Pub Brunch

Last week in Sunnyside. PJ Horgan's. I was so looking forward to a good burger, and they did not disappoint. I told José that we were going to go to a pub for brunch today, Saturday. A pub, you know, a bar with good food and Guinness. It wasn't a very difficult sell. Even with the mid-day sun shining brightly, and the glare from the snow, it was dark and cozy inside. There were a few people sitting at the bar watching rugby. I liked it already. There was a baby behind the bar. Don't know why. I liked it even more. We sat at a wooden booth under a stained-glass lamp, and were given a brunch menu, as well as the dinner menu. Here's the problem with the brunch menu: the drinks included in the brunch special were the regulars - bloody mary, screwdriver, maybe a mimosa, and then the kicker- domestic beers. Why would we get domestic beers in an Irish pub when what we really wanted was a Guinness? Ok, I didn't really want a Guinness, I was there for the food, but why would we want a domestic beer when José really wanted a Guinness. He loves them. We asked our server just to make sure, and even in Sunnyside, Guinness does not count as a domestic beer. So we ordered from the dinner menu. The Sunnyside burger and Shepherd's pie. It was, as I mentioned, very dark inside, so I had a very hard time getting good pictures. I hate using a flash in a restaurant. My not so great pictures of pretty great food-
The Guinness. No description necessary.

Soda bread. Comes with all entrees. It was delicious. Very moist as soda breads go, with plump golden raisins and caraway seeds. Sweet and salty.

Worst picture ever, so I will describe. Thick patty, ordered medium rare, came medium rare, (which doesn't happen often enough). The burger was topped with cheddar cheese, fried onions (these really made the burger) and Irish bacon, crisp and salty flowers of bacon, a huge garnish on an already piled-high plate. The bun was thin and soft, and the burger was accompanied by lettuce, tomatoes, sliced white onions, and 2 pickles. The fries were good, thick cut, mushy on the inside and crispy on the out. I wish we had thought to order the onion rings, which passed by our table at one point and looked amazing, but we were too full to do anything about it.


Shephard's Pie. Delicious. The potato topping was smooth and buttery, the top crisped perfectly. The ground beef was flavorful and well-seasoned, the peas and carrots were fresh, not frozen. It was a very large portion, and I didn't think I would be able to finish it, but even with the burger, we managed to clean both plates. I shouldn't be proud of that, I know. But I kind of am.We sat, ate, and chatted for over an hour, were not rushed at all, and really felt comfortable in our little booth. We talked about how much we liked the place, and how much we liked the neighborhood. It pains me now to think that just a few months ago, Sunnyside was something that I passed on my way home, never thinking to get off the train. The walk back was a history of my journey so far. Such a nice way to spend a slushy afternoon in February. We left the pub, and the neighborhood, full and happy. A little fatter, a little wiser.

PJ Horgan's
4217 Queens Blvd
Sunnyside

Off Boulevard Exploring, Part Two

There is not much, if any, Middle Eastern food along the 7 train route that I have chosen. Sad, but true. There happens to be, however, in Sunnyside, a magical grocery/halal meats/bakery/take-out/catering place called El Shater, a block away from Queens Blvd on 43rd Street and 43rd Avenue.
As soon as I walked in, I fell in love. It's small, and dark, and the shelves are not filled to capacity, but there are things to buy that I never imagined I could find so close to home. Hookahs and hamsas and hummus. Fruit and nuts. House-made labne, spices, and olives! Oh olives, you are so wonderful.


I ordered a falafel sandwich. For $3.50! The man behind the counter was incredibly friendly. Behind him, the back counter area was covered with half sheet pans full of all sorts of fil0 goodness. Baklava is always a good place to start, so I decided to get a piece, just to see if it was any good. There was a choice of pistachio, walnut, or cashew. I chose walnut, of course (that's the kind my mom makes). Then he threw in a cashew piece, "on me, so that you come back soon". I was already in love, but free baklava pushed me over the edge. It doesn't take much to make me happy.

I got the food home and unwrapped the cylindrical foil package to find this -
Here is a cross section
By the time I actually ate the sandwich, it was no longer warm, and the falafel was a bit soggy. But. The pita was thin and chewy, the sandwich held 4 large, loosely packed falafel balls, chopped lettuce, tahini, hot sauce, and then the best part: thin strips of bright pink pickled turnip, and long slices of pickled cucumber. Each bite had a perfect ratio of sour, spicy, salty, soft, and crunchy.

Next we come to the baklava.
It was flaky and still crispy, wasn't drenched in syrup. I am not a big fan of overly sweet baklava, and this one was fairly dry, with the flavor of the nuts really coming through. The very nice man also mentioned that all of the pastries are made in house, and I believe it.
Total cost of meal: $5. Free baklava or not, I'll be back.

El Shater
43-02 43rd Ave
Sunnyside

Off Boulevard Exploring, Part One

After my disappointing visit to the Cup It franchise, I needed some lunch, and fast. I decided to break from the route and do a little Sunnyside wandering, to places that I'd read about but hadn't planned on visiting. Stop number one, The Butcher Block. The place to go for the Irish ex-pat, longing for a taste of home, so I've heard. I have a hard time resisting snacks from other countries, so I immediately headed over to the chips and chocolate aisle. I picked up quite a selection of snack-y packaged treats (a packet of salt and vinegar flavoured crisps sounds better than a bag of chips, doesn't it?) plus some orange marmalade for my toast, on sale for $1.69.

I then wandered around to the meat section and saw something you don't see everyday in my neighborhood. Irish Breakfast to go.
Blurry, but there it was.

The deli section looked inviting, I could have gone for the shepherd's pie in the display case, or a freshly-made sandwich, but I saw the sign for soup, and then there was no turning back. Beef barley soup on a rainy day, perfect, not to mention the price: small soup $1.50, large soup $1.99!
Once I got home I was able to see how far that $1.5o went.
A rich, beefy broth, soft carrots and celery, earthy bits of barley, and tender chunks of meat.

I love soup.

I have yet to try all of my snacks, but one delightful discovery: Cadbury Flake is exactly the same as my favorite Israeli chocolate-like candy, Elite's mekupelet: I am not the first person to realize this, I found. There is actually a blog post which pits the two candy bars against each other in a taste test, here. There was no winner declared.

My Flake was pretty good.
Despite disappointment, I somehow managed to make it through the day, and though I strayed from the path, I ate some great soup, and made some very important cultural discoveries. I gotta say it was a good day.

The Butcher's Block
43-46 41st Street
Sunnyside

No Corn in Cup?

My plan today was to finally try Corn in Cup. I've been fascinated by the promise of Corn in Cup, Potato in Cup, even Waffle in Cup, since I passed Old Castle Fresh Farms on 39th Street, the very first day of the project. What is it and why is it here?
I can't answer that question, but I could not resist the lovable yellow creature, or the idea of a cup full of corn. With garnishes like sour cream, and chives.


My plan was to leave this specialness for my last week in Sunnyside, a sweet farewell to a great neighborhood. I was going to walk into that store and declare that yes, I would like to cup it. But, no, that goal was not meant to be reached. At least not today. Despite the fact that the entire storefront is plastered with cup it propoganda, I was informed that they will not be serving anything in a cup for at least another month. I left the store dejected, disappointed and hungry, my dreams dashed. No cup, no corn.

Old Castle Fresh Farms
39-50 Queens Blvd
Sunnyside

There is a website about how to get your own cup it franchise. I'm still as confused as before, but the intro video is something else. http://www.cupitfood.com/

Back to the Bakery

I took a trip back to La Vienesa for the pastries that caught my eye at the beginning of the week. I am no expert in Colombian baked goods, but I am up for the research. Here is the dedo de queso. Not what I expected at all. It has the best name for what it is: a salty-sweet, soft pastry wrapped around a column of melty white cheese, and some might say it looks like a finger. A tasty, stuffed finger.

Here is the finger, cracked open.

Trying new things: so much fun, especially when salt, butter, and cheese are involved. I splurged and got a sweet too:
The pastel de guayaba y arequipe. Sounded good, I love guava, and I love any sort of caramel-type substance, be it arequipe, dulce de leche, or cajeta. Or candy milk, if you'd like to call it that. I need some help from any Colombian pastry expert out there. Why was the pastel, which had a beautiful crumbly and crispy outside, only filled with a very thin layer of guava? Maybe I got the wrong one but I couldn't find any arequipe. So confused.
I really really really like guava. Here's a picture I took in Hawaii of guavas on the highway.

That's how much I like guavas.


La Vienesa (again)
3944 Queens Blvd
Sunnyside

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

Chicken and Rice again

I found myself eating chicken and rice out of a styrofoam container in secret again today. It's Tuesday, so why not? There were a few key differences however that differentiate this experience from that of 2 weeks ago. Number one: this container was purchased from a Colombian Bakery. Two: the chicken and rice was accompanied by soup and plantains. Three: I ate it while hiding out in an empty classroom, not at a restaurant. I learned my lesson. Sort of. I am still writing about it at 'wichcraft, while I should be going over Carlyle homework (again!) before my Literature of the Industrial Revolution class. And eating tomato soup while doing all of the above. I don't think that this will be the last time, either.
But let's talk about the food.
I walked into La Vienesa Bakery at noon set on ordering a lunch special. I would ignore the pastries and go straight to the meat. Very friendly cashier started with buenos dias then immediately switched to English. Today's soup was vegetable. No problem, veg it was, and would I like just the soup or the whole meal? Of course I wanted the whole meal. That consists of rice, meat, plantains, and soup. For $6.50. Choice of white or yellow rice I chose yellow. Choice of chicken or beef I chose chicken. Did I want the plantains? Most definitely. I meant to check out the steam table offerings more closely, but as usual I got distracted, and this time by the pastries. There was a long, cylindrical offering in the empanada area of the display case that had me fascinated. It looked so crispy, crumbly and delicious, and it was called dedo de queso. Cheese finger! I was in love. Sadly, I only had enough money to cover my lunch special, and before I could figure out how to get my hands on one, my order was up, and I had to run back up to the train and on to class. Cheese finger, you will be mine and soon. And you better be good. Four hours, and a lecture on Alexander the Great later, I set up my lunch on the radiator of classroom 1025, overlooking a snowy Bryant Park.
Don't be fooled by the word vegetable. This was chicken soup, with vegetables in it.
See, chicken.
There were chunks of potatoes, carrots, and celery. Along with some green beans, a few peas and I even found a kernel of corn in there. Lots of cilantro. Good for a wintry day like today. Except that it was cold when I ate it. The radiator warmed it up some.

The meal: lots of rice, roasted chicken, and two large pieces of platano.
Rice was very simple, not much flavor or enough salt. The chicken was good, a large thigh on the bone. Not sure if the skin had originally been crispy but it was salty and tasty, with flecks of red pepper throughout. Platanos maduros: greasy, sweet, and delicious.

The view.
It was a good deal; lots of food, cheap, and very filling.
I don't know if I would go back for the same meal, but I will be going back for some pastries, and soon.

La Vienesa Bakery
3944 Queens Blvd
Sunnyside