welle's Profile
Late night inexpensive bite near Queens Plaza
Anyone can recommend some cheap grub in LIC/Astoria or Sunnyside within walking distance from Queens plaza? Late night meaning after 9pm. TIA! I know I can walk few blocks north to Copacabana, but thought I could find something else...
Guide to Woodside
I like living in Woodside - while there are only handful of restaurants I go to in the neighborhood itself, I like how it is in between Sunnyside, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and some parts of Astoria - all within walking distance or short subway/bus ride.
Good Korean in Jackson Heights
No banchan, just a small plate of pickled radish. The $4 ramen came with a rice ball, I think ... There were so many yummy things at other tables, but I was under the weather and was happy with my soup!
Good Korean in Jackson Heights
I've eaten at Friend's - really good and inexpensive. I had kimchi stew, my friend had ramen. I thought ramen was ok, tasted almost like ramen out of packet, but my stew was really good. The owner is very friendly. Korean style sushi rolls were very good too.
This weekend in Queens, and need a new food (plus) destination
Make sure you go to Rego Park either after sunset on Saturday or on Sunday.
If you haven't done 37th ave of Jackson Heights - it's a nice place to explore. My favorites are La Portena (Argentinian) and El Chivito d'oro (Urugvaian), better yet walk few blocks to Northern Blvd. to my favorite Peruvian - El Sol. From there you can check out Louis Armstrong House Museum: http://www.satchmo.net/about/location.shtml
Hudson Valley Adventures
Sweet Sue's in Phoenicia go there twice - once for breakfast (until 3pm) and once for dinner (the cajun shrimp dish with grits rocks!)
Mojotos - New Sunnyside Cubano
Both La Flor and Mojitos are technically in Woodside.
Lunch in Queens - easy from Midtown?
I found this place by accident while walking to the rivefront from my apt in Woodside, so I don't remember the name but it had the most amazing Dominican? food. And cheap. It's one block West from 21st street on 40 ave (1 block from the 21st street stop on F). It's right outside of the projects (one side of the street is housing project and other side is industrial store fronts), but I'm pretty sure during lunch it fills with a lunch crowd from the surrounding factories and garages, so it's pretty safe. The restaurant is on the corner, it's the most shiny new-looking establishment on that block.
Since you're thinking of going to Sunnyside anyway, Mangal Kebab is a great Turkish right off 46st stop on 7. You can also go all the way to Woodside to Sripraphai, 7 runs express from Manhattan after 12pm - when I take-out I usually call the restaurant as soon as I emerge from the tunnel, so the meal is ready by the time I get there...
B24 bus = quick ride to De Mole from Williamsburg
Just a block west from De Mole, there is a Bolivian restaurant Mi Bolivia, which IMO doesn't get much attention from this board (undeservedly). I went there on Sunday, as I was craving their saltenas, and they were as good as I remembered - only $2 filled with meat to the brims. I also had a chorizo sandwich ($4), it came on a toasted homemade round bread with grilled chorizos, red onions, tomatoes and lettuce - best value meal IMO.
Cheese shops in Queens?
Got it, i knew it sounded wrong the minute I posted - blame on a sleep deprivation
Need Brooklyn or NY-esque Gift Ideas!
One time I was at the Associated supermarket on w57th street and observed a curious thing - a busload of Japanese tourists came in and each bought bagfuls of Pepperidge Farm cookies. I wonder if PF has some following in Japan? Interestingly, they were buying the kinds that are not too popular in the US - the kinds with jelly in them. PF is originally from CT so close enough to NY? If you want something from Brooklyn, then Entemann's is very NY and widely available. I know i'm committing a sacrelig by recommending them, but maybe Entemann's could be exciting for a Japanese palate?
PS1 recommendations?
Last time I was there they had a chef working in the kitchen making some inventive dishes. Basic cafe fare like quiches, pizza, sandwiches and soups, but quite creative and good, but maybe it changed...
Hyderabad in Jackson Heights
Was wondering if any of the hounds visited re-visited this tiny storefront in Woodside. I had a goat byriani from their steam table last weekend and it was sublime. The best byriani I've tasted in NY, IMO. Cannot wait to try their other stuff. They also make naan to order and anything in tandoor to order.
PS1 recommendations?
I haven't been there for the past year, but the cafe inside of PS 1 used to be very good and inexpensive.
Rockaways
Breezy Point is quite a walk from the subway (almost 4 miles?) - but the Breezy Point Park on the most Western tip o the Rockaway peninsula is really nice - great ocean views, a lot of wildlife (nesting birds mostly). The town I believe is a gated community, don't think you'll find anything to eat. If you re going to walk to the most western tip of Rockaways (I suggest you do), it's going to another another 4 miles roundtrip. There is also a bus that would connect you to the subway. I suggest you pack a picnic with you. Another alternative is to walk across the Marine Pkway bridge or take a #35 bus to Brooklyn, and from there Sheepshead Bay and Brighton Beach are not very far. Of course it's all very easy by bicycle...
what can I get in Brighton Beach ?
fake as in using inferior fish's roe. Like with many expensive/luxury items, always buy your caviar from trusted sources.
Longtime vegetarian - one-time meat bite in Queens
Lamb burger from the Xian stall in Flushing,
morcilla from El Chivito d'Oro,
repeat Xian burger,
TX ranger BBQ,
repeat Xian burger
Cheese shops in Queens?
Try the KeyFood on Queens blvd by the Big 5 co-ops - they have sort of a decent cheese case IRIC (or Stop'n'Shop on Northern). If you need fresh mozzarell, go to Ottomanelli's. Italian imports, Sapori D'Ischia. Otherwise, Butcher Block or that Romanian/Armenian place on 43rd ave. I'm sort of glad that we don't have a decent cheese shop in Woodside though, otherwise I'd be broke and fat!
Red Hook Ball Fields
I'm pretty sure most of them are there to sell to the public. Even the tiniest makeshift soccer fields have 1-2 vendors. E.g. the concrete field of Sunnyside (right where the Farmer's market meets on Sundays) gets a lot of soccer action, I was there few Saturdays ago and noticed one lady setting her wares from the back of a black limo. She said she was Equadorian. She only had 1 dish - tongue stew in some red sauce with rice, $6. Really really good, my SO still talks about it. Neither of us speak Spanish, but we never hesitate to ask if the food is for sale. The worst can happen, we get invited to a meal :)
what can I get in Brighton Beach ?
Besides obvious food stuff, check out numerous pharmacies - they have a good selection and prices for homeopathic herbs and medicines. For housewares, try russian-style brooms made of tree branches, not the kind you use for russian sauna with leaves on, but the ones to sweep the floor with. Porcelain tea pots or tea sets - they're usually hard to find or are way too expensive at the mainstream houseware stores. If you're lucky, you may get a genuine wedding-ring-shawl from a babushka selling her wares on the sidewalk to supplement her SS income...
Where's a great Diner - LIC / Sunnyside / Woodside / Maspeth
Stop Inn, but you'll get "Luv" instead of "Honey"...
Best shop for fresh chorizo / morcilla?
IRIC, Don Francisco's morcilla is also pre-cooked. I prefer El Chivito's, but DF's is very good as well...
Upscale restaurants of Queens
There are tons of things to do and see in Queens - Queens Museum of Art is wonderful with no crowds and great installations by contemporary artists, not counting the gigantic model of NYC. Then there are Noguchi museum/garden, Sculpture Museum in LIC, Socrates park, PS1 (a must), Louis Armstrong museum, Quaker house, Fort Totten just to name few. Talia Spanish Theater. Jamaica wildlife refuge - awesome birding. Forest Park and Alley Pond park have great hiking. Rockaway beach for miles and miles of white sand and Atlantic Ocean. There are other beaches in NYC, but only in Queens, you have one directly on the ocean (maybe SI has one don't know, but accessible directly by subway/mta bus is only Rockaway). If you have a car, drive to the southernmost point for the dunes teeming with wildlife and majestic waves.
Family Deli & Grocery in Woodside
Just wanted to let the hounds in the area know that this little shop is worth patronizing. It's a small grocery store where they bake Mexican bread on premises throughout the day (in small batches so the bread stays fresh). They also make sandwiches (haven't tried) and hot food. On my recent visit the hot food entree consisted of steak with nopals, rice and fried rice, sunnyside up egg, small korean fried white fish pancake - all for $5. Not outstanding, but tasty and cheap if you don't feel like cooking. They only make 1-2 dishes per day. The grocery store itself is worth visiting - it has few organic products, small but pretty good produce selection, eclectic variety of european imports like muesli, Swedish cookies, Mexican imports, Korean pears, sushi rice etc. and a pretty wide variety (for the size of the store) of mexican chili peppers. The owner is Korean and her staff and patrons are mostly Mexican (she's the only one who speaks English btw). It's on Roosevelt Ave between 65th and 67th (right across the street from Sripraphai).
Jonathan Forgash - Film Chefs - LIC
I believe they're still there, just don't do retail anymore. Strictly catering.
Big Supermarket in Queens with Organic products
Several months old, but from Sunnyside you're better off shopping at Costco in LIC - probably 5 min drive. Prices and quality way better than Fairway, imo.
TOP 5 RESTAURANTS WITHIN TEN BLOCKS
my personal top 5:
Sripraphai
Sapori D'Ischia
Donovan's Pub
Mangal Kebab
Lao Bei fan noodle house
TOP 5 RESTAURANTS WITHIN TEN BLOCKS
I'm in Woodside, half a block away from Sripraphai. Since the usual "10 blocks" measurement is not a good comparative factor when it comes to irregular Queens streets, I'm using "10 min walk measurement". Here it goes - 10 min walk east puts me in Jackson Heights; 10 minutes west put me in Sunnyside and 10 min SE put me in Elmhurst. And that's not counting Woodside restaurants. Nuff said..
Interesting food stops near Sripraphai? Take-out chicken? Anything else?
It's only a block and half away from the 61st street 7train station - just walk 1 block west under the subway tracks (towards Manhattan, i.e. in opposite direction from Sri direction). Once you passed Duane Reade, You'll see HAR across a little triangle island - right next to the Chase bank.
You can re-track your way back or to Sripraphai by followin the subway tracks.
