09/03/15 1:21pm

Flushing Cafe Collage

Since Yelp exists, there’s really no point in making an exhaustive list of coffee and tea shops. However, there’s still room for a curated list, so I’m going to present my favorite Flushing spots for coffee, food, working, and hanging out. Unlike some other parts of Queens, the eastern end is still limited in terms of Third Wave coffee shops, but this is changing gradually.

(I’ve created a companion Foursquare list for this article. Go ahead and save it so that you can visit them all.)

Although Flushing’s eastern border is officially Parsons Boulevard, for the purposes of this article I will use the moniker as it often is, as a shorthand for Greater Flushing, encompassing Murray Hill, Auburndale, and Bayside, and will append Douglaston/Little Neck, the New York City neighborhood that abuts Long Island.

However, I’m primarily interested in the somewhat insular, heavily Korean neighborhood that runs along Northern Boulevard from Main Street to the border of Long Island (and beyond), because this is where most of the cafes are situated. The only exception is a recent Chinese-owned entrant, Presso Coffee, located in the attractive new One Fulton Square development in downtown Flushing. (more…)

05/30/13 10:36am
Pa Do Hwae Jip, a Korean sushi house, sits in suburban Auburndale.

Pa Do Hwae Jip, a Korean sushi house, sits in suburban Auburndale.

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

Sushi and sashimi are never a value proposition for me. I can’t afford to eat at Masa or Yasuda, but I tend to avoid budget and all you can eat sushi like the plague. That said I had the best Korean sashimi lunch the other day for a mere $13, a fraction of the price I usually pay for such a meal. It was at Pa Do Hwae Jip—Sea Wave Sushi House—in Auburndale.

A complimentary platter of red snapper sashimi, sea squirt, and sea cucumber.

A complimentary platter of sashimi including, sea squirt, and sea cucumber.

List most diners at Korean restaurants I’m fascinated by banchan, the array of complimentary dishes that accompany a meal, which sometimes land on the table before you’ve even cracked the menu. I am especially fascinated by the banchan at Pa Do.  That’s because in addition to kimchi and various veggie items it includes a generous platter of sashimi, piled with slices of raw fish, and some marine life rarely seen outside of Korean sushi spots, sea squirt and sea cucumber. I am captivated by the orange flesh of the sea squirt, which tastes of the ocean, and leaves my mouth with the slightly anesthetized sensation of having eaten cloves. The chewy black blobs of sea cucumber do not captivate me in the least, but I always make sure to eat a few as my Korean dry cleaner Paulie Sunshine says, “they are good for men.” (more…)