It’s been a while since we wanted to go back to Maiella, an Italian restaurant we discovered few years ago. So, as we were in Long Island City to see the opening of Peter Drake, the Provost of the New York Academy of Art and an amazing painter, we decided to make a reservation there, on a Saturday evening. Well, we went around 6pm and the place was not that busy and I enjoyed the fact that we could have a quiet dinner, until they started to increase the volume of the music and people started to come, large tables filling up with people ready to celebrate birthdays and other kinds of events.

I started the meal by ordering a cocktail, Il Padrone, made with Bourbon, Amaro, lemon and ginger. This was good, like a palate cleanser with the ginger giving a nice heat in the back of my throat. With it, they brought us some homemade focaccia that was good, brushed with olive oil.

As an appetizer, we shared the Polpete Melanzane, or eggplant croquettes that were sitting on caponata and drizzled with smoked ricotta. If you like eggplant, this dish is for you. The fried croquette was deliciously crispy, not oily, letting this delightful vegetable be the star of the show.

For her main, Jodi got the Cappelletti ai Funghi that is cappelletti stuffed with mushrooms, served with a sauce made with mushroom and truffle, and grana padano. This dish was amazing: decadent as well as elegant thanks to small bits of truffle, each bite was an explosion of flavor.

On my side, I hesitated a bit between few dishes but finally decided to get the Strozzapretti ai Ricci di Mare. This homemade pasta was smothered with sea urchin butter, mixed with Red Busan crab (jumbo lump crab), Calabrese chili and squid ink breadcrumbs. Just reading the description made my mouth water and showcased the creativity of the Chef. The pasta was deliciously cooked al dente, and the chili gave a nice heat to the dish while the breadcrumbs added some crunchiness. Superb!

For dessert, we chose the chocolate budino. They did not have this amazing meringue cake we had the last time that Jodi raved about, but I admit that the budino was amazing! The chocolate custard that was dense and not too sweet was sitting on a sable, topped with chantilly that balanced the robustness of the chocolate, and accompanied by an orange marmalade. Orange and chocolate go very well together and I just wished there was more marmalade on the plate. Still, this was a great dessert.

Chocolate budding at Maiella in Long Island City

So, yes, we were not disappointed by Maiella: this is a great place in Long Island City that I absolutely recommend. And it is not that far if you take the subway: it is worth the trip!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Maiella - 4610 Center Blvd, Queens, NY 11109

I Just Want To Eat!