Last week, I was watching “Everyday Italian” on the Food Network (favorite channel, favorite show, don’t judge. Also, wild spring break). Giada de Laurentiis is a famous Italian celebrity chef with countless cookbooks and a house in Malibu. She has a number of TV shows, but in this one she cooks Italian classics right from her home.

Here is a clip from “Everyday Italian” from (Accidentally) Vegan TV’s Youtube channel. In the clip, she is making authentic Italian tomato sauce.

This is what triggered my sudden craving for authentic Italian cuisine. I wanted to go to a really cute Italian restaurant that has great reviews and good food. And lots and lots of tomato sauce. And so eventually I came across Vite Vinosteria, located at 31-05 34th St, Astoria, a wine bar and Italian restaurant.

It also happened to be my birthday last week, I’m 22! (cue the song “22” by Taylor Swift) and I wanted nothing more than to satisfy my craving with a massive cheese and meat board along with a glass of wine.

As we were approaching the restaurant that evening, I realized that I was still carrying my Starbucks cup that I wanted to throw out long ago. I walked in with my empty cup, and an Italian waiter jokingly took the empty cup from my hand and said “Ew, Starbucks we hate Starbucks,” and threw it out for me. He’s probably right, Starbucks should not be compared to authentic Italian coffee and espresso they serve here! That was also helpful of him because I was going to go to the bathroom and throw it out there.

Speaking of the bathroom at Vita Vinosteria, there is an Italian language lesson on tape that plays in it! While I was washing my hands I learned how to count to ten in Italian! What a unique, cultural addition to the restaurant.

Everything in the restaurant is wood. There are wooden tables, wooden floors, wooden walls and the bar was completely made of wood. Most of the light in the restaurant came from candles on the tables, which was beautiful and created a romantic vibe.

We were seated relatively quickly, and were immediately given water and bread. The bread was served with a spicy olive oil on the side. The service here is amazing. We ordered red wine (I can’t remember what type specifically) as we scanned the menu.

I came across “Casereccio,” which translates to “homemade.” “Casereccio” is their meat and cheese plate.

There was a variety of imported Italian meats which included prosciutto (my favorite), salami and ham. There was a variety of different cheeses and olives! Which I was super excited about because I love olives.

Everything on the plate was perfect. It was $15.95 and worth every penny– it comes with so much food! This truly is a massive board. On their menu there is also a meat-only plate called “Il Salumiere” and a cheese-only plate called “Il Formaggiaio.” And everything went great with the wine.

After this we wanted some authentic Italian pasta. The menu doesn’t have many pasta options (the menu itself is relatively small), but what they do have is interesting and unique. We decided to try their “Cavatelli di Grano Integrale con Ragu D`Agnello,” which is their whole wheat shell pasta with lamb ragu.

Another cool thing about Vita Vinosteria is that they serve most of their pasta dishes in pans, as if they took the dish right off the stove and brought it to your table. Maybe they even did; I’m not sure. The pans on everyone’s tables add a rustic feel to the entire restaurant.

Also, there is so much cheese on this whole wheat shell pasta with lamb ragu because we didn’t know we had to tell them when to stop putting the parmesan on our pasta. Oops. The more cheese the better, anyway.

The texture of this whole wheat pasta was so interesting. It was hard and starchy, it did not feel like normal pasta. It was really delicious and the lamb ragu was sweet.

We also wanted to try their risotto of the day, which was a spinach risotto with different types of cheese. First off, the dish was served in this:

A giant goblet of risotto! I was so shocked at the massive size of the pot. And there was SO much risotto in it, surprise surprise. It literally looks like a cauldron.

But don’t get me wrong, the risotto was so good. It was light, fluffy and almost lemony. The flavor itself was amazing, it was so creamy and cooked perfectly. I’d get this again for sure.

You can view their full dinner menu here. They also have a selection of pizza!

For dessert, we had Tiramisu Vite, which was really good. It was tiramisu in a jar! It was served with a side of melted chocolate. And a candle on top.

For more information, visit their website.

Thank you for reading this post about Vita Vinosteria in Astoria, Queens! It’s the perfect date spot. Reminds me of the Italian restaurant Billy Joel sings about in his song “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant.”

Italian food lovers: Where is your favorite place to get authentic Italian food in Queens? Tell me in a comment below!

Until next time!