Day 18a, 2014: Tufino (Astoria, NY)

DAY 18a: OCTOBER 18th, 2014

LOCATION: Tufino (36-08 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, Queens, NY)

GUEST(S): Alan Fessenden, Michael McLarnon, Brad Kemp

ORDER: 1 slice of Margherita

REVIEW:
Awe-thentic!  You may not find an actual "Queen" in the borough of Queens but, thanks to Tufino, you will find a pizza named after one.  The Margherita reigns supreme at this portal to Naples found within this surprisingly spacious Astoria pizzeria.  Cooked expertly by a Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani (APN) certified chef, the personal size pies exit the wood-fired brick oven layered with rich Italian tomato sauce, creamy fior di latte, grated Grana Padano cheese, and fresh basil leaves.  From the traditional to the creative, Tufino's arsenal of high quality ingredients include roasted pistachios, Yukon Gold potatoes, and even vegan-friendly Daiya cheese. Prices on pizza and wine are sensible and if they weren't listed in US dollars, you would swear you were in Italy.  Tufino is another great reason to visit Astoria!

PHOTOS:

Menu

Pizzaiolo at work

certification

Proud Pizzaiolo

Margherita

Slice of Margherita

MISCELLANEOUS:

1st stop on the Astoria Pizza Crawl 2014

1. Alan Fessenden and I decided to do an impromptu "Pizza Crawl" across Astoria around noon.  By 3pm, Brad Kemp and Michael McLarnon were on board.  This was stop number 1.
2. I chatted with the Native Neapolitan pizza chef about Naples pizzerias.  Turns out, I randomly visited Pizzeria di Matteo, a pizzeria he used to work at back in Pizza Month 2011.

RATING:

  4.41/5

• VALUE:
   4/5


• AMBIENCE:
   3/3


• TASTE:
   8.5/10


• SERVICE:
   3/3

18.5/21 = .88095 x 5 = 4.4047