Thirty One (CLOSED)

If Astoria’s trattoria competition has intensified, credit the Verde brothers, Saverio and Ciro. Their ambitious enterprise (right at the mouth of the N-W line) is bustling starting at dawn, as the busy staff bags frittatas, pizza and panini for take out. Customers are ushered like VIPs down a hallway into a spare, lovely dining room lined with wine racks. The kitchen is equally Old World, sending out dishes rich with earthy country flavor. Options include truffle-oil-drizzled focaccia, thin-crust pizza (try the Thirty One, with robiola cheese), and sturdier dishes like polenta with mushrooms and Gorgonzola; black linguini with seafood in peppery arrabbiata sauce; and polletto al forno, a brick-oven-roasted bird.