BigV's Profile
Does anyone else find that the Uzbek places in Queens tend to be rude?
I go to Salute once a month so I know what you are talking about. However, I see it as part of the experience of going. They aren't rude, they just aren't particularly warm and loving. I've been in there I don't know how many times- they don't know my name, but I do get a glimmer of recognition when I do and that's enough for me. I expect good food at reasonable prices and they never let me down. The rest- the minimal love in service and the colorful people who eat there- is part of the fun for me.
Are there any bbq places in queens that are good?
John Brown Smokehouse was solid the first time I went- give it a shot.
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John Brown Smokehouse
25-08 37th Ave, Queens, NY 11101
fresh mozzarella in QUEENS?
It's fair to disagree on whether you like their food or not, but I'd hope the level of discourse here would be high enough to refrain from describing places as 'dumps'. It's small, it's not fancy, but I think 'dump' is an extremely poor description.
fresh mozzarella in QUEENS?
I'm guessing that Tony's is the 'dump' in Whitestone you referenced earlier? I'm surprised- everyone I've ever sent there has liked the food and the mozzarella.
fresh mozzarella in QUEENS?
Tony's Beechhurst Deli.
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Tony's Beechhurst Deli
11-18 154th St, Queens, NY 11357
Devouring Queens- NYMag's NewTop 20 Eats- Opinions?
As a devourer of Queens food, my thoughts:
1) I work in Long Island City and I've been to M.Wells...it's good, but I honestly do not get all of the hype this place gets. Maybe I need to go there again because the first time I went was fine but nothing special. I'd say the best food in LIC is either LIC Market, La Vuelta, Bella Via, or Sweetleaf (for coffee/tea).
2) Tortilleria Nixtamal- it's good for tortillas and tamales, but I'll always be influenced by the time I went for their World Cup chilaquiles special...ordered them...sat there for 75 minutes...and was eventually told that due to a big order they couldn't make them for us and we had to leave. And when I told the owner of the experience, I kind of expected them to ask us to come back so we can have them and they didn't offer that. Although I will say I have a generally favorable impression of the people who run the place.
I'll throw out some others I didn't see on the list- Salut for Uzbeki in Forest Hills/Rego Park, Pio Pio for rotisserie chicken (I like the one in Jackson Heights), Joe's Shanghai in Flushing (Pork/Crab soup dumplings, Shanghai Noodles, Young Chow Fried Rice),, and I'll give a shout out to Tony's Beechhurst Deli for their simple yet amazing Italian offerings, including my all-time favorite fresh mozzarella.
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Joe's Shanghai
136-21 37th Ave, Queens, NY 11354
Salute
63-42 108th St, Queens, NY 11375
Pio Pio
84-02 Northern Blvd, Queens, NY 11372
La Vuelta
10-43 44th Dr, Queens, NY 11101
Tony's Beechhurst Deli
11-18 154th St, Queens, NY 11357
Bella Via
47-46 Vernon Blvd, Queens, NY 11101
Tortilleria Nixtamal
104-05 47th Ave, Queens, NY 11368
Sweetleaf Coffee & Tea
10-93 Jackson Ave, Queens, NY 11101
M. Wells Diner
21-17 49th Ave, Queens, NY 11101
LIC Market
21-52 44th Dr, Queens, NY 11101
Top 5 Restaurants to try in Queens?
My favorite places to eat in Queens in no particular order:
Taqueria Coatzingo (Mexican)
Bella Via (thin crust pizza)
Pio Pio (chicken)
Salut (kebabs/hummus)
Joe's Shanghai (pork/crab soup dumplings)
Sripraphai (Thai)
Avli (Greek)
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Taqueria Coatzingo
76-05 Roosevelt Ave, Queens, NY 11372
Joe's Shanghai
136-21 37th Ave, Queens, NY 11354
Salute
63-42 108th St, Queens, NY 11375
Avli
38-31 Bell Blvd, Queens, NY 11361
Pio Pio
84-02 Northern Blvd, Queens, NY 11372
SriPraPhai
64-13 39th Ave, Queens, NY 11377
Bella Via
47-46 Vernon Blvd, Queens, NY 11101
Pizza in Long Island City that delivers?
Bella Via. They start taking orders around 11:45 am.
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Bella Via
47-46 Vernon Blvd, Queens, NY 11101
cupcakes and cakes in queens
Sage in LIC makes good cupcakes- I'd check them out as well. Cannelle Patisserie is also a good option.
Little Neck
Northern Manor has solid Chinese food. Or you could drive across the border and hit Peter Luger :)
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Northern Manor
251-15 Northern Blvd, Queens, NY 11362
Outer Boro Best Bites
We need to do what they do on the LA board- get users to vote and come out with an annual Ultimate Outer Boroughs (instead of Ultimate LA) list. We need a champion to lead this effort!
Good Pupusas and Tamales in . . .Whitestone. I can't believe it.
I checked it out today- ScottK doesn't lie- the papusas and tamales were good. It's definitely more of a lunch place- I visited at 6pm on a Wednesday and it was very quiet.
VALENTINO'S ON THE GREEN
That's probably the old White House restaurant. That place needed an upgrade so hopefully Joe can do good things.
Btw...I LOVE Tony's Beechhurst Deli.
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Tony's Beechhurst Deli
11-18 154th St, Queens, NY 11357
White House
10-24 154th St, Queens, NY 11357
Not so impressed with Petey's Burger in Astoria
Agreed on Petey's. Nothing special and don't understand the love.
Lobster Cantonese Takeout Flushing/North Flushing/Bayside/Whitestone
I don't believe they make Lobster Cantonese but I had a good experience ordering their Lobster with Ginger and Scallion so I'll throw out a nod for Northern Manor in Little Neck.
Need good food near JFK, but not Asian.
Don Peppe's family style Italian is good. That's pretty close by. Closed Mondays but open noon all other days (Sun open 1).
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Don Peppe
135-58 Lefferts Blvd, Queens, NY 11420
Searching Mexican Food Catering
I would fear giving a catering order to Nixtamal unless you don't have a tight timeframe for when/if the food arrives- the concept of time is very different in their kitchen.
LIC Market Opens
In addition to the much anticipated opening of Burger Garage, LIC has added another eating option. LIC Market opened last Thursday at 21-52 44th Drive (directly to the left of Da Gianni about a block away). LIC Market serves Breakfast from 7-11 (pastries, omelets, baguettes, burritos) and Lunch from 11-4 (a small selection of salads, sandwiches, and entrees). They also served various baked goods (cookies) and the usual coffee/tea/fruit juice beverages.
I tried their Roasted Chicken Sandwich today. Pretty good- they use both dark and white meat chicken (some folks don't care for dark meat so be forewarned) and freshly baked bread in addition to the arugula, provolone, carmelized onions, and light dressing that goes into the sandwich.
A few warnings:
1) It ain't cheap- sandwiches start at $8
2) The take-out area is not air conditioned but there is a small seating area in the back that is air conditioned
3) If you're getting take-out, I'd recommend you call ahead (718-361-0013) as orders placed in person arrive with Sage-like speed
4) The menu is fairly limited (there are currently 10 lunch selections)- check it out before you go at: http://licmarket.com/menu/
Burger Garage finally opens in LIC
After months of delays, Burger Garage finally opened up for dinner in LIC yesterday so my wife and I decided to try it out.
The burgers are 4 oz patties (real 4 oz not pre-cooked 4 oz size) and are made with what they described as a 'custom blend' of black angus meat. The menu indicates the burgers are cooked fully unless otherwise asked for, although when I asked for a medium the server didn't think they were offering anything except for well done (which turned out more like medium well). You can get a single or a double and toppings include various cheeses (yellow/white american, cheddar, muenster, and swiss), sauteed onions/mushrooms, applewood smoked bacon, soy marinated jalapenos, and coleslaw (toppings are 50 cents each).
The burgers were good- they are cooked on a griddle which is the traditional way to cook burgers although I know there are a lot of folks who prefer the char-grilled taste of a flame broiled burger to a griddle. I think most people would be pretty happy with these burgers- the meat taste is very good and the patties are very juicy.
My wife is from California so when she saw that the menu included fries, chili, and cheese, a question emerged- could they make chili cheese fries? They weren't listed as a menu item but the very friendly servers responded 'why not' and improvised a way to charge me for them on the register. The fries were solid and the chili was tasty without being too spicy- it was definitely more tomato-y tasting than most chilis I've had.
Since we didn't want to have a heart attack on the spot, we decided not to try their tempting milkshakes which included chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, black & white, and coffee. They also offer a homemade dessert of the day- coconut cream pie- which we also passed on in favor of living longer.
We tried their fresh lemonade- it was good although a bit on the sweet side. My wife had some water with her so when we added some it was much better.
As I stated earlier, the service was very friendly- which I guess you'd expect from a brand new place but I got the feeling the service would remain friendly long into the future. The inside of the place is set up with a retro auto garage motif combined with a diner feel, and I think they did an excellent job with that.
I heard they'll be open 4-9 for dinner this week and hopefully they'll expand to their normal hours to include lunch next week.
As I work across the street, I'll have to try a few different burger combinations to find my favorite, but Burger Garage is a long-awaited and soon to be well-appreciated addition to the LIC neighborhood.
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The Burger Garage
25-36 Jackson Ave, Queens, NY 11101
Mexican restaurant in Brooklyn?
I agree with the Sunset Park recommendations. I'll add Calexico in Carroll Gardens for my favorite carne asada (burrito or taco) in NYC.
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Calexico
122 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Burger Garage - LIC. Reviews?
OK I finally got word:
Official opening is next Tues 7.27 (evenings only next week) and then will be open for lunch and dinner the week of Aug 2.
You're welcome for the publicity, BG :)
Burger Garage - LIC. Reviews?
I noticed the Burger Garage awnings are gone and the place is all locked up today- what happened? Was I right and it was a big experiment all along?
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The Burger Garage
25-36 Jackson Ave, Queens, NY 11101
Authentic Mexican in Brooklyn or Queens
At least you got your food :) How many people go to a restaurant, order something, and then actually never get it?
Authentic Mexican in Brooklyn or Queens
I think Nixtamal's performance depends on when you go. I've had experiences that ranged from excellent (tamales comparable to anywhere) to disasterous (i ordered chilaquiles a few weeks ago...and an hour and fifteen minutes later they told me they couldn't make them because they got a big order). The tacos are just ok for me.
Chinese in Forest Hills, Rego Park, Glendale areas?
It's been a while but East Ocean Palace on Queens Blvd was always a solid choice for Chinese in Forest Hills when I lived there.
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East Ocean Palace
113-15 Queens Blvd, Queens, NY 11375
Are there any good Bagel Appetizing Spots left in Queens that aren't filthy or lousy?
Utopia Bagels is my favorite bagel in Queens or anywhere in NYC for that matter. It's worth the drive. My wife is on her way there for me this am :)
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Utopia Bagels
19-09 Utopia Pkwy, Queens, NY 11357
Peter Luger steak- Medium? Well?
Your boyfriend is nuts. I've never seen rare ordered in all the groups I've been with at Peter Luger. Medium Rare to Medium Well are the most common orders. I prefer Medium, the waiters there recommend Medium Rare but I don't like it being so chewy so Medium is good for me. If you order it Well, don't waste the money- eat somewhere else. It means you don't care for steak!
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Peter Luger Steak House
178 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211
