Queens Tribune

110-80 Queens Blvd., Forest Hills
(718) 520-1123
CUISINE: Italian
PARKING: Valet
CREDIT CARDS: All Major
HOURS: 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. 7 days

The Family Restaurant, a stalwart of the Forest Hills dining scene for years, clearly lived up to its name, with people coming in and out like family on a recent Friday night to say hello, have a good meal and greet one another with smiles and hugs.

The décor is warm, the smells are fantastic and the service is always on hand. As I was seated, I was quickly offered a glass of wine, a large, fruity Cabernet to start my palate off right.

Yes, the traditional Primaveras, Parmesans and Marsalas decorate the Family Restaurant’s menu, but the nightly specials make this spot stand out from its competition.

It was hard to not order the ravioli in a browned butter and sage sauce or the Carcofini Francese – egg-battered artichoke hearts sautéed with lemon, wine and butter over a plate of greens – but I decided on the Insalata Tonnata, a salad of Romaine and radicchio with asparagus tips, tuna and shrimp in an olive oil and lemon dressing.

While I waited for my salad, I was served Bruschetta as well as a basket with some fresh, seeded semolina and something like a popover, which was round, but not at all hollow – it was as if somebody took a dense bread and plucked out a ball of it with an ice cream scoop – it was delicious.

If I had been there for lunch, the salad alone would have been enough to tide me over until dinner – but this meal needed to last me until the next morning, so I ventured onward, past the swordfish stuffed with crabmeat straight to the Chicken Portabella which – you guessed it – is a pounded-thin fillet of chicken and slices of portabella mushrooms sautéed in a brandy cream sauce and served with garlicky mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach.

The combination of textures between the chicken and mushroom, when paired with the cream and brandy, meshed into a sumptuous delight, bite after bite. The potatoes were perfectly smooth and full of flavor while the spinach still had a slight crispness, a great improvement from the overdone greens you often find when a chef wants to make creamed spinach but is afraid of adding the cream.

With a host of Italian treats lined up for the dessert options, I chose tiramisu, the true test of an Italian baker. The custard and mascarpone had similar looks, but such varying taste, tricking me at first to believe that I was eating something else – but the blend of the layers with the soft lady fingers make for a smooth delight.

Though I have not had a chance to attend myself, I have been told that the Sunday brunch, which features salads, bagels, chicken, hot dishes, cold dishes and mimosas or Bloody Marys is a great deal, compared with some other Sunday brunch possibilities.

Be sure to check out this Queens landmark, and enjoy!