Stop Inn

This week is a bad week for eating under the 7 train, as I'm trying to keep kosher for passover. So many things that I can't eat. But breakfast seemed to be the safest bet, so off José and I went for diner breakfast, around lunchtime, to the Stop Inn Diner in Woodside.
We were shown to a very small booth in the very small corner diner, with very large menus in hand. I knew it was a great place when I saw the condiment selection on the table.
Ketchup, two kinds of hot sauce, malt vinegar and chef sauce? Irish, Mexican, American, it's all right there on the formica tabletop. Welcome to Queens!

So I ordered two eggs, over easy, with a side of turkey bacon (if I'm keeping kosher, I might as well go all the way with it) and no toast, thank you very much. You might be thinking to yourself, why does she keep kosher for passover if half of this blog chronicles the delights of eating pork? It makes no sense. It's just one of those things. Religion is weird.
My eggs, covered in the turkey bacon, were perfectly cooked. The turkey bacon was salty and crunchy. Definitely not as crisp as real bacon, but a fine substitute. For 8 days anyway.
The hash browns, a lacy mound of shredded potatoes, were brown and crusty on top, and soft in the middle. Delicious. I did miss the toast to sop up my egg yolks, but passover is all about sacrifice, right?

José was hungry and ordered a lunch special, penne a la vodka, which came with a salad.
What they called their house vinaigrette was Italian dressing. Haven't tasted that in a while. It was a good salad, with olives, red pepper rings, large slices of carrots, cukes, and tomatoes. Lots of onions as you can see.
The pasta was ok, not that I tasted it. I trust my husband though. His biggest complaint was that it was far from al dente. I believe that pasta should be overcooked in a diner. But maybe that's just me.

A pleasant breakfast/lunch. No such thing as brunch on a weekday. The diner was packed, people seemed to really enjoy themselves, and it had a great neighborhood feel, lots of stopping and chatting with each other on the way in or out. I want to be a regular there too.

Stop Inn
60-22 Roosevelt Avenue
Woodside

New Post: Queens on a Plate

Part breakfast, part interview this morning at New Post Coffee Shop in Sunnyside. My dining partner today was Molly, a journalism grad student at NYU who is working on a long term project focusing on the neighborhoods, cultures, and people around the 7 train line. She got in touch with me early this week, and I was happy to meet up and spread some Queens love. I got to talk about my project, have someone to eat with, and meet someone new, all over eggs at 9 AM. Win-Win. So we met and talked. Mostly I talked, and she asked questions. And we ate.
New Post is a regular coffee shop/diner with a twist. They have the usual egg and cheese sandwiches, the 2 eggs-hash browns-toast combo. But they also specialize in Irish breakfasts. Full breakfasts with sausages, puddings, beans, tomatoes, the whole thing. Turn the menu over, and there's a Mexican breakfast section. Chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, huevos a la Mexicana. As each new wave of immigrants came into the neighborhood, the coffee shop evolved and accommodated.

I decided to order from the Mexican side, and chose the huevos rancheros. Molly, after much deliberation, went with a 2 egg special. They immediately brought out the sauces for my eggs.

Note the HP sauce and malt vinegar behind them. As I got my camera ready to shoot the food, Molly took out her camera to get a picture of me taking pictures. We got some strange looks from the counter-staff. It was a little ridiculous.

Huevos rancheros. I've never been asked how I want my eggs any further than the usual scrambled, sunny-side, or over easy, but the waitress asked, very specifically, if I wanted them over-medium. I had to say yes. 2 eggs, 3 tortillas, very creamy refried beans, and Mexican rice. Everything tasted good, but the tortillas confused me a little. They weren't fried crispy, and they weren't soft, they were sort of half-fried in oil, which left them pliable yet greasy. For my huevos rancheros, I like the contrast of a crunchy tostada with the oozing yolk and the soft white of the egg, so I did not quite understand the purpose of these tortillas. Otherwise, the two salsas were tasty, the green spicier than the red, the rice was flavorful and pretty authentic, and as I said, the beans were super creamy, and sprinkled with cotija cheese. Good, and filling, for $6.00.
We both got tea, and there are Molly's scrambled eggs, with cheese and bacon in the background.
It was a nice breakfast, and while being interviewed is surreal, I discovered that I really have no problem talking about myself for an hour. Molly is new to the city, and l was ready to answer her questions. Why the 7 train, she asked, why Queens?
Why not Queens? Why has such a vibrant area been ignored, even looked down upon, for so long? I've lived here for 10 years, and am constantly surprised and excited by how much there is to discover and learn about the place where I chose to make my home, the ever-changing borough. And this tiny coffee shop was the perfect place for us to meet, where we found old and new Queens together on one laminated breakfast menu.


New Post Coffee Shop
40 01 Queens Blvd
Sunnyside

Diner!

I am a huge diner fan. I have been since I spent my formative years at the lovely Acropolis Dinner in beautiful Poughkeepsie, NY. What else do teenagers do in the suburbs? We had few options, and would spend hours over a few cups of coffee, maybe a plate of fries if we were feeling rich. Either there or Denny's. But anyway, teenage hangout or favorite place to get sunnyside up eggs for breakfast, I am a loyal diner kind of person. When I lived in Astoria, I switched between Michael's and Sanford's. Since Corona, it's been the Georgia Diner. But now, thanks to the project, I am able to expand my range, and the first diner (and there aren't many more) is Pete's Grill on 39th and QB.
My biggest decision, once it passes noon, is do I go for eggs or for lunch. I always go in wanting eggs, but then I get distracted by the platters of fries and sandwiches and soups that parade by as I peruse the menu. So today, we got to the diner around 12:30 and sure enough, I lost my focus and ordered a sandwich. A turkey club, to be exact. Which is one of my top picks in any diner. Something to do with my childhood, perhaps (Jeffrey Markel, if you read this maybe you can elaborate). I got the turkey club, José ordered a chicken club panini. Fancy.
We moved to a corner booth after ordering, once it became free, and waited. The place was packed. Busiest lunch I've hit so far in my month of lunching. Everyone had huge salads or sandwiches on their tables, and they all seemed like regulars. We had a great runner, and José immediately made friends with him, as usual. His name was José too.
So the food:
Turkey Club on Whole wheat. Tasted like a turkey club from a diner! To be expected: mealy winter tomatoes. That goes with the territory, so I can not complain. This is not a local, seasonal kind of place. The turkey was on the dry side, which may not make for the most delicious sandwich but is good in a nostalgic kind of way. Here is where it stood out though: super crispy bacon, and the fries were great. Take a look.
Extra crispy, some with the peel still on. Mmm diner fries.
José 's sandwich was fine, he said. Nothing special.
I had a bite, and had to agree. Bacon wasn't as crispy in the panini as in the club.
Why mess with a classic? There were murals of Greek ocean views on the walls, comfy booths, and bottomless cups of coffee. Diners make me happy. What more can I say?

Pete's Grill
39-14 Queens Blvd
Sunnyside