Trattoria LIncontro lives up to Zagat rating. 21-76 31st St., Astoria

By Suzanne Parker

Trattoria L’Incontro

21-76 31st St., Astoria
718-721-3532
www.trattorialincontro.com

When so much was made of the Grocery, a small, highly regarded Brooklyn restaurant receiving the exalted score of 28 from the 2004 Zagat guide, I dove for my copy to see how Queens restaurants measured up.

Trattoria L’Incontro in Astoria made it into Zagat’s top 50 with a score of 28, tying with such venerable Inner Borough establishments as the Four Seasons, La Grenouille, La Côte Basque, and Craft. Not too shabby. Naturally I had to try the high scorer in our borough.

Trattoria L’Incontro (TLI to its devotees) made its reputation on its cuisine, not its ambiance. The tables are close together, and the stucco and tile walls and floor do nothing to soften ambient noise. Don’t plan to propose here, unless you want your intended to respond with “What?..What?”

That being said, the food is very, very good. The décor includes some mediocre Italian murals on the stucco walls and faux beams on the ceiling. All in all, the quality of the décor does not live up to the quality of the food, but the quality of the food makes up for it.

It would seem that to become a server at TLI you need total recall. Adrian, our Romanian waiter, rattled off a dizzying number of specials for our consideration. He took our order without benefit of pencil and paper. The regular menu is well-balanced between familiar Italian dishes and more adventurous creations, yet the specials sing a siren’s song. They all sound irresistible. The greatest difficulty is remembering what they all were when it comes time to make the decision.

As anticipated, our specials were special indeed. We had a terrific salad of crisp shredded duck breast on frisée greens with tiny bits of fresh pineapple and pomegranate — as unusual as it was delicious. We watched with envy as other specials went by, like gorgeous Blue Point oysters, or an architectural beet salad with shaved Parmesan.

Chef/Owner Rocco Sacramone and Chef/Mother Tina Sacramone hail from Abruzzo, Italy. Abruzzo is especially known for its pasta dishes, and the Sacramones are true to their origins. Try their veal-and-filet-mignon-stuffed ravioli for a truly elegant pasta dish. They also pride themselves on their risottos. On the day of our visit, they were offering an awesome risotto with shrimp, dandelion pesto and caviar.

For our entrees, we chose one traditional and one not. The traditional was osso buco. It was meaty, soul-satisfyingly flavorful and served with absolutely perfect chewy gnocchi. Our other selection was filet of venison, served in a red wine and raspberry reduction with broccoli rabe on the side. It was an exquisite piece of meat. Melt-in-your-mouth tender, but much lower in fat than beef — it’s the healthier alternative to filet mignon. One caveat: order it rare. If you like your meat well done, venison is not for you. Because of its low fat content, it tends to become dry if cooked too thoroughly.

TLI offers some great fish dishes. One standout is grouper stuffed with mascarpone and spinach in a vermouth sauce. Or how about branzini with mushrooms, asparagus, leeks and cherry tomatoes with brandy baked in a wood fired oven?

A wood-fired oven supplements the other cooking techniques offered here. Apart from the increasingly prevalent designer pizza offerings, TLI employs their oven in some interesting ways. They roast fish like the branzini mentioned earlier, and also rabbit and other game in their brick oven.

The desserts we tried were a bit of an anticlimax. The tiramisu, which TLI is known for, was good, but unremarkable. The shell on the chocolate-coated cannoli, a dessert special, was soggy instead of crunchy.

Dessert notwithstanding, kudos should go to this mother-and-son team for the excellence of their kitchen. Their offerings demonstrate versatility and inventiveness. Repeat customers need never get bored.

The Bottom Line

Serious eaters who appreciate fine traditional and updated Italian fare and don’t mind bustling, sometimes hectic surroundings, will find what they crave.

Cuisine: Upscale Italian, traditional and nuovo

Setting: Bustling Italian décor

Service: Professional and knowledgeable

Hours: L & D Tues–Sun. Closed Mon.

Reservations: Recommended

Parking: Valet

Dress: Casual

Children: No Menu

Music: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Sundays

Takeout: Yes

Private Parties: Party room seats 40

Credit cards: Yes