Back in my days as a Master of the Universe, I sat next to a much older gentleman who by 20th century standards, was well off. He ran in a similar crowd from his generation, some of whose names wouldn’t be unfamiliar to those viewing Bill Cunningham’s party pics in the Times, that largely confined themselves to restaurants on the Upper East Side and midtown. It was a period when an impresario named Sirio ruled the dining scene in New York and entrees with a $4-handle elicited quiet gasps upon viewing them on the menu.
So it was much to my surprise, when about a dozen years ago my colleague told me I should make an effort to go to a restaurant in Astoria called Trattoria L’incontro. “Astoria? As in Queens? You?” I shot back to a man who had left Brooklyn for Westchester and Manhattan over half a century ago, and was never, ever going back ((of course his son left Westchester and bypassed Manhattan for Brooklyn, where he resides today)). ‘Fear not’ he assuaged, ‘it’s only a quick cab ride across the Triborough Bridge, think of it as midway between the UES and LaGuardia.’ I never made it, but I didn’t forget about it either given the intro.
Fast forward to last year when I caught wind that the chef of Trattoria L’incontro, Rocco Sacramone, was coming to LIC, and all the memories came back. Though he didn’t have the name recognition of those chefs my wife watches on late-night reruns, and didn’t have ‘ehh’ offshoots in the Hamptons, Hong Kong, or Vegas, I was aware of his stature in the NYC cooking world. I also had an intimate familiarity with the space on Center Boulevard he was rumored to be occupying. The combination I predicted would be a culinary knockout, if it came together.
Today I am happy to announce that it has, and we have a preview for the restaurant which is expected to open to the public in the next month and will be called Maiella. [Read more…] about MAIELLA BRINGS A NEW RESTAURANT ERA TO LONG ISLAND CITY
