"Via Vai is an undersung destination for Italian food in a snug space with rustic furniture. It specializes in housemade pastas like gnocchi and orecchiette and Roman-style thin-crust pizzas that come out of a brick oven. Don’t skip the top-notch meatballs appetizer and tiramisu for dessert. Fourth-generation Astorian, chef-owner Antonio Morichini and his wife, Cynthia, grew up in the neighborhood, and after meeting and starting their family in Italy, returned home to share their riff on Italian cuisine locally." - Caroline Shin, Paul Schrodt, Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner
