jaingmaster's Profile
Best Breakfast In Queens or Brooklyn?
Brunch at Char No 4 in Cobble Hill is excellent. They smoke their own bacon and serve thick slices of it.
Another very different option that I've liked recently is Pies n Thighs in Williamsburg. If you're into chicken biscuits or chicken and waffles, this is a great place to get them. The biscuits and (sauasage) gravy are outstanding too.
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Pies 'n' Thighs
166 S 4th St, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Char No. 4
196 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Red Velvet Cake Hunt! What's the best bakery for a red velvet wedding cake?
Not outer boroughs, but my wife and I got a red velvet cake from Sweet Element based in East Orange, NJ for our wedding a few months ago. The cake was outstanding: not at all dry (like red velvet can sometimes be), just a hint of chocolate flavor in the cake, and a good balance between sweet and tart in the cream cheese frosting. Highly, highly recommended.
NYC taco trucks
There are many taco threads on this board already. My vote goes for the Cuatro Vientos truck in Woodside, Queens. Great for lengua and carnitas, nighttime only.
The general opinion on this board seems to be that Nixtamal has gone downhill. However, I have yet to have a bad experience there, so I'll say you should go. And anyway, no tour of NYC tacos could claim to be complete without it. Excellent al pastor.
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Los Cuatro Vientos
Roosevelt Ave and 65th St, Queens, NY 11377
K Cups?
Many chain supermarkets and other big box stores sell K cups. I'm not sure where in the boroughs you are or what sort of access you have to these sorts of stores. In the past I've bought them at Stop & Shop (LIC) and Target (College Point), and recently noticed that Staples (Woodside) also sells them.
Waits at Taro, friday night?
We went last Friday around 8pm. All of the tables were full and there were a few people waiting, but we snagged 2 seats at the sushi bar right away.
I thought the quality was very high. However, I'm not a sushi expert, so take that with a grain of salt (drop of soy sauce?)
Early roadtrip to Wineries/Tanger - where to stop for coffee/bagels?
Looks like I'm late to post this, since your trip happened yesterday. But for others with the same question, Bagel Oasis on the LIE service road would work great.
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Bagel Oasis
183-12 Horace Harding Expy, Queens, NY 11365
Share Your Best Neighborhood Nosh Tours
For Roosevelt Ave you won't find much better than Jeff's taco tour: http://iwantmorefood.com/taco-crawl/ (Oddly, his earlier post on pizza is now gone.) In particular, check out the map at the bottom of the post. This covers the predominantly Latin American stretch of Roosevelt through Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, and Corona and would be a good complement to Kathryn's Flushing tour.
Be warned: traffic and parking in the heart of Jackson Heights can be rough. If you're driving you might do better to leave the car in nearby Woodside. Parking is much easier, and the walk over to Jackson Heights takes you along the Philipino stretch of Roosevelt Ave.
Gourmet in Queens?
Echoing Paulomet, it depends on where in Queens. Based on the "or Nassau" addition, I'm guessing you're somewhere out east. Food Cellar is a gourmet market a la Whole Foods, with prices to match, but its LIC location might not be much of an improvement over Manhattan.
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Food Cellar & Co.
4-85 47th Rd, Queens, NY 11101
Pizza in Long Island City that delivers?
I believe Bella Via delivers, but it may depend on where you are in LIC and how much you're ordering.
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Bella Via
47-46 Vernon Blvd, Queens, NY 11101
Brooklyn food map?
Try this map: http://www.verysmallarray.com/?p=967
It's not exhaustive, but I think it's a good overview.
M. Wells Dinner
I'd never heard of pudding chemeur (sp?) before trying it at M Wells a few weeks ago. Amazing.
http://www.tastyretreat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Pudding-chemeur2.jpg
Zabb Queens and Playground
It doesn't look like they have mock duck. Here's the menu: http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/3/1542536/restaurant/New-York/Jackson-Heights/Playground-bar-bistro-Queens
Cupcakes
I haven't had much luck with cupcakes in the outer boroughs. Sometimes the Cupcake Stop truck parks in Park Slope, and they're pretty good.
Cupcakes are a rare weak spot for Cannelle, not recommended for that.
Birthday weekend in New York - help me feel in the gaps
You might consider De Mole in Sunnyside, Queens for Mexican. The enchiladas are outstanding, particularly the salsa verde and mole poblano. Tamales are quite good as well, but the tacos tend to be dry and not very good. Burritos are a touchy subject; I'm no expert so I won't comment on authenticity, but I've enjoyed both the chicken and cactus varieties from De Mole.
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De Mole
45-02 48th Ave, Queens, NY 11377
Sunday brunch in Williamsburg
Egg does an excellent brunch but it can get very crowded. The tables are on the small side, I'm not sure it would be ideal for a large group.
Recently reviewed Park Slope restaurants in NY Times?
Stone Park Cafe comes to mind. Might that be it?
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Stone Park Cafe
324 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Brooklyn baked goods?
The former TLRH in Park Slope now goes by the name Ladybird Bakery. The TLRH location on the Upper East Side kept the name when the partners split.
However, they continue to carry Brooklyn Blackout cake.
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Ladybird Bakery
1112 8th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Playground -- Thai in Jackson Heights
New Thai restaurant in the area where Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, and Woodside meet. Upon hearing that it's owned by the original owner of Zabb, I had to go. The waitress confirmed that this is true. It's also right next to Zabb, which is still there but not what it used to be.
We had:
Fish cakes -- good, but not great. Made with red snapper and fried, they were a little too chewy for me. They come with a spicy sauce of chopped peanuts, vinegar, red onion, cucumber, and some other stuff.
Pad cee ew -- great. The noodles had an almost melty texture and a deep soy sauce flavor. This dish is frequently boring, but when it's done right it's really good. Playground's pad cee ew is easily the best I've had in this area.
Crispy pork with Chinese broccoli -- great. The pork was cut into strips: crispy on the ends, fatty and tender in the middle. The Chinese broccoli stalks were crunchy, the sauce was salty. Delicious.
The space can accommodate maybe 25 people, but it was mostly empty tonight. The sole waitress was friendly and efficient. Looking forward to trying out the rest of the menu, which to my disappointment does not include chive dumplings.
Other threads:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/490692
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/734126
Playground Thai Restaurant
71-30 Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights
Menu: http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/3/1542536/restaurant/New-York/Jackson-Heights/Playground-bar-bistro-Queens
Ploy Thai: Yet another entry into the Elmhurst scene
The chive dumplings are excellent. They're crispy on the outside and kind of gooey on the inside.
I got hooked on these at Zabb before it changed, and the ones at Ploy are just as good.
You can get them at Chao and Ayada too, but the versions at those restaurants aren't as texturally pleasing to me.
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Ayada
77-08 Woodside Ave, Queens, NY 11373
Timmy O's Frozen Custard Carousel Concession Forest Park?
I stopped by Timmy's Friday night and chatted with him for a while. The conversation turned to location and he mentioned that he wasn't getting the sort of local following he hoped for. Most of his custard customers were from other areas, while the neighborhood kids preferred hamburgers and fries. He was tossing around the idea of opening up shop elsewhere; I'm not really sure if he meant instead of or in addition to the current store.
I floated the idea of opening up near Sripraphai. (At the time I thought this was an original idea of mine, but now reading back over the thread I'm sure I just internalized janie's comment from several months ago.) I don't know if he'd have better luck with the local crowd, but at least he'd have a steady flow of Manhattan foodies.
If others have suggestions for where he could succeed, I'm sure he's receptive to customer input.
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SriPraPhai
64-13 39th Ave, Queens, NY 11377
Woodside redux
What other rums do you prefer? I'm always looking to broaden my horizons. And, of course, if I see them in the area I'll happily report back.
Fish: apparently a lot of markets are closed on Sundays, so I checked out Seatide after seeing your mention above. It was, um, less than great: tuna was nearly brown, salmon looked a bit hacked up. I don't think I'll be going back there.
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Seatide
95-31 Roosevelt Ave, Queens, NY 11372
Woodside redux
Agree with Jeff, the Cuatro Vientos truck is outstanding -- definitely worth a visit.
I also like the 5 Star wine store. Never had a problem finding rum there; Mt Gay, Goslings, and Myers are my usuals, and I'm pretty sure I've seen Appleton's there as well. More exotic than that you might not find, but that's a decent selection. Additionally, I've always found the staff there very helpful. If there's something in particular that you're looking for, they'd probably be willing to order it.
The fish shop on 63rd/Roos has been gone for several months. The plywood around the old storefront is relatively new, which to me implies construction going on inside. Recently we've been getting fish from the Grand Fish Market in Elmhurst. For sushi, I go to Tomo in Jackson Heights (37th Ave near 86th St) about once a week.
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Tomo
86-12 37th Ave, Queens, NY 11372
Romanesco/ Squash or Zuchini Blossoms/ Ramps/ Samphires in QUEENS??
Try Brooklyn Grange: http://brooklyngrangefarm.com/markets/
I think I remember seeing squash blossoms last weekend.
M. Wells Diner in LIC serves Timmy's Frozen Custard!!
There were definitely AC vents in the ceiling, but as far as I could tell they weren't working. There was a large fan near the entrance that wasn't helping much. Maybe this is one of the kinks to be worked out before they expand to full service, or maybe I just picked a bad day/time. Anyone else have heat issues here?
M. Wells Diner in LIC serves Timmy's Frozen Custard!!
I went for breakfast this morning, and it was very good. We tried quite a few things:
Coffee: strong without being bitter. From Oslo in Brooklyn, which I'd never heard of before today.
Doughnut: good flavor, but a bit too heavy for my liking.
Bacalao (salt cod) hash: delicious. Very salty, of course, with finely shredded potatoes, peas, a poached egg, and hollandaise. I would have liked the egg white less runny, but that's the only complaint.
Tortilla Espanola: a little oily, but well seasoned -- a little bit of lingering heat. Came with a nice piece of baguette.
We wanted to try a biscuit and jam, but they weren't ready yet. Like everyone else, I'm looking forward to exploring the rest of the menu.
A few non-food comments:
Parking nearby is difficult. The Hunterspoint Ave stop on the 7 train is on the same block as the diner; next time I'll take the train rather than drive.
The restaurant can get very hot, or at least it was at 7:30 AM when I was there. I can only imagine what it's like later in the day.
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M. Wells Diner
21-17 49th Ave, Queens, NY 11101
Burger Garage - LIC. Reviews?
Seriously? I called last week and they said they were planning to open "next week", which would now be this week.
M. Wells Diner in LIC serves Timmy's Frozen Custard!!
Haven't been yet, but planning a visit this week. The post on Edible Queens has a picture of an ice cream sandwich made with Timmy's custard:
http://www.ediblecommunities.com/queens/447-breakfast-bliss-at-m-wells-diner-in-lic.htm
Brooklyn Food Tour...Red Hook and Park Slope
Red Hook can be difficult by bus, but your efforts will be rewarded.
Red Hook Lobster Pound: lobster rolls. In my most recent visit I liked the Maine-style over the Connecticut-style, but both are excellent. If you're with someone else (and don't mind dropping the $15/roll) get one of each and split.
Baked: baked things. Sweet and salty cupcake is outstanding. I've had other things here, and they were good but unmemorable.
Red Hook Ball Fields: Latin-American street food.
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Baked
359 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Red Hook Lobster Pound
284 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Thai Malay Sunnyside/Woodside border closing?
Rumphool rarely gets mentioned on this board, but it might be what you're looking for. It's been about a year since I ordered from them, but the food is (was) solid. Old thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/648510
They're only 5 blocks from Thai Malay, so I'd imagine the delivery zone is similar.
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Rumphool
57-17 Roosevelt Ave, Queens, NY 11377
