Flushing Town Hall Deputy Director Sami Abu Shumays has lived in Sunnyside, Long Island City, and Woodhaven since moving to NYC in 1999. Proud of his Arab roots and extremely talented with a violin, Shumays recently won a Taproot Fellowship from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts. Here’s what he digs about the world’s most diverse county via our Monthly Picks column.
Good Eats
As a person of mixed cultural heritage (my father is Palestinian, while my mother is of mixed European descent), Queens is where I’ve felt most at home. In large part, this is because of the diversity that’s everywhere — especially in the food scene.
I feel incredibly lucky to work at Flushing Town Hall, where I get to learn about and experience new art forms from around the world every month. Flushing is also an amazing place to eat! I’m not unique in loving the soup dumplings at Nan Xin Xiang Long Bao, but if you haven’t been, it’s a must. The New World Mall food court is also wonderful with different cuisines on offer. I’m partial to the Uyghur cuisine (try the lamb noodles) as well as the handmade noodle shops.
My other favorite borough restaurants include Odaan, a Nepalese-Indian restaurant in Ridgewood; Kaieteur, a wonderful Indo-Chinese-Caribbean restaurant in Richmond Hill not too far from where I live; and Sac’s Place, now right across the street from where my daughter studies at the Frank Sinatra School Of The Arts High School in Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District. When she’s taking her singing lessons in Woodside on Sunday mornings, I usually stop in at Aubergine, which has fantastic coffee and pastries, or take a walk around in the Calvary Cemetery, a peaceful oasis. Or I go shopping at Parrot Coffee on Queens Boulevard, a fantastic grocery with lots of unique items, such as homemade spinach pies and hard-to-find honey. When her lesson is over, we’ve made a tradition of stopping for dumplings at Elmhurst’s Shanghai Zhen Gong Fu, which is every bit as good as Nan Xin Xiang Long Bao, but more homey and down to earth (they know us there).
My favorite New York City restaurant right now is Ruta Oaxaca in Astoria, serving up high-end Mexican cuisine and astonishing margaritas. I’m continually amazed by how good the food is every time I go.
Unique Treats
There’s so much to love in Queens that it’s hard to summarize! I love shopping at Trade Fair grocery stores because of all the grocery items from around the world. I love the old-school dessert shop La Dolce Italia on Metropolitan Avenue. I love Terraza 7 in Jackson Heights, one of the most interesting music venues in the city. I used to visit the New York Hall of Science all the time when my daughter was younger, and Queens Museum and the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning are also great places.
In Astoria, I also love Mombar, a unique spot for homemade Egyptian food on Steinway Street. Strolling up and down Steinway reminds me of my time living in Egypt studying music. Of the hookah bars there, I’m partial to Layali Beirut, which has hookah, great food, and a constant stream of Arabic pop music and Bellydance on the TVs.
Wander Streets
My favorite place to be — and the reason I’ve lived in Woodhaven so long — is Forest Park. It’s really the best park in the entire city with its trails. I felt lucky to live right next to it during the pandemic, as I could walk there and still be away from people. In addition to all the wonderful trees and the pond, it also has a great bandshell and a century-old carousel.
I also love strolling around the Queens Botanical Garden in Flushing, a true oasis in our city.
Historic Feats
Flushing is culturally significant with the Quaker Meeting House built in 1694, the longest continually-operated house of worship in NYC, right across the street from Flushing Town Hall. Not far away is the astonishing Hindu Temple Society (aka Ganesh Temple), the largest temple on the East Coast – which also serves delicious South Indian food at its Temple Canteen.