Don Peppe

Deep in suburban Queens, Don Peppe is the kind of family-oriented eatery one imagines but rarely finds in the city’s more self-consciously hyped Italian neighborhoods. Opened in 1968, the large, one-room space encourages a sense of fellow feeling with your co-diners, and the quietly efficient waiters make you feel like a regular. The food is an equally pleasant assortment of familiar favorites dished up in gigantic proportions. For starters there’s a teeming cold antipasto platter, simple salad in a refreshing vinaigrette, and baked clams that are both crunchy and succulent. A flaky, lightly seasoned beef braciola is particularly substantial and distinctive — like a pot roast rolled into a tube and drenched in a mamma’s (not-too-oily) marinara sauce. The house clams in white sauce balance rich and delicate flavors. Try the addictive shrimp Luciano and a transcendent sweet and tender chicken with lemon and butter. Don Peppe is inevitably packed on weekend evenings, so an early dinner is in order if you want to avoid a long wait.