#MonthlyPicks | April ’15 by Joe DiStefano
BY admin
Good Eats:
From mom-and-pop ethnic spots to fine dining with a funky twist, Queens has it all. M. Wells recently started doing brunch on weekends, and it is a favorite. Chef Hugue Dufour’s Russian waffle, topped with several types of caviar, smoked fish, and pickled fennel, is reason enough to head to Long Island City. Meanwhile over in Sunnyside, Andy Doubrava has taken the reins from Danny Yi at Salt & Fat, adding such delights as sweet-and-sour duck wings to the menu. In Jackson Heights, Kamala Gauchan, the matriarch of Dhaulagiri Kitchen, continues to cook up such soulful Nepalese fare as buffalo meat dumplings in a postage stamp-sized eatery, while the Arepa Ladymakes sure that I keep up my physical fitness regimen, adding even more calorific Colombian treats, such as patacones mixto-a sheet of crunchy fried plantains topped with chorizo, carne asada, and chicharrón-to the menu.
Wander Streets:
One of my favorite things to do is walk-and nosh-my way through Elmhurst, Queens’ smaller Chinatown, which encompasses Broadway between Queens Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue. I call it “SEA (South East Asian) Elmhurst,” due to the high concentration of Indonesian and Thai restaurants. I start out with a bowl of bubur ayam-rice porridge fortified with fried chicken and a salted egg-at Java Village, a lovely little Indonesian spot. Then I stock up on instant ginger tea at nearby OK Indo Food Market before continuing to Plant Love House, a charming Thai noodle shop, for a quick bowl of tom yum. Then it’s over to Sugar Club, a charming Thai café for a dessert of coffee with condensed milk and kanom pang ping,batons of Thai toast brushed with sugar and drizzled with even more condensed milk.
Unique Treats:
Queens is unique in that is home two very ornate temples: one Hindu; the other Thai Buddhist. The Ganesh Temple,located on Bowne Street about a 20-minute walk from downtown Flushing, is a sight to behold; its roof towers above the nearby residential houses. After paying your respects to the Hindu devas in the sanctuary, enjoy a snack downstairs in the Temple Canteen, which has some of the tastiest South Indian vegetarian delights around. Wat Buddha Thai Thavorn Vanaram is located in Elmhurst and features an ornate rooftop shrine, where the Emerald Buddha presides.
Historic Feats:
In addition to tons of amazing Chinese food, downtown Flushing is steeped in local history. Start at St. George’s Episcopal Church, which was founded in 1702, at 135-32 38th Avenue. Then head over to Northern Boulevard, where you will find the Quaker Meeting House, which was built in 1694, and is the oldest house of worship in New York City. Fans of the arts as well as architecture won’t want to miss Flushing Town Hall, which was built in 1862 and is designed in the Romanesque Revival style that was popular at that time.
Queens-based food writer and culinary tour guide Joe DiStefano has been exploring the borough’s diverse global cuisines-from Tibetan beef jerky and Thai noodle soup to such regional Chinese specialties as lamb face salad and Henanese lamb noodle soup as well as American BBQ and fine dining-for more than a decade. An intrepid eater and explorer, he’s widely recognized by such culinary luminaries as Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern as a go-to source on the borough’s rich tapestry of cuisines and cultures. He founded the website Chopsticks+Marrow, where he blogs about food in Queens and beyond, in late 2012. DiStefano has also written for the quarterly magazine Edible Queens. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, as well as numerous blogs and web sites, including Gourmet, Serious Eats New York, and Food Republic. In his spare time he is writing a book about the history of culinary culture along the 7 line in Queens. He is especially proud of his ability to do The New York Times crossword in 15 minutes or less without spilling his roti canai on it.
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