S. Mitra Kalita is an award-winning journalist, media executive, commentator, author, and MonthlyPicks enthusiast. (Who isn’t?) At the height of the Covid, she founded two media companies to ensure communities of color are served, supported, and centered: The first one, Epicenter NYC, started as a newsletter to help New Yorkers get through the pandemic. It’s now a community journalism multiplatform company. The second one, URL Media, is a growing network of Black- and Brown-owned media organizations that share content, distribution, and revenues to increase their long-term viability. She more at the bottom of this post. Right now, we’re excited to see what she loves about Queens.
Great Eats
I don’t have a favorite restaurant in Queens as much as favorite dishes: The jhol momo at Nepali Bhancha Ghar, the lotus root kofta at Angel, the muli (horseradish) parantha at Raja Sweets, the crispy catfish at Chao Thai, the fish stew at Urubamba, the ceviche at Mariscos El Submarino, the spinach empanada at La Nueva, the chive momos at Lhasa, the crab-and-pork and chive soup dumplings at Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, the lamb chops at Adda, the octopus at Agnanti Meze, the agnolotti at Louie’s Pizzeria and Restaurant, a simple baked potato at Jahn’s…I could go on and on.
Historic Feats
At Epicenter NYC, we led a really powerful tour of the Bowne House in Flushing and worked with the Underground Railroad Consortium of New York to highlight its importance to Black New Yorkers. It’s often forgotten that New York City was the second largest slave trading port in the Colonies.
The new cultural space at the Louis Armstrong House Museum is a site to behold. I was recently there for a Christmas Jazz concert and dug the vibe. I love spaces that blend service and culture so two others that exude Queens are the SACCS (South Asian Council for Social Services) building in Flushing that runs an impressive food pantry with items catering to various ethnic groups and Long Island City’s New York Irish Center that impresses me with its cross-cultural programming. They recently asked me to talk to a group of Indian and Irish seniors about The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, and I was floored by the similarities in our communities. (Mitra is Indian-American.)
Wander Streets
My favorite street in Queens is my own — the historic homes along 86th Street in Jackson Heights! I also love Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the Unisphere at night, and Astoria Park.
Unique Treats
My latest go-to is the frozen classic margarita at D’Antigua, usually with my daughter on her latest visit home from college. There’s a neon sign on the wall that says “We Belong Here.” What many restaurants in Jackson Heights offer is not just great food and a taste of home but a feeling of being the ultimate insider in a city of outsiders.
Editor’s note: Returning to Kalita’s impressive resume. She’s a board member of Philadelphia Inquirer. She has written a regular workplace column for Time/Charter. She was a consultant for season 3 of The Morning Show on Apple TV and a co-producer on the documentary Vice is Broke, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. Previously, she served as SVP at CNN Digital and worked at the LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, Quartz and the Washington Post.