Dine on expertly prepared favorites from Europe's boot-shapiest region. Today’s deal gets you $60 worth of classic Italian goodness and drinks for $30 at La Strada, located on Staten Island on New Dorp Lane.

La Strada's chef and owner, Anthony Santisi, keeps his extensive dinner and lunch menus brimming with classic Italian favorites. Appetizers such as the crispy fried calamari (served with sweet, medium, or hot sauce; $12) or stuffed artichoke ($11) make savory curtain-raisers for chef Anthony's star attraction, pork chops la strada ($24), which pairs well with the Chimney Rock Cabernet from the wine list. Alternately excellent entrees, including classic zuppa di pesce ($30), let your senses snorkel through the flavors of the sea, and La Strada's specialty homemade lasagna ($17) blankets tongues in a stack of saucy layers. Pasta dishes such as the rigatoni caprese pit fresh Italian plum tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and fresh basil against each other in an arena of rigatoni pasta dusted with shredded fresh mozzarella cheese ($17). La Strada's special dessert of the day will finish the feast with a sweet surprise, assuming you haven't already figured out that your blind date is Batman.

Warm green walls, smooth wood trimmings, white linen tablecloths, and a stately fireplace give La Strada an inviting atmosphere that contrasts nicely with the brightly painted landscapes of Tuscan country roads, Sicilian harbors, and softly lit still-lifes of jars of marinara sauce. The ambience gets even classier on Thursday and Friday evenings when the restaurant hosts live entertainment. La Strada's friendly wait staff will happily suggest drinkable dance partners for any order and will try to meet any request, except for those beginning with "I dare you to…" Call ahead for reservations.

Dine-in only.

Reviews

La Strada receives an average 4.5-owl-eye rating from seven TripAdvisors and a perfect five-star average rating from four Insider Pagers.

• I went to a party here a couple of years ago and haven't stopped. The food is exceptional and so is the service. – mike d., Insider Pages
• After all of these years I just recently visited La Strada. I can't believe all I was missing! This "dressy-casual" atmosphere had it all. The food was delish, the wine was wonderful, and the service was excellent! – TheBestIsYetToCome, TripAdvisor