Armondo's

Armondo's has served Northern Italian cooking in Jackson Heights since September 1972. For decades it sat at 75th Street and 37th Avenue; after a 2014 fire damaged that building, owners Jerry and Patti Crisci bought Trieste, another longtime Italian room on Northern Boulevard, gutted the kitchen, redid the dining room and bar, and reopened here on Valentine's Day 2015 with the same staff. When the restaurant turned fifty, the couple gave the anniversary night's profits to Riis Settlement, the neighborhood community center.

The menu is the classic book: clams oreganata, grilled octopus or a hot antipasto for two, then veal or chicken francese, piccata or marsala, pork chops stuffed with prosciutto and cheese, or a seafood risotto finished with a lobster tail, with tiramisu or tartufo to close. The staff will steer you through a wine list of Italian and domestic bottles, and there is a comfortable bar for a drink first. It describes itself, fairly, as a place for a cozy date night.