREADS:

• Not sure if the sliced bread was house baked, but it was tasty nonetheless.  It also comes flanked by homemade flatbread, with a sprinkling of virgin olive oil.  Delicious.

• Tapenade: this was a pleasant combination of sun-dried tomato tapenade + olive tapenade.  The sweet/tang of the tomato offset some of the bitterness of the olive tapenade.  YUM!

APPETIZERS:

• CALAMARI FRITTI: Fried calamari. My mom ordered this as an app, but the portions could have fed all 3 of us at the table — VERY generous!  This was one of the BEST fried calamari ever; the key to its success was the freshness of the calamari.  Most restaurants use frozen fried calamari — not here!  It was also not laden with breading, very light, juicy and delicious.  SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• DELLE VALLI:  dried sausage, roasted peppers and mozzarella. Again, the portions were very generous.  My dad ordered this one, but nothing special here — the dish is exactly what the description says it is.  Nothing more, nothing less.  I tried 2 types of salami on the plate, but neither were anything special.  You could buy the contents of this dish at your local gourmet specialty store.    SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• POLPO ALLA BRACE:  Grilled octopus. I definitely won the appetizer round.  I was initially a little concerned the octopus would be a little tough grilled, but Trattoria L’Incontro has impeccable freshness when it comes to seafood.  The octopus sat on a bed of fresh arugula, drizzled in balsamic vinegar, a touch of olive oil and…*cringe*…some dried oregano flakes.  I cringe because dried oregano flakes seem very “pizzeria” to me, but the dish was fabulous, despite the unwelcome condiment.  SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥¾ / ♥♥♥♥♥

ENTRÉES:

• CARRE D’AGNELLO:  Rack of lamb seasoned with homemade spices. My dad ordered this.  Although this is very straightforward, he said it was very well-seasoned, well-cooked (he requested Medium), not oversimplified yet not overdone.  SEOULDIVA DAD SAYS: ♥♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• SPECIAL: baked Grouper, breaded & stuffed with marscapone cheese, spinach and garlic.  My mom tried one of the daily specials, and I’ve honestly never eaten anything like it before.  Maybe I don’t eat at Italian restaurants often enough, but I’ve never seen fish stuffed with cheese before…but I’d like to see more of it in the future! It was heavenly.  The lightness of the marscapone mixed well with the garlic and spinach.  The breaded crust gave a nice crunchy texture.  Delicious.  SEOULDIVA MOMMA SAYS: ♥♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• SPECIAL:  Homemade spaghetti with lobster, in a tomato/mint/escarole sauce. Holy heaven.  First, the homemade pasta was perfect.  Plump, with nice body — not too doughey or flour-y, not too chewy.  The sauce — I’ve never had mint in my tomato sauce before, but it brought a nice lightness to the dish.  My one complaint was that the lobster meat was a little tough, perhaps over-cooked slightly.  Otherwise, this dish was heaven.  SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥¾ / ♥♥♥♥♥

Definitely a great place to go with your family, or for a special occasion. But it’s not one of those “light” Italian places.  Go when you’re looking to FEAST! 

Tags: Astoria, Italian, Trattoria L'incontro