Neighborhoods

11/04/13 9:43am

Henanese Big Tray of Chicken is Perfect Cold Weather Fare

Flushing

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A potage of poultry and potatoes sits atop a bed of hand-pulled noodles.

Dà pán jī—or “big tray of chicken” is a Henanese dish I’ve been meaning to try for some time. I’d forgotten all about dà pán jī until I started seeing it at the New World Mall Food Court, notably at the purple curvilinear stand Stew where it goes by the rather ungainly yet specific English name “chicken potato noodle.” For an additional four bucks one can procure beef, lamb, or fish potato noodle. As I snapped a photo of the Chinese language sign for the dish, which shows Stew’s chef giving a thumbs up and some characters that likely translate to “Best big tray of chicken in the free world,” my friend from the neighboring Stall No. 28 waved me over. (more…)

chicken, Chinatown, Chinese, curry, Flushing, food courts, Golden Shopping Mall, Henanese, New World Mall, potatoes

11/01/13 3:10pm

Desify: Mountains of Diwali Sweets This Weekend

A small army of mithai awaits hungry Diwali revelers at Maharajah Sweets.

If you have never experienced the pre-Diwali rush in New York’s South Asian sweets shops, you have two more days to partake of mountains of sugary, nutty, dairy-rich mithai (sweets, in Hindi).

In North India, Diwali (aka, the Hindu “festival of lights”) is a celebration of the triumph of good over evil in the Ramayan, a famous Hindu epic. Families gather to share special meals, clay lamps (diyas in Hindi) and firecrackers are ablaze everywhere, and countless boxes of sweets are exchanged. (more…)

Desify, Diwali, India, Maharajah Sweets, South Asia, sweets

Woodside

10/17/13 1:05pm

What I Ate The Day I Saw the Banksy in Queens

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Do they know they’re standing in the epicenter of ethnic food?

I am more street food connoisseur than street art aficionado. That didn’t keep me from jumping on the Banksy bandwagon though. No, I was not fortunate enough to purchase a $60 “spray art” canvas in Central Park. When I read on Monday that the British street artist had put up a piece in Queens as part of his monthlong New York City residency I hastened to a block of 69th Street in Woodside’s Little Manila not far from the rumbling 7 train. I couldn’t help but wonder whether the crowd of camera toting street art fans had any idea they were standing at the epicenter of ethnic food in New York City.

“What we do in life echoes in eternity,” it read in Banksy’s signature stenciled script. Well, almost, that last word was cheekily in the process of being obliterated by an old-timey looking character. (That’s a quote from the film Gladiator, by the way.) Having partaken of some culture in the form of art—and Instagrammed, Tweeted and Facebooked it—I took off in search of food culture.

(more…)

Banksy, Dani's House of Pizza, Filipino, graffitti, Little Manila, pizza, soup, spare ribs, street art, Thai, Thailand's Center Point, Woodside

09/24/13 2:13pm

Scenes from Viva La Comida 2013

The Arepa Lady’s cart drew Smorgasburgesque lines.

After a week-plus on jury duty to say I was psyched for last Friday’s Viva La Comida festival is the height of understatement. The night be before I was like a child on Christmas Eve. Visions of street food—Peruvian tamales, Mexican sandwiches and tacos, Puerto Rican lechin, Tibetan dumplings, Indian chaat, Colombian arepas, Filpino BBQ, and Irish drunk food—danced in my head. The festival which took place on 82nd St. between Baxter and Roosevelt in Jackson Heights was curated by my fellow fresser, Jeff Orlick who knows a thing or two about street food in the Heights and elsewhere. (more…)

arepas, Colombian, festivals, Filipino, Indian, Irish, Jackson Heights, Mexican, momos, Peruvian, sandwiches, street food, tacos, Tibetan

09/19/13 9:46am

Get Ready for the Viva La Comida! Street Food Festival

I should really stop eating, do some stomach stretching exercises, or hit the gym real hard today. I say this not out of any desire for physical fitness, but because I feel ill-prepared for Viva La Comida! The street food festival being held tomorrow from 4 p.m.to 10 p.m on 82 St. between Roosevelt and Baxter Aves., promises a dozen undersung street food superstars from Queens and beyond. Street foods of many nations will be represented, including the supersized Mexican sandwiches of Tortas Neza to Tibetan momos from the Potala cart. I am most impressed by the fact that festival curator Jeff Orlick has been able to lure Lechonera La Piraña away from the Bronx. The machete-wielding Piraña makes the best Puerto Rican roast pork I’ve ever had. (more…)

Colombian, festivals, Jackson Heights, Jeff Orlick, Mexican, Puerto Rican, street food, Tibetan, Viva La Comida!

C+M Asks . . .

09/17/13 9:42am

Do You Dig Mooncakes?

Flushing

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Malaysian mooncake with pandan filling and a salted egg center.

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of taking tea at Yumcha Yoga in Flushing. It’s a monthly ritual (yumcha means to drink tea in Cantonese) over at the newish yoga school established by the creators of Dim Sum Warriors. This month’s theme? Mooncakes, the dense, sweet Chinese treats eaten to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Theresa Wong of Fang Gourmet Tea paired the cakes with a lovely aged pu-er tea. Afterwards she told me that she’s not really a big fan of mooncakes. So with the moon hanging heavy in the sky and the festival falling this Thursday here’s what I’d like to know. Do you dig mooncakes? Or do you liken them to hockeypucks? And if you do like them what’s your favorite? Mixed nut, Malaysian pandan flavored, the platter sized discus that is Fujianese mooncake,or some other variety? For the record my favorites are the Malaysian ones.

Chinatown, Chinese, festivals, Malyasian, mooncakes, tea

09/16/13 9:53am

Desify: A Famous Indian Snack Pops Up in Queens

Mumbai’s famous beach snack, bhel puri, is easy to track down in Indian chaat shops in New York City. But other snacks from Maharashtra—the state on India’s western coast that is home to the megacity—are much harder to find on this side of the world (though not impossible).

Maharashtrian food is amazingly flavorful—drawing on staple ingredients that impart bold flavors: peppery curry leaf, ginger, cilantro, tangy tamarind, jaggery (unrefined cane sugar), fragrant coriander seeds, savory cumin, and coconut. I love this cuisine and wish it were more prevalent in restaurants. (more…)

bakarwadi, Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale, Desify, Indian, Maharashtra, namkeen, Patel Bros., Pune, snack

Queens Eats

09/05/13 10:36am

Papa’s Salu Salo: Traditional Filipino Feasting in Queens

Woodside

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Clockwise from top: crab, crispy pata, ukoy, longanisa, and tuna belly.

Americans traditionally mark Labor Day weekend with one last summer backyard barbecue with friends and loved ones. I too celebrated with friends, in traditional Queens fashion. That is to say by embracing the traditions of another culture, specifically Filipino. On Saturday my friends Kaori and Stella joined me for a traditional salu-salo sa bilao fiesta at Papa’s Kitchen in Woodside. Salu-salo bilao loosely translates to a gathering over a bilao,or banana leaf-lined basket overflowing with goodies. It’s an informal affair where all the food is eaten with one’s hands.

Chef Miguel prepared quite a spread. One tray held crab; crispy pata, a whole foreleg of pig fried to a shattering crunchiness; the shrimp and veggie fritters known as ukoy; longganisang hamonado, a lovely sweet pork sausage; tuna belly; and Papa’s signature spicy dynamite spring rolls. Everything was quite tasty,but we all agreed the salty, fatty tuna belly was spectacular. Stella, who is Filipina, schooled me in the proper way to eat with my hands. On the few occasions when I’ve eaten South Asian food with my hands I’ve felt self conscious most likely because the food is usually very saucy. At Papa’s I felt especially relaxed, and not just because we had the place to ourselves. (more…)

crab, Filipino, Labor Day, pork, seafood, shrimp paste, tuna, Woodside

Sandwich Wednesday

09/04/13 1:02pm

Why White Castle’s Tiny Sandwiches Beat Jollibee’s

Woodside

4 Comments

A bumblebee’s eye view of Jollibee’s entire sandwich menu.

C+M’s sandwich coverage has included everything from West Indian fried fish to gargantuan Mexican tortas. Lately I’ve been feeling a bit jaded, so for this week’s Sandwich Wednesday I undertook the journey to one of Queens’ most exotic dining establishments, Jollibee. After all I liked the spaghetti and fried chicken combo at the Filipino fast food spot so I figured why not try their new $1 Little Big Bites. I mean you can’t go wrong for a buck. Then again maybe you can . . .

The corned beef is slightly reminiscent of barbecued beef brisket.

The menu at the home of the psychedelic bumblebee offers two types of tiny sandwiches, Spam and corned beef. Both are served on squishy slightly sweet buns with a generous slather of mayo. Spam is best served well-fried. So the floppy, somewhat slimy rectangle of mystery meat lolling out of the bun did little for me. The corned beef on the other hand was kind of tasty, calling to mind barbecued beef brisket. (more…)

corned beef, Filipino, fried chicken, hamburgers, Jollibee, Spam, White Castle, Woodside

Gravesend

08/26/13 12:30pm

Intrepid Vegetarian: Cheese-filled Khinkali and a Georgian Condiment Worthy of Obsession