Hi oldfresser,

Morscher's pork store in Ridgewood makes their own sauerkraut in-house.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi araess,

Having had horse meat a number of times as a child, I am curious as to the draw.

I remember it being very bloody and essentially tasteless—because it has almost no fat. Steaks were extremely tough and, when ground, the patties wouldn't hold together by themselves. (They cooked up dry too)

If the lean aspect is what is appeals to you, have you considered other, more flavorful animal proteins that are still fairly low in fat such as fish, chicken, or very lean cuts of beef or buffalo? (I'm sure these would be a lot cheaper too!)

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi tex.s.toast,

"I said just yesterday in the other (somewhat silly, imo) thread that my last meal at Pok Pok was decidedly better than my last one at Sripraphai."

THIS thread? Silly?:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/865919

No, don't think so.

When it comes to great Thai restaurants, the vociferous desperation of this current Pok Pok thread is clear evidence that Brooklyn feels left out.

What with all of the very good to excellent Thai options in Queens, Brooklyn just suffers from Sripra-pee-pee envy.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi again stevec418,

I was just at Artisanal Creamery today and learned that they are closing for the season this Friday (September 7, 2012). This is unusual for them as in the past they have stayed open well into September (at least on weekends) and one year they were open until the beginning of October.

If you haven't been yet and don't want to wait until May of 2013 to go, you'll have to do so by Friday.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi All,

It had to be written. THAT horse is history!

Since the general consensus is that Pok Pok is "good not great," how about getting a run-down on the Thai restaurants in the Outer Boroughs that are currently GREAT?

Please chime in!

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi stevec418,

I don't know what the phone situation is at Artisianal Creamery at the moment but I went just this past weekend and had a delicious raspberry sorbet milkshake.

Artisanal Creamery typically opens in May and stays open through the end of September (perhaps even a little into October if it stays unseasonably warm).

I just checked their web site and it looks as though it has been revamped since I last visited. Here's a link:

http://www.artisanalcreamery.com/contact.html

My hunch is the temporary closing was due to the heavy rainstorm. Just down the road on Cooper Avenue is where Sister Claudia and two friends almost drowned:

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-...

Thank heavens they were all right. Although I must question the wisdom of the Daily News in using a rather unfortunate web address that ends in "flash flood nun puddle."

Anyway, I hope you can go. Keep your eyes on the skies!

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi musicislife102,

Since y'all are vegetarians and want to bop around Queens and/or Brooklyn, you could eat quite well at Wafa's, a family-run Lebanese place on Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills (Queens).

They have a good number of deliciously filling meatless options that can be made into platters - tabbouleh, fatoush, okra with tomatoes, onions and spices (even okra haters like this, by the way), the best babaganoush I've ever had, grape leaves stuffed with rice and so on.

Where are you guys coming from? I ask because your profile reveals nada and you might be disappointed with certain types of food recommended here that you can get back home. For example, I always hear that Thai food on the West Coast is absolutely amazing - in both quality and availability.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi again jen kalb,

I guess the festival I mentioned in my previous post is not the church one.

However, according to the facebook page of the Myanmar Baptist Church (the Fun Fair Church), they are now in a different location. Where, you might ask? According to their facebook page they are now in... Glendale!

Alas, the facebook page gives no details of any fun fair at this time. I guess Glendale's just not that much fun. Oh well...

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi jen kalb,

Is this the one you're talking about? I didn't go but it appears as though it happened in June:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/850827

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi arugala,

It turns out I misspelled it. "Ensaymada" is how is usually spelled in the Philippines. Here's a description from Wikipedia:

"In the Philippines, a Spanish colony for over 300 years; the Majorcan ensaïmada (commonly spelled ensaymada in Tagalog and Cebuano) has evolved over the centuries and is perhaps one the most common delicacies in that country, the ensaymada is a brioche made with butter instead of lard, and topped with grated cheese (usually aged Edam, known locally as keso de bola) and sugar."

So, it seems that it's more the name of a type of pastry than a flavor but I assure you, them thar crackers' flavor was called ensaymada and was both cheesy and a little sweet.

Ube is a purple yam often used in the Philippines as a sweet (ube jam, ube ice cream, etc.).

Of the things I mentioned, my favorite was the chocolate crackers, followed closely by the Ritz custard sandwiches, then the ensaymada crackers (by far the most unusual flavor) and then the ube crackers (not bad but the main reason to get these is the shocking color - also found in ube cakes in filipino bakeries).

Have fun at your party!

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi arugala,

At the big Asian grocery store nearest to what used to be the Palace Diner at the corner of Horace Harding Expressway and Main Street (north side of LIE), I've bought Ritz Cracker sandwiches with fluorescent yellow custard-flavored creme filling. Savory, sweet, weird and scrumptious.

Alternatively, at the Philipino grocery store on Union Turnpike at 168th street I've purchased sugar-covered, chocolate CRACKERS - not cookies. Crisp and quite delicious. The same brand also makes these saltine-esque rectangles in ensaymayada (sweet cheese) and ube flavors. These last ones are purple.

Funny enough?

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi prio girl,

Yup.

Tazzina
75-01 88th St
Glendale, NY 11385

Hope you check it out.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi IWantFood,

Parking here requires some resourcefulness as on-street parking is tight. You're not planning to walk around downtown Glendale all day, right? No? Okay...

So, got any plastic bags to recycle? (Who doesn't?)

Park in the lot at Stop & Shop on Myrtle at the corner of Cypress Hills Street. Bring your plastic bags for recycle into the foyer of Stop & Shop and drop them off in the bin there then exit the foyer via the other doors and head three blocks east to Artisanal Creamery. Enjoy.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Shameless promotion of a neighborhood star?

Damn straight! Artisanal Creamery is only open from May to September. If more people go, maybe I can convince them to stay open year round!

Anyway, these last two months I've been doing a comparison of all the milkshake possibilities at Artisanal.

Here are my findings so far:

Chocolate Italian water ice (milkshake) - Perhaps the most refreshing thing I've had this summer. Maybe the most refreshing thing I've had ANY summer. They add just a little milk before mixing so that it's icy, smooth and light. What makes this work is both the high quality and the intensity of the chocolate. On super-hot days, this is extraordinary.

Vanilla - I can’t put my finger on it but something about their most basic of ice cream flavors just sings—both in a cone and in a shake. Häagen-Dazs is dishwater in comparison (HD, I spit in your general direction! Pitooey!).

Dulce de Leche - Here’s a flavor of theirs that’s actually better as a milkshake. In its pure form I find it a little too much to take all at once. Add milk, blend, and it’s the most amazing, creamy, chilled butterscotch you’ll ever have.

Chocolate - Super dark and intense. Like the chocolate water ice version but richer. Another winner.

Pistachio – Although the straw gets clogged a lot, I find the flavor of this surprisingly wonderful. Don’t let the fluorescent green color fool you. This nut is the real deal and tastes like it.

Cookies & Cream – As a milk shake this is very good but the bits of creme filling from the cookie get a little lost in the shuffle. Ditto for the cookies themselves. Let cookies be cookies and everyone’s happy.

Coffee – As straight-up ice cream, this is probably my second favorite of all of Artisanal Creamery’s flavors. Unfortunately, as a milkshake, it’s only okay. This one belongs in a cone where it can shine.

Amaretto – As a milkshake, this tastes like a giant maraschino cherry. Just like their coffee flavor, this is much better in a cone.

Butter Pecan – Again, this one is better in a cone—not as a milkshake. Somehow with the addition of milk and the blending, this tastes even more buttery and the pecans get too finely ground to have the crunchy explosion of nutty flavor.

That’s where I am so far. To go, I still have rum raisin, coconut almond fudge, strawberry, cherry vanilla, hazelnut, chocolate brownie, cookie dough, mocha almond fudge, rainbow (which I’m sure will turn into a lovely shade of grey…) and a number of others that I can’t remember. Heck, I might even ask them to make a milkshake out of their raspberry sorbet just to see what happens.

I hope you’ll check out Artisanal Creamery this season, Chowhounds. It’s no more inconvenient to get to than Eddie’s Sweet Shopppppppe, has much better product and at a fraction of the price. (The extra p’s by the way are for puberty. If you’ve been waited on at Eddie's, you know what I’m talking about. Artisanal Creamery is family run and doesn't have that problem.)

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry…

Hi ratgirlagogo,

By the way, having -agogo on the end of anything automatically makes it better. Years ago, I put up signs for "Yard Sale à Go-Go" and folks showed up in droves wondering what the heck it was. Sold me some trinkets that day I did.

But yeah, Wow. I wondered if their site had been hacked but then I clicked on the "NEWS & EVENTS" tab and was introduced to the USA Patriot Act version of Lady Gaga. So, I guess their web site is...whatever that sort of thing is.

Anyway, l remember lunch there as being pretty good bratwurst and very informal. The word, "picnicky," comes to mind. Were we outdoors? Maybe. It was so long ago. The actual Lady Gaga may not even have been born that way—yet.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hallo frauleinlaura,

Zum Stammtisch is decent but, sadly, parking for 60-70 people will be next to impossible in that part of Glendale and public transit isn't terribly convenient around there.

Besides Long Island, what about another island? An island that's a borough—where parking is a birthright.

I'm talking of course about Staten Island!

I had lunch here once:

http://www.killmeyers.com

It's a bit of teutonic-inflected roadside americana. Admittedly it was a while ago that I went but I at least think they ought to be able to accommodate your party.

If you go here, be sure to drive down the road through the neighborhood of Charleston. It's a trip. Feels like an old mill town in New England or the boonies of Pennsylvania. It's where they used to make yellow Kreischer bricks seen all over Brooklyn, Queens and elsewhere.

Good luck wherever you go!

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi Citrouille10,

Tazzina in Glendale is essentially northern Italian and it IS white table cloth, comfortable, with great food and warm service. Plus, portions are plentiful. It's not a large restaurant, so I would recommend making reservations just to be safe.

My mother (older than 60) adored it.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Heavens twochesters!

If you haven't been to Tazzina in Glendale (88th Street at 75th Avenue), you're missing out on something wonderful hidden right in your backyard.

It's not far at all if you're driving. I know it's too late for the birthday dinner but this is an excellent choice for a reasonbly priced fine dining experience in Queens.

This is my go-to place for a little fancy. Portions are ample. Atmosphere is mellow. Waitstaff is perfect. Desserts are a must (Nutella lava cake is very popular).

I hope you'll check it out some time.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Norma's scores two hits again:

Mushroom cheddar biscuit - Those three words together can only be delicious and yes, they DO use fresh mushrooms. I got one hot out of the oven. Wow.

"Crazy cookie" - (I'll try to remember all the ingredients.) This is a luscious, chewy, sweet and tangy cookie with chopped dried apricots, chopped dried cherries, chopped dried apples, chopped dried pears, dried cranberries, raisins, dates, oatmeal and almond pieces for crunch. The edges were magnificently caramelized.

This may be my absolute favorite thing so far from Norma's. I pretty sure the proprietress said this was a cookie she'd thought about making for a long time and that this was the first batch. Amazing. (Make more batches!)

Dear Proprietress,

Please keep thinking of more delicious ideas! And bake bake bake!

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Okay, I've been back here a few times now and really, this is a bakery that just happens to have coffee. The baked goods (baked on site) are the main reason to check Norma's out. They're quite good.

Right now, prices are low and the owners are trying different things: ham and cheese biscuit (fabulous), coconut macaroon stuffed with a chocolate covered almond (also fabulous), cranberry lemon shortbread cookies (great texture and lemony flavor with lots of plump dried cranberries - very very good), maple bacon blue corn muffin (tastes like a good corn muffin with chewy bacon bits inside but needs more maple flavor - still, I applaud the effort), triple chocolate cookie (really good cocoa flavor with perfect cakey, crunchy texture and white chocolate chips - not bad at all but I want nuts - personal preference).

Owners are super nice and in the morning it's on the way to the M train when walking from Glendale. Lucky I am, to have Norma's.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

As per the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991, that's what this,

http://www.mta.info/nyct/paratran/gui...

is for. Yup, a person with a disability can use this service to get to and from a restaurant if he or she is eligible and the trip meets the criteria specific to the person's disability.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hello Chowhounders,

I'm calling upon your collective culinary knowledge since my own falls short and search engines have given me squat thus far in my quest to decipher the above.

Some backstory:

On Myrtle Avenue in Glendale right next to the only surviving Esparks Coffee place in the city that I know of is a space that was occupied by a pizza place until about four years ago.

Since that time the space has been vacant. However, every few months or so, workers show up and do stuff inside - paint, move in furniture, shift around things that look like deli cases. Then, just as suddenly as these guys materialized, POOF! They vanish. This has been going on, literally, for at least three years. Very strange.

Anyway, a few months ago an awning arrived. Then, about two weeks ago, this appeared on that awning,

"Z'bih's Grills & Bakes"

Can anyone help out with identifying this elusive mystery cuisine? It sounds vaguely Middle Eastern to me. And does anyone have any idea why someone would start a business in such an erratic manner?

Solve this and then we can get to work on what happened to Amelia Earhart.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Located in what was once Ridgewood Optical at the corner of Forest and Catalpa (pronounced CATTLE-pah by the neighborhood old-timers), is a charming little coffee place that until now the area has been sorely lacking. Norma's opened about two weeks ago.

Before Norma's there was only Esparks in Glendale (feels like an alternate Canadian corporate twin of Starbucks), Spolem on Fresh Pond (not bad but looks more like a nightclub than a cafe) and all the dim old-school euro social clubby places with more paneling than the Brady Bunch.

Found Norma's on the way back from checking out what the latest film shoot was in the neighborhood (Blood Ties—Clive Owen, Mila Kunis, James Caan, Billy Crudup, Marion Cotillard—more trucks and therefore less parking than I've ever seen here before—good thing we were on foot).

Anyway, the coffee was good and the atmosphere even better. Owner is super nice and friendly. Setting is light and airy with tables available inside and out. Prices are very reasonable.

Most interesting though are the home-made baked goods. Lots of savory along with sweet. We did a small sampling: cheddar mushroom biscuit—our favorite, chocolate oatmeal cookie with chips and cinnamon—like chewy Mexican hot chocolate, ham and cheese turnover—flaky and moist, and some sort of rice-flour based bar with coconut (?)—I think the proprietress called it a mochi bar. I liked the mochi bar but I think I'll try it next time with tea insead of coffee. I think it would go better with that. All were delicious nonetheless.

They also have muffins both savory and sweet, beautiful-looking cupcakes, more savory biscuits (sausage, spinach), and probably some other things I can't remember.

One thing's for certain though, I'm going back. Welcome Norma! Glad you're finally here!

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi psipsi,

Get them legs awalkin' and head on over to Parsons Boulevard to the peculiarly named, "The Panorama of My Heart - The Silence Cafe" or "The Panorama of My Silence - Heart Cafe" or maybe just "Panorama Cafe." Oh crap, I don't know what the H-E-double toothpicks it's called!

Anyway, it's got unusual, but often tasty vegetarian breakfasts, good coffee and various baked goods. And, everyone is super friendly. I recommend trying the special of the day - that's often the most fun since it's often the most interesting. One time we had eggplant with scrambled eggs, tahini and herbs. Sounds weird but it was surprisingly delicious.

It's a quirky, very likable place.

I hope you'll check it out.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi All,

From Memorial Day well past the Fourth of July, it is a very patriotic time in our neck of the woods—and in a most positive way. So why not stop by the above and have some good old-fashioned icy cold goodness?

Artisanal Creamery doesn't have new fangled exotic flavors but what they do have is deliciously homey and hey, Glendale is time warp land, after all.

Why, walking back from Artisanal Creamery last night (wonderful milk shakes!), we discovered a little American flag planted in our front lawn and, our next-door neighbor's lawn and... our other next-door neighbor's lawn and... all of our neighbors' lawns!

They give 'em away for free around here! There's even a guy on Cooper Avenue who has a bunch of little flags planted around the tree in front of his house. He also has a sign asking people not to steal a flag but instead to ring his bell and he'll give you one—free!

And so, from a more innocent time and place,

Happy Flag Day Chowhounders!

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

This thread would not be complete without a reference to Ridgewood and Glendale where salamis and sausages of just about all persuasions abound. Meat meat meat and more meat!

Here is a link to info about the area's German/Eastern European meat:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/835763

There's also Italian sausage made on site at Valentino's Market on Fresh Pond Road (go to the back of the store) and there are Polish delis EVERYWHERE.

Fresh, dry, lean, fatty, pepper encrusted and not—Ridgewood and Glendale are where salamis and sausages come to party.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

When I think about Googa Mooga (and especially about this “Extra Mooga” VIP thing), I’m reminded of the first time I heard about the Kohala Coast on the Big Island of Hawaii. In that area, there’s a mega-resort where guests arrive at the parking lot and then board either a monorail or a gondola to take them to the check-in location. Once checked in, guests can then opt to swim with and, if so desired, kiss the dolphins the resort has imprisoned in a lagoon on site. For the privilege of all this, of course, guests pay a pretty penny.

When we visited the Big Island a number of years ago, we decided to stop in here en route to somewhere else and, well, gawk at the kind of people who would go to a paradise like the Big Island yet choose not to experience the real deal. We were not disappointed.

Upon entering the courtyard area, we stumbled upon a few social climber types who were all fawning over another guest (the celebrity they’d just met and were presently talking to). It was none other Crocodile Dundee Paul Hogan himself. “Oh hiiiiiiii Paul!!!! And what are YOU doing today?!!!”

My point with this story is that as far as I’m concerned Googa Mooga, dolphin kissing?—THAT’S your brand and Paul Hogan fawners?—THAT’S your community.

And $267/person for “Extra Mooga?” Really? If somebody has that much cash lying around to blow on a food festival, they need to have their taxes raised.

So I say beware Brooklyn! In your neighborhood, choose the real deal. Because if you support stuff like Googa Mooga, overpriced, culinary drivel will declare open season on your borough and chase out every last bit of down-to-earth gastronomic goodness that you have.

And boy, am I glad I live in Queens where there’s enough vinyl siding and shiny stainless steel fencing to repel the type of person who would choose to be a party to such nonsense. It’s times like this that make me appreciate both the power and beauty of “tacky”!

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry…

Hi Greg,

Confession: I have eaten at Johnny Rockets. To this day, I don't understand how we ended up there that day we were at The Shops at Atlas Park but, alas, we did. And, we ett summa that stuff.

The food was edible but (of course) not the least bit interesting or genuine. It's almost worth stopping by though. Don't stay. Just walk in so that you can have the fresh-scrubbed, Disney-esque staff of uniformly fair-skinned youngins suddenly exclaim in unison, "HELLO AND WELCOME TO JOHNNY ROCKETS!!!" Then do a 180 and run away screaming like a little school girl.

Yes, it's that scary. "Back to the Future" really was, at its heart, a horror movie.

But, I digress. I still think there must be old-time food establishments in this city that manage to keep it both clean and real. (And places like Eddie's or Katz's can always pick up a mop occasionally).

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi parkslopemama,

I can't speak for what it's like during the week since I've never been around that area at that time.

On weekends during the day, however, parking is pretty easy so if you're doing lunch driving shouldn't be too bad.

Hope this helps you out!

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

Hi Greg,

I've been to Eddie's about three times in the past two years. Sadly, the nostalgia here can best be described as dusty. It's also pricey. As a result, I fear this would end up being a disappointment to the original poster.

The only reason I've been to Eddie's at all recently is because we were in the area for Wafa's and it was the cold weather season when Artisanal Creamery in Glendale is closed (Artisanal is only open from May to September).

On an unexpected happy note, I didn't know that Hinsch's had reopened. I heard only about the closing—not the rebirthing.

For a little different kind of nostalgia in Brooklyn, perhaps the original poster could check out Roll n Roaster:

http://rollnroaster.com/custom/rollnr...

This song just makes me happy!

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...