Okay, so last night we left the Met game after the 7th inning because they were kicking ass and we wanted to beat the traffic. We wanted to eat, so we settled on the idea of parking over on Steinway Street and eating at one of the many Mediterranean cafes in Astoria. It was a beautiful night, so we figured we might sacrifice a little quality so we could sit outside. But we didn't have to sacrifice quality at all!

We settled on CAVO, a beautiful, Greek themed, indoor-outdoor restaurant, on 31st Avenue, in the heart of Astoria. We ate outdoors in the Mediterranean garden, which has a gorgeous 20 foot waterfall to cool you off on a hot night.

So, cut to the meal- we shared three appetizers: 1) a summer tomato salad, with both red and yellow tomatoes, chunks of feta and extra virgin olive oil, 2) grilled baby octopus, with roasted peppers, olives and arugola, and 3) charcoal grilled peppers with fresh buffalo mozzarella and grape tomatoes.

For my entree I had charcoal grilled shrimp over white beans, served in a white wine reduction, served with braised mixed greens and creamy polenta.

Finally, for dessert, I had a Greek standard of banana and chocolate crepes. Unfortunately, I still can't drink due to some health issues I recently had, but I'm looking forward to going back at "full strength" because they had a stellar wine list.

Overall, the place is beautiful, if a little bit noisy, but I guess that's to be expected. I mean it was Astoria on a beautiful summer night, so you put up with it.

As far as the food, I hate to use the phrase "to die for," because it sounds, well, gay... not that there's anything wrong with that... but it really was.


*** (3 stars from Pizzaboy)