Di Maria's Steps It Up A Notch

When it comes to pizzerias,  in Little Neck is the new kid on the block.

That's understandable, since it was only a few months after Frank and John's closed that DiMaria's popped up in its place. Since the restaurant's opening, my family has had their pizza on a few occasions. One item we are quite fond of is their whole-wheat pizza pies. We have not had this at any other pizza places in the neighborhood and we all agree that DiMaria's is top notch.

A couple weeks back, we decided to eat in instead of ordering out. I had been in the place only a few times before to pick up slices and such but I didn't remember it looking so nice. Everything is extremely clean and in its proper place. There is quite a bit of seating for the size of the place, a bunch of tables and chairs and small island counter for quick slice visits. We were also told that during warm weather they open the side of the restaurant for outdoor sidewalk dining. As with most establishments, there are two flat screen TVs that play local sports. 

We walked in and sat ourselves in a corner booth table so our son wouldn't bother our fellow patrons. Our waitress, Erica, who was extremely tentative and friendly, immediately showed up with menus and asked if we wanted anything to drink. When she returned with our drinks she also had a basket of warm bread and butter for us. It was flat, soft, fluffy bread, perfect for my son to gobble up. 

Since I have only ordered take-out from DiMaria's in the past, I never really had a good look at their menu. I was amazed to see what they had to offer. I knew they served brick-oven pizza (hello, it's on the sign!) as well as your standard pizzeria fare, but you wouldn't expect to see some of this other stuff at a pizzeria. Here are some examples: no less than five types of buffalo wings, Angus burgers, 14 different salads, a few wraps and a healthy choice section that has a bunch of grilled chicken and vegetable dishes. 

With all the choices on the menu, I ended up getting a meatball Parmesan hero. My wife got the penne siciliano, sautéed with eggplant, onions, basil and fresh mozzarella in a plum tomato sauce. We also got a regular and a Sicilian slice for all of us to munch on. 

Erica brought us our pizza pretty quick. They cut the regular slice up into little pieces that made it very easy for my son to eat it up. I had some of both the Sicilian and regular slice. Both slices were very good. They have a sweet sauce and their dough is light and airy.

You can eat a few of these slices and not feel heavy and full afterwards — which may be a good thing, or very, very bad, depending on your diet.

Next came the meatball parm hero and penne. My hero was huge and I was only able to eat half. The meatballs were all cut in half and were still bigger than golf balls. One thing I enjoy about eating a hero at restaurants as opposed to take-out is the crispness of the bread, which usually gets soggy when delivered. 

My wife's penne portion was impressive as well. It was a huge bowl overflowing with food. My wife was very impressed with the amount of eggplant, onions and sauce compared to other places serving the same dish. She ate as much as she could and took most home for dinner another night.

We really enjoyed our diner here. Their large menu, friendly service and fresh food had us saying we should come back here more often and eat in instead of taking out.

DiMaria's is located at 248-25 Northern Blvd. in Little Neck. Hours are Mon.-Thurs., 10 a.m. to 1o p.m.; Fri., 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sat., 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sun., 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.