FOODIE
Viajo’s: Italian With No Shortcuts
By Luann and Margaret Ann/ foodie@longislandernews.com

If you can’t go to your Italian mother-in-law’s house for dinner, consider heading over to Viajo’s on Jericho Turnpike where the Italian values of family and food come together to make for a charming dining experience.

Owned by Vito DeFeo, Viajo’s is more than just a place that serves pizza and pasta. The restaurant offers patrons a comfortable, casual environment in which they can enjoy top-quality, carefully prepared food at a modest price.

The restaurant takes its name from the Italian word viaggio, meaning “make a trip,” said DeFeo. DeFeo imports 90 percent of his ingredients directly from Italy and only uses local food vendors. DeFeo still cooks his sauce for hours on end, saying “every shortcut you take, you lose something. The way mom used to cook on Sunday is the way I cook here.”

And just as you never leave mom’s hungry, you will not leave Viajo’s with room for more. “My mom never short-changed me, so all the portions are big,” said DeFeo.

Appetizers feature classics like fried calamari ($9). Baked clams ($9) are served whole on the half-shell and are particularly notable for their freshness, as is the Cold Seafood Salad ($11/$16) whose shrimp, scungilli, and calamari were of considerable size. Dressed with a spicy herb dressing made with crushed red pepper, it was a great preview of what was to come.

When you order a salad at Viajo’s, expect more than just lettuce and a few vegetables. The house salad ($5.50/$9) packs in carrots, radishes, hot cherry peppers, artichoke hearts, red cabbage, olives, red onions, roasted red peppers, and plum tomatoes. Homemade soups are also popular.

The menu is marked by traditional favorites like chicken parmigiana ($13) and lasagna ($11). Also featured is gnocchi, which DeFeo thumbs himself orechietti-style using whole-wheat dough. The more adventurous might try the Rigatoni Alla Viajo’s ($10), a delightful specialty pasta dish set in a pomodoro wine sauce with pignoli nuts, raisins, spinach, and onions. The nutty taste of the pignolis and the burst of sweetness provided by the soft, moist raisins was balanced perfectly.

A popular meat dish is the Chicken Alla Viajo’s ($17), three large chicken cutlets topped with artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes and mozerella cheese in a white wine pomodoro sauce. The artichoke hearts fell apart in our mouths, and the sundried tomatoes offered a sweet, moist complement to the pomodoro sauce.

If you manage to save room for dessert Viajo’s stuffs the cannolis right there to keep the shell crisp and fresh.

Mondays and Tuesdays feature pasta specials, and don’t forget about the pizza. Moma’s pizza, a thin crust Sicilian marinara, is made with fresh San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, oil, and a touch of oregano.

Whether you are a party of two or 12, Viajo’s can provide you with a glowing, comfortable atmosphere in which you can enjoy your dinner and feel like a part of the Viajo’s family. So “make a trip” to Viajo’s.

Viajo’s
1277 East Jericho Turnpike, Huntington
631-425-0068

Cuisine: Italian like your mother used to make

Atmosphere: Comfortable, casual, family-friendly

Hours: Mon-Thurs: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.,
Fri-Sat: 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sun:12 p.m.-9 p.m.

Main Menu