Tufino: Astoria, NY

Interior

I love Tufino for its intimate and quaint space, decorated with signs of Italian beers and liquors. The wooden walls give a rustic and cozy feel. It’s a a true gem not only because of the good food, Jose and I had one of our first dates here and it’s become a date-night favorite. Due to COVID-19 Tufino recently has been only doing delivery and take-out. With NYC finally allowing indoor dining again, we wanted to commerate our first indoor dining experience by visiting Tufino again.

We have our favorites here—but during this pandemic, Tufino has been creating a new menu of mouthwatering specials that we were eager to try.

Menu

Daily Menu

Tufino’s pizzas are all handmade and baked in their stone oven you can find in the back of the restaurant. They offer vegan and gluten-free options. Our usual go-to is the Prosciutto e Arugula: Prosciutto, fresh arugula, parm shavings, lemon juice and drizzled with a delicious truffle oil.

Specials Menu

Tufino rotates their specials menu often, and I was very happy with their newest one—a variety of dishes featuring lobster + truffles. Everything we have tried at Tufino has been delicious, so we’re excited when they release a new dish.

Cocktails

Their daily drink menu has a variety of signature cocktails—favorites so far: Sage Advice and Fuegorita. Sage Advice is refreshing and great if you love gin. Fuegorita is a spicy margarita and pairs well with their calamari + pizza.

Beer menu

Wine selection

Dessert menu

Food + Drink

Rosé + Tufino house red wine

Normally we order some cocktails; For a change, we ordered off their wine menu. I chose Terresacre Rosavitte Rosato (earthy, fruity, refreshing) and Jose had the Tufino House Red Wine(med. bodied, red fruits). Both wines were equally delicious, the rosé paired well with the lobster gnocchi, while the red wine paired well with the burrata burger.

Calamari

One of the best calamari’s I’ve had, I love Tufino’s calamari for its slight spice and crispiness. The breading is crunchy + flaky, not at all greasy or heavy. Their calamari is addictive, complete with their homemade marinara to dip it into. Before you know it, you’ve finished it all. It’s the perfect appetizer that prepares your palate ready for the next course.

Lobster Gnocchi

The lobster gnocchi is a delicious addition to the Specials menu—Soft pillows of homemade gnocchi, fresh Maine lobster, cognac cream, and summer corn topped with shaved parsley. It’s decadent, fresh, and flavorful. You can taste the difference in this gnocchi vs. the store-bought version. The sauce is creamy and full of lobster and cognac flavor. It’s perfect to pair with a rosé or white wine.

Truffle Burrata Burger w/ crispy prosciutto

This is how a rustic Italian restaurant restaurant does a burger and it does it well. The truffle burrata burger first caught my eye on their IG stories, and knew we had to order it the next time we went to Tufino. The burger is a generous portion of freshly ground beef, insanely juicy + flavorful (We ordered the burger medium). Topped with the melting burrata, truffle aioli, balsamic + the crispy and prosciutto, the burger is a a medley of flavors and textures that work so well together. Make sure to order extra napkins!

Truffle Burrata Burger: Butcher’s blend patty, imported burrata, truffle aioli, balsamic reduction on a toasted brioche bun. Add crispy prosciutto ($2 extra).

Other options: Add black pâté, fresh shaved black truffles ($5 extra).

Parmesan fries topped with fresh parsley. Served with burrata burger.

Limoncello on the house

A big thank you to Tufino to making our first indoor dining experience during this pandemic safe, welcoming, and delicious. We look forward to trying your future specials, we can’t to see what you come up with next!

Tufino is still doing take-out and delivery. If you prefer indoor dining, temperature checks will be done at the door, tables are spaced out, and hand sanitizer is provided for each table.

Tufino can be found at 36-08 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria NY 11105

Website

Instagram

x Yzabelle

Le Grand Verre Wines

One goal of mine during quarantine was to learn more about wine and expand my palate. I’ve always loved red wine, but never understood the difference to detect the proper way to taste a glass, or even the endless notes it could have. I’m excited to collab with Le Grand Verre Wines to share my wine adventure.

If you’re hesitant about purchasing regular-sized bottles to sample, Le Grand Verre or LGV offers you a tasting menu of different type of wines in portions. The company—a French Artisanal wine company— prides itself upon introducing people to a variety of wine grapes and styles with notecards indicating the flavor notes.

They offer sets varying from white wine, red wine, and rosé. I decided on the red wine set that includes 100% pinot noir grapes and one that is a mixture of Pinot Noir and Syrah.

To Drink

Cards indicating their flavor notes

Each set includes:

• 4 bottles of your choice of wine

• Informational note cards with flavor notes

• Information on the grape varietal and the distinctive winemaker

The wine bottles are the perfect size for a picnic in the park (as we did) or even small get togethers. The bottles can be recycled or reused. I’ve seen others use them as cute vases for their flowers as well.

The wines included in the Pinot Noir set:

• Bourgogne La Pascerette: 100% Pinot Noir

• Domaine des Hautes Vallées: 100% Pinot Noir

• Le Temps de Cerises: 100% Pinot Noir

• Tandem Pinot-Syrah: 60% Pinot, 40% Syrah

All the wines were delicious, but between the four my favorites were Le Temps de Cerises and Tandem, the Pinot/Syrah blend. Even though they all were made with the Pinot Noir varietal, depending on the region the grape is grown in and if there’s any aging effects everything from the smell, color, and especially taste.

Red wine, especially Pinot Noir is a great pairing for meat dishes and we decided to pair our wine tasting with a brick oven pizza from my favorite place in Queens, Nick’s Pizza.

To Eat

To complete our wine tasting, we ordered a pie from Nick’s Pizza in Forest Hills. They specialize in brick over pizza made-to-order and everything is made in-house from the dough to their Italian sausage. Every pie comes with their homemade sauce, basil, and mozzarella. You can add or subtract as many toppings you would like. We ordered the Large pie with Italian sausage and ricotta.

This is the pizza I’ve grown up with and it’s the perfect blend of light and hearty.

I’m happy to be partnering with Le Grand Verre wines to share an at home wine experience straight to your doorstep. For more information about the brand, click here.

As a partner I’m happy to share my referral link to anyone who is interested in trying wine, or even adding a few bottles to your dinner rotation. Click here

A big thank you to Le Grand Verre for all the delicious wine, and thank you to Nick’s pizza for the mouthwatering pizza. To order online or pick-up from Nick’s click here.

Hope you all enjoy the wine, I’d love to hear what you guys order and especially would love to hear if you decide to pick up an impromptu pie from Nick’s. :)

x Yzabelle