Trattoria L'incontro

Friday Night we went to Trattoria L'incontro (http://www.trattorialincontro.com/) in Astoria with Joe and Denise and Monica and Tom. We had reservations for 7pm and our table was ready when we arrived. They had beautiful cherry blossom stalks in large vases by the front entrance. The main dining room had large artwork on the walls and a tiled floor. The service was terrific. We shared several appetizers: Fried calamari, a salad of calamari with white beans and red onions, a salad with raspberry vinaigrette and goat cheese, a pizza with mushrooms and a stuffed artichoke. All except the artichoke were served by a waiter and divided evenly over each of our plates.

For dinner: Joe and Tom had a pasta special of shrimp and scallops (maybe). Monica had a pasta special also. Denise had a pasta special with lobster and broccoli rabe. Michael had linguine with white clams. I had escarole with white beans that was an appetizer, but certainly enough for my main dish. All our dinners were great!

The waiter, from Kosovo we learned, recited a list of about 25 specials that were not on the menu, from appetizers and salads to pasta, meat and fish dishes. He had an amazing memory and we tested it with questions :)

We shared 3 bottles of wine and had candles (with NO SINGING PLEASE) in our two desserts of lemon cheesecake and tiramisu.

Great company, great food. This is a definite repeat! Thanks again Joe for the selection and Happy Birthday to Denise and Monica.