beXnlog

There Are Two Kinds of Coffee

This past Sunday we had lunch with be's family (minus his sleeping brother, plus his grandmother) in Astoria. His mom asked for a restaurant recommendation from our super, who suggested Forno Italia on Ditmars. It was a celebratory lunch, covering a belated Mother's Day and be's birthday in one shot.

Although be's parents are pretty closed to trying new foods, they love Italian food - especially seafood dishes. His sister loves to cook and is really open to new things; his brother is a steak & taters kind of guy. The freaky thing is, this mirrors my family almost exactly. Amongst both families, a discussion/heated argument/fight usually breaks out during meals, but on Sunday everyone was in a good mood.

For starters, we got 2 baskets of brick oven bread aka plain pizza crust, with olive oil and basalmic vinegar dip. I think the bread was the best part of the meal = soft, salty, fluffy and with a hint of rosemary and other herbs. be and his family then shared large plates of fried shrimp, squid and baked clams, which they all seemed to enjoy. For entrees, most of us ordered various pasta dishes while J got a white pizza and be's grandmother got a veal dish.

My mushroom ravioli was quite good. The sauce was a creamy white wine with mushroom pieces, while the ravioli was filled with 3 different kinds of minced mushrooms. be's penne was served with a scoop of fresh ricotta cheese and the red sauce was very tasty. It was slightly sweet without any sour taste, very unlike your typical jarred tomato sauce. I thought the white pizza was good but not crispy enough. I would only get the pizza if it was baked charred and crisp on the outside. I didn't try any of the other dishes since they had meat in them, but everyone seemed to like them. Note that the specials cost over $20.00 a plate, though.

Afterwards, we checked out the bakery next door and picked up 2 boxes of assorted mini Italian pastries, all of which were yummy. I especially loved the flaky layered one that looks like a clam, filled with sweet cheese. The cannoli were a tad soggy but still good. (For the best cannoli, check out De Robertis on 10th St and 1st Ave in the East Village!)

Armed with mini pastries, be and i served coffee back at our house. Surprisingly, be's grandmother asked for a glass of Hpnotiq (a bright blue fruity cognac) when she saw J with one! be had to drag out the auto-drip coffee maker that my mom got for $5.00 at Wal-Mart, and left at our house to make coffee when she visits. be's mom also likes a weaker cup of coffee, so be just made a giant pot of auto-drip with ground Kona beans. Maybe i'm a grand coffee snob since i just had to make a little pot of French press for myself, but auto-drip just tastes like bitter hot water these days. In my world, there are 2 kinds of brewed coffee: regular weak auto-drip and ultra flavorful French press.

posted by beXn @ 2:46 AM