#MonthlyPicks | What Marie Pedraza Loves About Queens
BY QEDC It's In Queens
Local residents and borough enthusiasts chime in on their favorite places to eat, learn, walk, and have fun in this monthly column. The February 2021 picks are by longtime Flushing resident Marie Pedraza, who is Vice President Sr. Regional Community Development Manager at HSBC. She works with nonprofits that serve low-to-moderate income households and small businesses in NYC’s Metropolitan Area.
Good Eats
Here are four restaurants worth visiting while exploring Queens neighborhoods. Flushing’s Latin Bakery serves Colombian breads (especially roscón, a sweet bread filled with guava), pastries (try a dense black cake or a light vanilla cake with dulce de leche and guava filling), empanadas, and daily, Colombian-style take-out specials that can feed two. Head to Sami’s Kebab House in Astoria for salmon or several other varieties of kebabs, and qabuli, a traditional Afghan rice topped with raisins and julienned carrots. In Long Island City, Raj’s Indian Kitchen serves great Tandoori (vegetable, chicken, lamb, and salmon), Biryani, and Rasmalai (cheese balls cooked in milk sauce and pistachios.) And in South Ozone Park, Trinciti Roti offers flavorful Trinidadian and Caribbean curries and traditional homemade beverages (soursop, sea moss, peanut punch, and mauby) that take me to warm shores. All venues have good portions, vegetarian options, reasonable prices, and friendly staff.
Unique Treats
Despaña Queens is a one-of-a-kind store offering foods imported from Spain, including butifarra, a sausage used in Catalan cuisine, and of course, all the makings for paella. An interesting treat is mojama, a tapa of cured tuna to be sliced thin and served on bread with olive oil and garlic. Please note that this Jackson Heights gem is only open on Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 4 pm.
Wander Streets
Kissena Park is home to New York City’s only velodrome, a 400-meter, oval cycling track that transitions from flat and straight to angled ups and downs. Built in 1962, it provides a thrilling ride for recreational bikers of any age and a training spot for competitive cyclists. To add more thing, visit Flushing Meadow Corona Park’s Meadow Lake for the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in early August. The annual event draws more than 200 teams.
Historic Feats
Addisleigh Park is an enclave of Tudor and Neo-Colonial houses in a slice of St. Albans that was designated a historic district in February 2011. Though built between 1910 and 1930 as a deed-restricted white neighborhood, prominent black jazz musicians, entertainers, athletes, and community leaders started moving there in the 1930s and 1940s. To name a few, Fats Waller, Count Basie, Lena Horne, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Ella Fitzgerald, and Percy Sutton took up residence in Addisleigh Park. In 1948, the Supreme Court overturned the discriminatory deed restrictions and made it possible for anyone to purchase a home regardless of race. To learn more, join the Queens Historical Society’s virtual tour of Addisleigh Park on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 2:30 pm.
Top image: Sami’s Kebab House; Bottom images: Kissena Park Velodrome from Queens Tourism Council, and Addisleigh Park