Good Eats:
At the intersection of Corona Avenue and Junction Boulevard in Corona—only steps away from the Elmhurst border—is an Italian restaurant housed inside the borough’s answer to the Flatiron building. Il Triangolo boasts some of the best Italian cuisine I have ever eaten… scratch that… some of the best food of any style I have ever eaten. From the traditional (but far from traditional-tasting) Chicken Parmigiana to the Homemade Cavatelli with broccoli rabe, sausage, and cherry tomatoes, there is something on the menu for everyone. Quick free association: fresh; tasty; delicious; off the chain (for some of my fellow millennials). Mario, the owner, is hospitable and has customer service down to a science. Quick tip: check out the mural on the outside during the evening/nighttime hours. Now, take a trip to the other side of the world (or in this case, the other side of Flushing Meadows Corona Park) to Queensboro Hill. About a block east of New York Hospital Queens (or as it will always be known to me, Booth Memorial), there is a great restaurant called Shanghai 33 on Main Street. Start off with some appetizers like the soup dumplings (flavors include truffle, pork, and crab). Soup dumplings? Dumplings with the soup on the inside. Take a bite, savor the flavor of the soup, eat the rest of the dumpling, and then repeat. For a main course, the chicken with Chinese broccoli is a favorite dish of mine. Fun fact: my cousins visit and order only appetizers with no main course. No judgments here.
Historic Feats:
Let’s head back to Corona (see what I did there?) and the Il Triangolo building. It was erected in 1916 and has quite the history. In 1640, the area was mostly farmland but was acquired by a surgeon, Dr. Harper of the Royal Garrison Battalion during the Revolutionary War. Sometime during the mid-1800s, the property was acquired by Jonathan Randal of Randall’s Island fame. Also in Corona is Congregation Tifereth Israel on 54th Avenue. Constructed in 1911, Tifereth Israel is the oldest synagogue in Queens. Finally, in Corona, check out the former Plaza Theatre on Roosevelt Avenue (near 103rd Street). The Plaza Theater now hosts a Walgreens—the store still uses the marquee. The theater first opened in 1927 as a Loew’s and closed in 2005 under independent ownership. For more movie goodies, check out neighboring Elmhurst for a filming location of one of my favorite movies, Coming to America starring Eddie Murphy. At the now-demolished site (83-07 Queens Boulevard), a Wendy’s once stood that was used as the locale of the fictional McDowell’s fast food restaurant (“They got the Golden Arches, mine is the Golden Arcs”).
Wander Streets:
Have a dog? Great. No dog? You can still enjoy Little Bay Park, located at the northernmost point of Utopia Parkway in Bayside. For your four-legged friends, there is a great dog park located on site. You can also join Sparky or Fido for a walk with views of the Throgs Neck Bridge, Fort Totten, and Little Neck Bay. There is a path that follows along the Cross Island Parkway and extends all the way to Northern Boulevard in Little Neck. If you have a preference for the Whitestone Bridge, head over to Francis Lewis Park in Whitestone for breathtaking views of one of the borough’s Bronx-connectors. On the south shore of Queens, check out the Freeway Dog Run under the elevated train line on Beach 83rd Street and Beach Channel Drive in Rockaway Beach. The public space, soon to be closed for renovation, is huge and a perfect place for Lulu to go for a run. It is also a nice walk for you to enjoy: Jamaica Bay is to your north and the Atlantic Ocean to your south.
Unique Treats:
For the best variety of sweets (and some good grub too), check out Astor Bake Shop at 12-23 Astoria Boulevard. The display case with the cornucopia of goodies is enough to make you reach for your wallet, and the products are always fresh and delicious. After you visit, make sure to take a walk through the Welling Court Mural Project (across the street, down the block and beyond) featuring various works of aesthetically pleasing treats and street art from a multitude of talented artists. The murals at Welling Court change yearly.
Noah Sheroff is the founder and executive director of 501 See Streets, a nonprofit organization that works with community groups to assist in the revitalization and beautification of neighborhoods through the use of art. He is a graduate of St. John’s University and New York University’s Robert F Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He is a street art aficionado who has traveled across the East Coast photographing and documenting pieces. Please visit 501seestreets.org.
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