It's a Pasta Fest at Da Franco's

 

Last night, the Joey in Astoria girls, Meg, Mackenzi and I, dined at Da Franco Ristorante.  We had a delightful meal with plenty of fresh veggies, homemade focaccia bread, pasta, and even a Nutella pizza.  I'll shed more light on our experience next week, but in the meantime, I wanted to let you know about a great pasta special they're featuring on weekdays. 

It's called their weekly "Pasta Fest" and it includes 3 dishes and wine for $19.95 per person. I'd call that a steal, and for the quality of food you get, I think it's one of the best deals in town, especially if you love homemade Italian food.  Here are the deets:

Da Franco's Pasta Fest: Monday - Thursday 12:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

$19.95 per person

Includes:

Fresh baked focaccia (pictured above)

House salad

Glass of red or white wine

And...choice of one of the following pastas:

Ravioli Al Pomodoro - Homemade spinach, cheese or meat ravioli served in tomato sauce

Rigatoni All'Matriciana - Rigatoni pasta with pancetta, onions, Pecorino Romano in a light tomato sauce

Penne Alla Bolognese - Penne pasta served in a bolognese meat sauce

Orecchiette Alla Barese - Homemade orecchiette pasta sauteed with garlic, extra virgin olive oil, broccoli rabe and pork sausage

The special is running from now until the end of the month.  I hope that you enjoy it.

Da Franco - 23-92 21st Street, Astoria NY 11105
718.267.0010
N/W Train to Astoria Blvd
www.dafrancoitalianrestaurant.com

Dino's - Italian Balkan Fusion

Dino's Restaurant and Bar of Astoria - 29-35 Newtown Avenue, Astoria NY 11102
718.267.2771
N/W train to 30th Avenue
www.dinosny.com

Last month I mentioned that the old Momento space on Newtown is now called Dino's. While I haven't been yet, I've been keeping an eye on it and it looks promising. While still not too busy, it looks like it gets more business than the old Momento place. The interior looks nice and cheery and the menu looks inviting.

Take a look at the sampling of menu items below. The cuisine is a mix of Italian and Balkan featuring Italian standbys such as pasta and seafood and Balkan grill specialties such as cevapcici, pljeskavica and others.

It's nice that the price point is reasonable at $15-$26 for entrees and there's even a $9.99 early dining special every day from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00p.m.

Appetizers:
Dino's bruschetta - roasted eggplant and peppers with pistachio and walnuts...$8
Montenegro salad - cucumbers, romaine, tomato feta with red wine vinegar olive oil...$7
Warm artichoke - hearts of artichoke with spinach and parmesan with aged balsamic...$9
Homemade sausages - homemade grilled sausages served flambeed in cognac...$13

Pasta:
Orecchiette with sausages - ear shaped pasta with broccoli rabe and homemade sausages...$15
Rigatoni with eggplant and ricotta - fresh eggplant in a light marinara sauce and cheese...$15
Linguine with clam sauce - red or white...$16

Entrees:
Grilled paillard on a bed of Montenegro salad with gorgonzola cheese - marinated with lemon, black pepper, garlic and rosemary...$17
Fish (catch of the day) Romano-style - sambuca orange sauce with mushrooms and sundried tomatoes on a bed of spinach...$21
Veal shank (Osso bucco) - veal shank with risotto or pasta...$23
Cevapcici - homemade traditional beef link sausages in pita bread...$10
Sudzukice - beef, veal and garlic sausage in pita bread...$12
Pljeskavica - Yugoburger in pita bread...$11

For the entire menu, click here.