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Our Tower Heist date was two Saturdays ago then last Tuesday Mr. Love Bird arranged for us to have a dinner date at Woodside, Queens' Sapori D'ischia which is Italian for flavors or tastes of Ischia, an Italian island near Capri (thanks New York Times!).
Uka's family lives in Queens and although born in Brooklyn he spent his adolescent years there. Also, we lived there briefly when we were first married and frankly, we don't get back out there often so I was a bit surprised that dinner was so far out. Our dear friend Kendra arrived to watch Nia, and I took the hour long journey to Woodside. I had read on Yelp about the restaurant and while the more recent reviews weren't that great I had read on Grubstreet about there being a truffle event there through December on Tuesday nights. This was the night of our date! I was so excited because I consider myself to be a foodie, yet I had never had truffles.
The restaurant is surrounded by warehouses and loading docks and the neighborhood appeared very desolate at night. I had been near there before on Northern Blvd. to go to Tequila Sunrise, but the restaurant is off the main road a bit. The title pic above is very reflective of how Mr. Love Bird and I felt about the neighborhood.
Here are a couple more pics - apparently one cannot park anytime:
Yeah. Not the safest looking place!
But alas, the restaurant appeared like an oasis in the middle of a desert and it was GLORIOUS!
{Photo Credit} |
Here's what it looks like inside:
{Photo Credit} |
It's actually a store by day and transforms into a restaurant by night. Interesting, right?
Now to break down the menu . . .
Now to break down the menu . . .
If you were to ask me what I ate I would say:
First Course: cheese, prosciutto and grilled bread
Second Course: risotto
Third Course: filet mignon with crispy hash browns
Fourth Course: poached pear with ice cream
Fourth Course: poached pear with ice cream
Now this is what the menu actually said:
The meal was one of the best I have had in a very long time. I mean the last time I remembered eating this well was on our wedding day. It was that good! I was afraid the truffles infused in every course would be overwhelming, but it really wasn't. They offered a musky overtone to all the dishes and the complexity it brought was amazing. I especially liked the risotto. Mr. Love Bird said he'd even want to eat it for breakfast!
Anyway, we had such a wonderful time savoring every bite - I often make fun of Mr. Love Bird who sometimes eats so fast I'm afraid he doesn't quite enjoy his food! The owner, a friend of Uka's, was very hospitable and I would highly recommend going to the Truffle Festival which is going on through the end of the year.
Going back to the topic of date night, Mr. Love Bird and I really enjoyed ourselves and I felt so spoiled having two dates under a week! This just may have to be a regular occurrence.
The next day Mr. Love Bird told me he couldn't decide what to eat for lunch because everything seemed inferior. Too funny!