5 Reasons to Check Out Tufino Pizzeria Napoletana

Last week, my fabulous friend Bradley at Amuse*Bouche invited me to a blogger tasting with some Astoria folks at this new pizza spot off of Ditmars and 36th Street,

Courtesy of Amuse Bouche

Tufino Pizzeria Napoletana. After trying six types of pizza, a fried calzone and much more, here are five reasons why you should make the trek to Astoria and check this place out for yourself.

1). The fried selection: I love fried mozzarella, but Tufino really turns it up a notch. There fried mozzarella comes out as a loaf, with soppresata stuffed inside and was delicious.  The real seller for me though was the fried calzone, which is fried and then baked. It was stuffed with ricotta and prosciutto and had a real kick to it, thanks to the black pepper. While there were 7 pies coming to the table, I couldn’t help myself and had to keep eating the calzone. So yummy!

2). The Nonna: One of my favorite pies I tried that night was the Nonna, complete with ricotta and meatballs. The sauce was sweet, and there were bits of ricotta all over the pie. My favorite were the mini meatballs on the pie – and they tasted even better one you learned it was the chef’s family recipe that was passed down from generation to generation.

3). The Deals: If you are in Astoria during the week for lunch, I learned that a deal is coming! For $10, you can get a margherita pizza and a salad.  If you are in the neighborhood – especially on the upcoming holidays – this might be a deal to take advantage of.

4). The Patatine: While I liked the Nonna, one of my favorite pies was a little bit nontraditional. The Patatine consisted of gold potatoes, provolone, leeks, basil, parmigiano reggiano and bacon.  It was so buttery and creamy, and I definitely headed back for seconds.

5). Dessert:Tufino’s has a pastry chef that hails from the Garden City Hotel – shout out to my friends Lauren and James who were married there in 2009.  Anyways,

Photo courtesy of Amuse Bouche

my favorite dessert has to be tirami choux.  This tiramisu-like dish was actually a tiramisu cream puff that had all the flavors of tiramisu, but just felt a little bit lighter.  I headed back for seconds on this dessert as well!

Overall – Tufino’s has some interesting pies, and I definitely recommend going with a few people so you can order a couple and sample between you.  While a traditional pie like the Nonna is great, I encourage you to think outside the box and order some of the more outrageous combinations.