If you rate a restaurant by the number of words you don't know on the menu, Alba is the place for you. I found five ingredients neither I nor Google recognized. One word appeared only once in the entire Google index.

As you might expect, the food was excellent. We had a first course of pasta with butter and sage sauce. The pasta was clearly home made and fresh. It was cooked perfectly and topped generously with Parmesan cheese.

The Nebbiollo wine by the glass was fresh and didn't suffer from hours of exposure.

I ordered the duck. The breast was more rare than I prefer, but still quite good. The leg was more well done and slightly dry, but I prefer that. The skin on the leg was devoid of the annoying layer of fat. The duck was served with a saba (plumb) sauce, which was well reduced and excellent. I have no idea why the chef felt compelled to accompany the duck with soggy french fries, but they were easily avoided. The squash was also quite good.

My companion ordered a lamb shoulder. It was tender and tasty. It came with chard, which was slightly bitter, but still quite good.

Coffee was wonderfully done, dark and flavorful without a hint of over cooking. We had the apple cake for dessert which was light and fruity and wonderfully complemented by mascarpone cheese.

Overall I'd recommend Astoria, but I would recommend reservations since they fill up and are closed on Monday's. Note also that the prices are on the high side. Two people with two glasses of wine and dessert cost around $100 with tip. Service is leisurely so expect to spend over an hour for dinner.