grvsmth's Profile
Vietnamese in Queens?
Good to know that Thai Son gets a thumbs-up.
Flushing has a bunch of Vietnamese restaurants, including a Pho Bang. There are two on Kissena Boulevard just east of Main Street.
There's also (or at least there was last summer) a Vietnamese restaurant on Roosevelt east of Main Street that's run by Koreans. It was, well, very Korean and the food was nothing to write home about.
New Thai in Woodside (EGB)
I don't know what the deal is with three new Thai restaurants opening in Woodside in the past couple months (UThai, EGB and I Am Thai on 43rd avenue and 49th Street). I hope at least one of them survives. But for takeout we've long been fans of the Thai Malay Cafe on 52nd and Skillman and would hate to see them go.
We went to EGB a few weeks ago and I had the Thailand Burger: a burger with peanut sauce. It was very good.
Mojotos - New Sunnyside Cubano
My wife and I had lunch there yesterday. They seemed a bit better prepared than when Joe went: they had plenty of bread. The only thing they were out of was picadillo, but the ropa vieja was very good; I could see the peppers and olives. So were the tostones and pollo al ajillo. It was nice to eat Caribbean Spanish food that gets its taste from fresh ingredients instead of salt and MSG.
The dining room has a skylight, which makes it much lighter and airier than we expected from the outside. Also three high chairs, so they welcome small children.
Chipotles on 110/Broadway [moved from Manhattan board]
The picadillo burrito was on the menu, and I ate it. My memory is very clear. And brown rice is great on a burrito; keeps you from getting beriberi.
Cheesesteak Factory in Sunnyside - closed?
The Cheesesteak Factory is owned by the former owners of Giulia's Pizza from a few blocks down, so it's not too surprising that they get a lot of pizza orders. Their cheesesteak is okay, but Uncle Spud's was better.
Turkish Country Kebab
Just recently discovered the Country Kebab at 76 Fulton Street, corner of Gold Street. The food is pretty tasty, and lives up to Sietsema's review:
http://www.villagevoice.com/nycguide/ve11973,1.html
What you wouldn't necessarily expect from Sietsema's review is that the entire staff was speaking Spanish with each other, and my kebab came wrapped in a very thin pita, like a döner burrito! Only in New York. (And maybe Queenstown, New Zealand, according to a Google search.)
Chipotles on 110/Broadway [moved from Manhattan board]
I just ate at Chipotle (at 20th and Sixth) for the first time tonight. The burrito was pretty tasty, especially the picadillo and cheese. The atmosphere was so-so; the ordering was Subway/Boston Market-style assembly-line, and there was a bottleneck at the cashier. The dining area was set up for eat-and-run with only a few booths and a lot of counter space with stools.
It's pretty similar to Burritoville, but more corporate and not as comfortable. Also, you have to pay for your chips and salsa, and ask for free water.
Madeiran espetada
Just figured I'd throw this out in case there was any info. In 2001, my wife and I had a great meal at a Madeiran restaurant in Avallon, France. The specialty was espetada, a relative of shish kebab that is apparently a general part of Portuguese cuisine, but particularly popular in Madeira.
http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/cooking/barbecue/espetada.htm
So if there's anywhere in the NY area to get espetada, I'd love to know about it. Madeiran espetada is of particular interest, but other varieties are welcome.
Queens recs: family friendly for couple with a new baby
When our son was a baby, most midscale places in Sunnyside and Woodside were fine. The Thai and Turkish restaurants were particularly welcoming.
Above and beyond that, there were some restaurants that seemed really happy to have a baby, and in fact the waitstaff/owners would pick the kid up and carry him around while we were eating. This happened at El Comelón on Greenpoint Avenue between 41st and 42nd, and on the next block at Grey Point Thai.
Sunnyside Grill: great food, reasonable prices - why is this place not packed?
We tried to go for lunch one time. Walked in, nobody came up to us. We waited for a few minutes and then someone told me that the entire restaurant was closed for a private party. No sign, no apology, no nothing.
Sunnyside bagels?
The only really good Chinese place in Sunnyside or Woodside is the Thai Malay Cafe on Skillman between 51st and 52nd. Unfortunately, it's their Thai, Malay and Indonesian food that's great; their Hunan/Szechuan/etc. is mediocre.
There always seems to be a line at the Peking BBQ (Peruvian-Chinese) on Woodside Avenue between 58th and 59th, but I'm allergic to chicken. Can anyone testify as to the quality of the other dishes?
Breakfast Lover in Queens
That coffee shop at 40th and Queens Boulevard is notorious; a guy was shot there some time in the past year. They also got bad health department inspection reports. And as you discovered, the food is awful and the service is lousy.
I'm glad you found the Rose; it's my favorite spot for Irish breakfast in Sunnyside, but Sidetracks also has a good brunch if you want to get fancy and expensive.
It ain't fancy, but Rincon Azteca on Greenpoint between 47th and 48th has good chilaquiles - Mexicans always look at me like I'm nuts when I say I like chilaquiles. The tamales at La Plaza on 49th and Skillman (weekends only) are good too.
One time I went to Your's Bakery (South American - I'm guessing Columbian) and they had a nice kind of breakfast wrap made from an arepa filled with scrambled eggs and chopped sausage, probably the closest thing you can get to a breakfast burrito in Queens. A few weeks later they kept me waiting while they served several of their paisanos who had come in after me; last time I ever go there.
Of course, everything at Marjolaine is good. The Chinese bakery on Roosevelt and 56th is up to Flushing standards; I often go there to get an iced coffee and a dried pork bun.
