#MonthlyPicks | June 2018 by Israel Rocha Jr.
BY QEDC It's In Queens
Good Eats
One of the great things about working at NYC Health +Hospitals/Elmhurst is the amazing food you can sample from many different cultures and parts of the world.
I love the soups at Casa Rivera Grocery on 82nd Street. I especially love the lentil soup—it’s light, but filled with potatoes and has a wonderful cilantro flavor that’s out of this world. They also have a grilled chicken with plantains dish that’s delicious. Pio Pio, a Peruvian restaurant on Northern Boulevard, is also fantastic. Their grilled chicken plate is great, and they have amazing sauces. I also recommend their calamari or sliced hot dogs over French fries (salchipapas), which is a delicious combination I discovered in Queens. I never thought about that until I ate it and then I wondered why I had never tried it before because it’s delicious, especially with their homemade green sauce. Pio Pio also has a wonderful selection of healthy options, such as tasty fresh salads with avocado.
The Elmhurst/Jackson Heights area also has fantastic Thai food. One of my favorite places is Ayada Thai on Woodside Avenue. I could eat there every day. I love their Pad Thai and Pad Khee Mao. Also, their drunken noodles, Thai fried rice, and spring rolls are some of the best that I’ve ever had.
For classic New York pizza, I go to Louie’s Pizzeria on Baxter Avenue. They have a great meatball slice. For a classic burger, I like Emoji Burger on 37th Avenue. They have a great turkey burger with guacamole.
All that being said, as the head of a large healthcare institution treating thousands of patients annually, many of whom are dealing with chronic disease conditions linked to diet, my healthcare team and I are on a mission to help patients and community learn to balance their love of all this amazing food with practical ways to select healthier food options. In collaboration with the 82nd Street Partnership, we recently launched Get Fit to help restaurants identify healthy options — foods lower in saturated fat, sodium, and sugar, for example — that can then be advertised to their customers as healthier dining options. Our dietitians will work with local restaurants to review their recipes and offer suggestions on how to make adjustments to menu items without comprising flavor and enjoyment. We want people to know that you really can eat healthy and still savor the diverse cuisines this neighborhood has to offer.
Unique Treats
Queens has so many interesting and iconic neighborhoods if you want to walk around and experience the beauty and uniqueness of the borough. After sampling the great cuisine, visiting Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights is a good way to explore the neighborhood’s vibrant culture. You can visit South Asia, East Asia, and Latin America just in that little triangle, and I really enjoy the public programming there for the community.
I love Flushing Meadows Corona Park and visiting the beautiful Unisphere, its fountain, and Meadow Lake, as well as catching a Mets game at Citi Field.
The Long Island City waterfront is a great place to observe the borough’s explosive growth and the development of Long Island City, as well as capture terrific views of that other borough, Manhattan. I also like walking down Steinway Street in Astoria and seeing all the different Greek restaurants.
Wander Streets
One of the coolest features of Jackson Heights, especially the historic district, is that you can see some really unique architecture. The private and hidden gardens located inside building courtyards are really beautiful and make the neighborhood one of NYC’s gems. Having that feature in such a busy urban environment is really a gift to the community. There are also still a lot of streets lined with robust, mature trees, which is impressive.
Historic Feats (aka Making History)
Whenever I wander Queens streets, I enjoy how it gives me the feeling of watching the world in action. There is an electricity in the air that comes from seeing people from so many different cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds not only live side-by-side as neighbors but also make that diversity work and make their communities work. Diversity works! I’m originally from Texas and I have lived in other parts of the country and that was one of the first things that struck me about Queens. We are living the future right here and right now, and that is a powerful, powerful thing. Every day Queens shows the world what can be and what will be.
Israel Rocha Jr. is CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. He is also CEO of OneCity Health, a subsidiary of NYC Health + Hospitals focused on population health, care management, and implementation of New York State’s Delivery System Reform Program.